Neck exercise 3
Head Retraction in Lying
Lie on a bed. Lie face up, with your head at a free-standing edge of the bed rather than next to any headboard. For example, lie across a double bed or with your head at the foot of a single bed. Rest your head and shoulders flat on the bed and do not use a pillow. Now you are ready to start Exercise 3.
Using your head alone, not your hands, push the back of your head into the mattress and at the same time pull in your chin. The overall effect should be that your head and neck move backward as far as possible while you keep facing the ceiling. Once you have maintained this position for a few seconds, relax. Automatically, your head and neck will return to the starting position. Each time you repeat this cycle of movements, make sure that the backward movement of your head and neck is carried out to the maximum possible degree.
This exercise is used mainly in the treatment of acute neck pain. It is used mostly by people who have gained no benefit from exercises done in the sitting or standing position. It is an effective exercise, but not as demanding as most of the others. When you have completed 10 head retractions, you must evaluate the effects of this exercise on your pain. If the pain has centralized or decreased in intensity, you can safely continue this procedure. In this case you should repeat the exercise 10 times per session and spread the sessions evenly six to eight times throughout the day or night. (Since you already are in bed at night, night is a good time to repeat this exercise.)
If, however, the pain has increased considerably or extends farther away from the spine, or if you have developed “pins and needles,” or numbness, in the fingers, you must stop the exercise and seek advice from a health professional. To locate a practitioner who is a credentialed member or associate of the McKenzie Institute, see Appendix A of this book.
