Neck pain and stiffness is so common. As a massage therapist, it's one of the main reasons people come in to see me.

And massage therapy can help a lot--especially in relieving the excruciating pain when your neck goes into spasm. (I speak from personal experience here.)

But the relief is often only temporary, unless you correct the things that are causing the neck pain in the first place.

Neck stretches may be one thing you can do to help yourself. (Assuming your neck issues aren't caused by serious injury, nerve damage, or any of the other neck pain red flags that you can learn about here. )

Of course, don't try any of these neck stretches if they make you feel worse, or if they conflict with the advice of your doctor, chiropractor, or physical therapist.

Neck Stretches
By far the easiest way--and really, the most precise way--to determine what muscles in your neck need stretching is just to do some neck circles, and see where your neck feels stiff and restricted in motion--and stretch it there.

But if you'd like something more directed, here you go. There are four basic ways that the neck can move. I'll give you stretches for each direction.

Flexion (To stretch the neck flexor muscles)
Tip your head back until you get a comfortable stretch in the front of your neck and hold for about 10 seconds. Slowly tilt your head one inch to the right, and to the left, holding in each position.

And here's a slightly more aggressive stretch for the front of the neck. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Clasp your hands together behind your back, and pull them downward. Look upward toward the ceiling. Hold for ten seconds or so.

Extension (To stretch the neck extensor muscles)
Tuck your chin and gently bring your head forward, attempting to touch your chin to your chest. You can provide a little more stretch by pushing gently on the back of your head with your hands. You should feel a comfortable stretch in the muscles at the back of your neck. Hold for about ten seconds.

Rotation
Without raising your shoulders, try to turn your head as far to the left as you can. Hold for approximately ten seconds, then stretch to the right.

Lateral Flexion
Without rotating your head or raising your shoulder, attempt to touch your right ear to your right shoulder. You can intensify the stretch in one of three ways: 1) Put your right hand on the left side of your head and gently pull your head further into lateral flexion; or 2)while performing the stretch, grasp your right wrist with your left hand and pull it gently downward; or 3) perform the stretch sitting in a chair, and while doing it, hold on to the bottom of the chair seat with your left hand.

After stretching toward the right, switch sides and stretch toward the left. Hold each stretch about ten seconds.

General Tips for Stretching

• Don't use stretching as a pre-workout warm-up. This practice has been thoroughly debunked by research. To warm up your muscles, do a light version of whatever activity you'll be doing. (For example, if you'll be running, do a light, easy jog for a while.)

• Don't stretch your muscles when they're stone-cold.

• Stretch until you feel a slight, pleasant pull on the muscles(s), and hold for at least 15 seconds. An easy way to measure out about the right minimum time is to stretch while taking three deep belly breaths.

• Don't bounce!

• Pay attention to your body and what it's telling you--if it hurts, stop!

• Remember to keep breathing during the stretch.

More Neck Pain Resources
Neck stretches can help, but you'll probably need to so some other work to get full relief. Here are some more resources for relieving neck discomfort:

• Get information on other neck relief techniques at this site's Neck Pain main page.

• If you're considering neck surgery, you owe it to yourself to spend $14.95 for Paul Ingraham's e-book, "Save Yourself from Neck Pain." It's chock-full of great, scientifically based information about neck pain causes and treatments. Who knows, you might just avoid surgery. And wouldn't that be nice!

I wish you ease and comfort in your neck, and I am confident that you will be able to help yourself feel better.

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