Neck Exercise - Levator Stretch

Commonly Used For: Back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain and headaches.

Video Transcription: I'm going to show you how to do a levator stretch, which is the muscle that attaches from your shoulder blade up into your neck, and can contribute to both back and shoulder pain as well as neck pain and headaches. What you're going to want to do is stabilize your shoulder blade down by either grabbing on to the bottom of a chair or sitting on your hand. I prefer to grab on to something if I can. You're going to tuck your chin back kind of giving yourself a double chin, turn your head towards your opposite shoulder, and look down towards your armpit. You should feel a stretch right along this back side of your neck. If you don't feel the stretch intensely enough, you can take your opposite hand, come over the back side of your head, and gently pull down. You want to hold that stretch 30 seconds to a minute. And that's your levator stretch.

Neck Exercise - Upper Trapezius Stretch

Commonly Used For: Shoulder pain, neck pain and headaches.

Video Transcription: I'm going to show you how to do a stretch for your upper trapezius muscle, which is along here. it connects from your shoulder blade up into your neck here and is a common cause of shoulder pain, neck pain and headaches. So what you're going to do is if you're sitting, you can grab onto the bottom of the chair or if you can't reach that far, you can also sit on your hand. I prefer to hold on if I can though. You're going to tuck your chin back, kind of giving yourself a double chin there and then slowly tilt your ear towards your opposite shoulder, maintaining that chin tuck. You should feel a stretch right along the side of your neck here. This should be a gentle stretch. You don't want to pull it. This is a very sensitive area. Again, keeping that chin tucked. If you let it tilt outwards, you're not going to feel the stretch in the right position. So keep that chin nice and tucked. Hold it for 30 seconds to a minute and that's your upper trapezius stretch.