Exercise therapy is used to treat many diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Simple and safe exercises save us from various diseases. What exactly should you do if your neck hurts? In this situation, exercises for osteochondrosis of the cervical spine come to the rescue.
The neck is one of the most sensitive areas
The neck is really very sensitive and requires careful handling. The arteries that feed the brain, as well as the signals that regulate our activity (for example, motor activity), pass through the nerves that enter the body.
Our neck strains most of the day because its muscles have to constantly hold the head, which weighs 2 kg or more. Normally, the muscular system copes with its task. But add to that the anxious and erratic postures we take, the prolonged inaction. We load the muscles unevenly, depriving them of rest and blocking the blood supply.
The first problems with the cervical spine are caused by excessive fatigue of the neck muscles. Typical symptoms are leakage and muscle fatigue. This main problem is solved with a simple massage, I will talk about this later.
Often people do not pay attention to such symptoms, so we are talking about the treatment of a problem that has become a disease - cervical osteochondrosis.
Thus, the importance of charging for the neck with osteochondrosis.
How physical therapy can save you from pain
With the development of the acute stage of cervical osteochondrosis, first of all, it is necessary to eliminate the pain syndrome. When the symptoms of pain disappear, you can start treatment with exercise therapy. This is a set of exercises for cervical osteochondrosis, which includes a number of head movements, including isometric exercises for the neck.
Gymnastics for the neck with osteochondrosis is a must. Without it, the treatment will not give the desired effect. Indeed, without a strong muscular corset, the spine will continue to suffer from the vertical pressure of gravity.
The natural root cause of all spinal diseases is gravity. Its vector is perpendicular to the earth's surface. Now imagine what happens to the spine if this load hits the spine, not seriously vertically. For example, this happens when you are bent over, sitting at a table, immersed in various papers.
The neck is bent, on average 45 degrees inclined to the vertical. Due to the severity of the head, there is a slight diagonal displacement of the vertebrae relative to each other. Intervertebral cartilage experiences an unusual load for them, it is removed and deformed over time.
Normally, even this position is compensated by strong neck muscles, but what strong muscles can we talk about when a person has difficulty moving? That's the problem.
If we look more closely at this issue, nutrition, or more precisely, the lack of nutrients in the food, complicates the situation. Cartilage tissue is now slowly renewed, and if the body does not have the necessary substances, it has nothing to renew itself.
So, the main cause of osteochondrosis is gravity. However, strong muscles can interfere with this process. This means that weak neck muscles are already a secondary cause of osteochondrosis. So the bottom line: if cervical osteochondrosis has started, exercise will help solve this problem.
Exercise therapy strengthens the neck muscles, relieves cramps and improves blood circulation. This is an effective way to treat osteochondrosis and prevent its development in the future.
Thus, the problem can be solved by a comprehensive action on all the causes of its appearance:
- Strengthen the neck muscles with neck exercises for osteochondrosis. Exercises for cervical osteochondrosis will be given below.
- Avoid incorrect postures and sitting still for long periods of time.
- Eat special joint supplements or prepare a complete diet for yourself.
It is better to do it all at once.
In addition to osteochondrosis, there may be another unpleasant phenomenon in the neck - hypothermia. In this case, no exercise will help you until the inflammation subsides. Do not delay treatment for a long time.
And another option, limited head mobility. In this case, it is necessary to do this for the neck with osteochondrosis of the amplitude, which allows you to carefully knead the neck and perform the movement painlessly.
About dizziness
The thinning of the intervertebral discs in the cervical spine causes the nerve endings to constrict. In addition to nerves, blood vessels also suffer. This leads to a lack of oxygen to the brain and manifests itself in the form of dizziness. There are other symptoms - headache.
There are also exercises for dizziness with cervical osteochondrosis. In fact, they are the same as osteochondrosis. Their meaning is to stretch the contracted muscles, strengthen them, and release the nerves and blood vessels from the contractions.
In general, any exercise for osteochondrosis (without exercise) improves blood circulation throughout the body, including more intense blood circulation between the body and the head. Our brain receives more nutrients and oxygen, which affects productivity.
Resistance exercises are not recommended for cervical osteochondrosis. They will not necessarily save you from osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, but they can speed up the process of cartilage breakdown.
Weightlifting exercises for various diseases of the spine should generally be done very carefully. Depending on the disease, movements that put a vertical load on the spine, back bending, etc.
How long does exercise therapy last?
There is no limit to human laziness. Often, we stop learning as soon as the problem is solved. When a person loses weight, he engages in fitness. Everything stops as soon as you get the result you want. With disease, this approach is not only ineffective, but also fraught with relapse.
