1Cervical Flexion
- Lie on your tummy propped up on your elbows.
- Activate through your core and thoracic spine so your drawing your ribs to the roof and pushing down through your elbows.
- The movement you are aiming for is a horizontal translation of the neck towards the ceiling.
- You will feel a gentle activation of the muscles in the anterior and posterior aspect of the neck.
2Cervical Retraction
- Stand or sit with an upright posture.
- Draw the chin slightly down and back.
- The movement you are aiming for is a horizontal translation, like a lollypop on a stick.
- A prompt which may be helpful is “imagine giving yourself a double chin”.
- You will feel a gentle activation of the muscles in the anterior aspect of the neck.
3Chin Tuck
- Lie down on your back.
- Using the small, deeper muscles in your neck, draw your chin downwards.
- Hold this position for 5 seconds.
- Repeat 10 times, or as prescribed by your Physiotherapist.
- Try not to use the large superficial neck muscles. Watch the video at the bottom of this page to know what this feels like.
4Sub Occipital Release
- Come into lying on your back.
- Position the block on the long edge and angle the edge towards the eyes.
- When you feel the block take up the tension through the base of the skull.
- Gently rotate the head left to right and sustain any areas of pressure for 10-30s or as the discomfort dissipates.
5Scapula Retraction – T
- Come into lying on your stomach with your forehead supported on a pillow to allow for some breathing room.
- Bring the arms with the thumbs up out to the side in line with the shoulder.
- As you squeeze the shoulder blades together lift the arms up.
- Slowly lower to the starting position with the shoulders resting down.
- Repeat as per Physiotherapists guidelines.
6W Slide – Lift Off
- Stand in front of a wall and position the elbows and forearm so they contact the wall.
- The elbow should be level or just below the height of the shoulder.
- Relax the shoulders away from the ears and ensure a neutral neck position.
- Maintaining pressure between the forearm and the wall, slide the arms into an extended position in front of the body.
- As the elbows extend, lift the pinky finger off the wall by drawing the shoulder blades together and hold.
- Softly place the forearms back onto the wall and bend the elbows to return to the start position.
- Repeat as per Physiotherapist guidelines.
7Scapula Retraction [Arm Lift]
- Come into lying on your stomach with your forehead supported on a pillow to allow for some breathing room.
- Place the palms up towards the roof if comfortable.
- As you squeeze the shoulder blades together lift the palms up in line with the hip height.
- Slowly lower to the starting position with the shoulders resting down.
- Repeat as per Physiotherapist’s guidelines.
8Book Opening
- Lie on your side with your head supported and your knees bent up to 80-90 degrees.
- Place your arms in front of you in front of your chest with hands together.
- Lift your top arm up and over your body towards the floor behind you drawing a semicircle.
- Rotate with the breastbone and ensure the pelvis remains still.
- Hold at the end of movement for a breath.
- Lift the arm up and reverse the semicircle movement until back at the start.
- Complete as per Physiotherapist guidelines.