6 Simple Exercises to Relieve Neck Muscle Pain

Anyone with a job staring at a screen all day long knows how bad neck pain can get. Muscle pain and dizziness are the standard packages. Nausea and vomiting could happen too. But it’s not like we can walk out of the office in the middle of the day to get a massage when neck pain kicks in. Thankfully, these six simple exercises to relieve neck muscle pain can do some decent magic per our experience.

Is Neck Pain Harmful?

Severe neck pain can be debilitating and drastically reduces your quality of life. If the condition is left untreated, neck pain could cause severe consequences, including paralysis and death. 

What Causes Neck Muscle Pain

The main reasons behind neck muscle pain are

• Bad posture
• Uncomfortable mattress and flat pillows
• Lack of sleep
• Over-exercising
• Over-working
• Osteoarthritis 

As you can see, neck muscle pain is primarily caused by bad lifestyle habits. Luckily, they’re easy to identify and fix.

Side Rotation

Inhale, tilt your head all the way to the left and begin rotating clockwise. You should finish one breath as you complete the rotation. Then tilt your head all the way to the right and rotate counterclockwise. Repeat until you feel better. I guarantee you’ll hear your muscle and neck bone cracking doing this.

Full-Direction Tilt

Breathe in, look down. Breathe out, return position. And one more time. Inhale, tilt your head back and look up. Exhale, return position.

Continue with the breathing movement and tilt fully to the left, then right. This exercise stretches the muscle on all four sides of your neck. Just make sure you do it slowly and tilt to the fullest in each direction for the best results.

Shoulder Roll

Place both hands on your shoulder and fully open your chest. Ensure your arms are held parallel to the ground. Basically, this should make you form a triangle on each side of your body.

Now, point both elbows inward while keeping the arms parallel. Slowly make outward circles with your elbows, then inward circles. Repeat a few times until you feel your muscles warming up. This exercise loosens the muscles connecting your neck to your shoulders and back and is a great exercise to relieve neck pain caused by too much screen time or bad sitting posture.

Seated Neck Stretches

Lift your left arm until it’s parallel to the ground. Fully open your left shoulder and chest. Then, place your left hand on your right ear and gently pull your head toward the left shoulder. Repeat on the right side.

This is a great exercise to relieve neck pain from pinched nerves. However, you must do this slowly and carefully, or you might hurt yourself!

Camel Pose

Camel Pose stretches the front of the body, so it’s a great yoga pose to relieve neck pain. To do the perfect camel pose, stand on your knees at the front of the mat. Make sure your knees are at hip-width.

Then, place your fingertips at the spine’s base, lift your head to look up back as you slowly arch backward, and reach for your heels. Exhale.

Now, inhale and pull up onto your heels as you shift your weight forward. Maintain the pose as you slowly breathe in and out until you feel stretched. Bring your hands back to support yourself at the sacrum and gently lift when you’re done.

Cardio Exercise

Cardio exercises are great for relieving neck pain because they increase the oxygen level in your blood and muscles. As a result, they can melt away the stiffness in your muscle and keep your blood flowing. However, understand your limit and plan your cardio sessions accordingly, so you don’t overexert yourself.

Do Computers Make My Neck Pain Worse?

Computers aren’t the issue here. The stiff muscles from prolonged sitting and bad laptop or computer posture make your neck pain worse. For example, do you subconsciously lean forward when looking at the screen? Holding that position for too long would cause spine misalignment and muscle stiffness in the neck.

Is It Safe to Use a Massage Gun On My Neck?

You should NEVER use a massage gun on the neck. You can cause a carotid dissection, a tear in the carotid artery that interferes with the blood flow to your brain and can cause a stroke!

Relieve Neck Pain Instantly with UGO

Relieve neck pain and loosen up your sore muscles with our best-selling handheld percussive massager, UGO! So whether you slept on a lousy pillow or accidentally pulled a nerve at the gym, UGO is here to save your day.

Never directly place UGO on your neck. Instead, target the shoulder, and upper back area as UGO’s ergonomic design effortlessly wraps around your body. Enjoy a gentle percussive massage with heat and vibration and relieve neck muscle pain instantly.