“Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”– James Bryant Conant

Because many of us lean forward when working on a computer or project, it trains our neck to tip forward. This places more stress on the neck and the muscles that support it, which is why they can get pretty beat up at the end of the day.

For every inch forward your head is in relation to the proper position of having your ears in line with your shoulders, the weight of your head doubles. That can really add up to a bad day. This position can also lead to headaches along with chronically tight muscles.

So when you are stuck at your desk, taking a few moments to sit up straight, look around briefly, take a walk or do some stretches could help offset these aches.

Simply reaching back with your hands and rubbing your neck will increase circulation and help break up adhesions and knots in the muscles. Better yet having your spouse or friend do it, is even more therapeutic.

Clearly having your chiropractor and massage therapist on speed dial would also help keep you limber and pain-free. They have good hands and know just where to work. It’s a great 1-2 punch because the muscles and bones are attached and directly affect one another. It really is the foundation of a strong body. Why strengthen a crooked spine. Doesn’t make sense to me.

So while you are making your commute home and are stopped at a traffic light or during a TV commercial break once you are home, are two perfect opportunities to do a few stretches.

In general you would always hold stretches from 10 to 60 seconds and perform 10 repetitions. Also never bounce your stretches because you will cause a reflex in the muscle-tendon region that will make the muscle become tighter in the long run.

A simple stretch would be to tip your ear toward the shoulder of the same side. Sometimes I recommend holding the seat of a chair with the opposite hand. For instance, take your left hand and hold the seat. Now lean away from it and towards the right. Tip your right ear toward your right shoulder at the same time. This will encourage a greater stretch.

Of course you could just tip your head that way or even take one finger of your right hand and gently guide your ear toward the shoulder too. If it feels like a stretch and not a pain, that’s good. Otherwise discontinue and seek a professional opinion about your problem.

Another version of this stretch would be to tip toward the right again but this time bring your right ear toward your armpit. You could also turn and tip your nose toward the armpit on the right. However it is the end of the day so be mindful. Haha.

Driving home I also encourage my patients to retract their neck as if someone grabs their ears and pulls their head backwards. This would help reinforce better posture and bring the ears back in line with the sh