To prevent cervical osteochondrosis, it is necessary to periodically deal with the neck. This is easily done at home. Plus, it doesn't take long. The process is very pleasant - a feeling of warmth and comfort in the muscles will not wait for you.
You can also buy a necklace and wear it during sharp periods. But there are some subtleties. By getting used to artificial support, you can live your whole life, because the corset replaces the muscles. And it is not useful for the cervical spine. As a result, the muscles eventually lose their tone.
The therapeutic effect of exercise against cervical osteochondrosis lasts from 2 weeks to a month. If you stop training as soon as your muscles lose their tone again, you run the risk of headaches and difficulty turning your head again. Therefore, exercises to strengthen the neck muscles in this situation play a big role in maintaining comfort.
So decide - to do exercises for osteochondrosis or not.
Neck gymnastics complex
With exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis, it is better not to exercise at all. Your doctor should first treat the acute symptoms. After all, if it hurts to move your head, all the gymnastics will be painful.
The most effective exercises for cervical osteochondrosis are very simple: head movements and isometric muscle tension. Everything is very simple - at home, at work, on the road.
Here is an approximate set of exercises (let's agree that the initial position is sitting straight, hands on knees):
- In the starting position, turn your head to the right, then to the left until you stop. Feel your neck muscles stretch. The nuance here is this: try to turn your head without bending it a little, keep this tension for 5 seconds. In general, any exercise for the spine should start with exercises that strengthen the neck muscles. These include developing its flexibility and strength. Make 5 turns in each direction.
- Now tilt your head to the side so that your ears are close to your shoulders. No need to lift your shoulder! As in the previous movement, keep the tension. If you have a flexible neck, use your hands to bring your ears to your shoulders. If it hurts, do the exercises in a painless amplitude! Perform 5 turns to the right and left.
- Now do circular movements with your head clockwise and counterclockwise. 8 moves in each direction. Slowly! You can hold your head with your hands. This is an effective gymnastics for osteochondrosis of the neck.
- The warm-up is over, and now do strength training: place your right hand on the right temple. Try to tilt your head to the right and prevent this movement with your hands. Try to be heavy, but your head is moving in the right direction. 10 times in each direction (use the other side accordingly to move to the left).
- Now hold your head from the back (occipital region) and try to bend the back of your head 5 times with the resistance of your hands, then pull your head back 5 times in a horizontal plane. It will be released 10 times in total.
- Now place your palms on your forehead and bend your head down with the resistance of your hands (pull your chin to your chest). Do this 10 times, then move your head horizontally forward through the resistance (like pigeons while walking).
- Finally, the trapezoid can be extended by raising and lowering the shoulders. Raised - delayed for 2-3 seconds (pull up), lowered - relaxed. Repeat 10 times.
- Pull your neck in different directions, gymnastics is over. Do all this once a day. This is an excellent neck exercise for osteochondrosis.
What other exercises can you do? For example, for neck elasticity. These are both exercises for the neck muscles and pull the tendons. This will make your neck more elastic.
Additional exercises for flexibility
This exercise should be performed not only with cervical lumbar osteochondrosis, but also, in principle, at the beginning of 30-40 years. At this age, the degradation of muscle fibers begins, and if you do not exercise, the loss of elasticity is especially rapid.
- Extend your chin to your chest, help your head with your hands.
- Use your hands to tilt your head to the side so that your ear touches your shoulder. Stretch the side of your neck with your hands.
That's enough. Remember what you can't do with cervical osteochondrosis - work with pain.
Massage elements
When you have a headache or stiff neck, you grind and knead your muscles.
Remember:
- The muscle that holds our head is connected to the back of the head. Run your index and middle fingers over the muscle at the back and bottom of the head, applying moderate pressure (no pain, but nice). Push this muscle to shoulder level.
- Now we feel the trapezoids with our hands and knead. The trapezoid is located from the back between the neck and shoulder. After such simple manipulations, it is as if you are born again.
Among other things, make sure your neck does not swell. After the massage, it warms up and gets colder than usual.
And finally, we remind you that although cervical osteochondrosis is acute, it is not necessary to do therapeutic exercises.
To summarize: if you do the exercises listed in the article, osteochondrosis of the cervical spine will not disappear completely (after all, the cartilage is already damaged), but the condition will improve significantly, cramps, pain symptoms will disappear, the disease will stop. So you can forget about this unpleasant disease and live a full life.
But keep in mind that neck exercises for osteochondrosis should be done regularly.