Do you have neck pain (and not abdominal pain) after a basic workout? Neck strain during abdominal-focused exercises is so common that you might think it's just a reality. But we are here to tell you that you don't have to struggle with annoying neck pain every time you do bike crunches.
Conversely, neck discomfort is a sign that something is wrong and needs adjustment. Today we explain what may be causing those annoying pains during your abdominal workouts, in addition to offering you adjustments for the main movements, so they are more effective and stop being a pain in the neck.
Your neck is offsetting your abs
When we reach our final range of motion in a joint, a nearby one makes up for it by doing overtime. Although this is true throughout the body, it is especially common during abdomen exercises.
When people reach their final spinal flexion range, either because that is the distance their spinal column bends or because the rectus abdominis is fatigued, we often use the muscles at the front of the spine to help us move. a little more.
In other words, our neck compensates for our abs and tries to lift our heads off the ground.
Avoid it with your chin posture
Keeping the chin bent results in less activation of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which runs along the front and sides of the neck. A shortened chin position shortens the lever acting on your head to reduce the force your neck muscles have to work to keep you in neutral alignment.
If that's hard to imagine, think about grabbing a lollipop at the base of the stick. Holding it right under the candy makes it feel lighter, right? It is the same concept in working with the neck muscles.
Putting your chin in will not only decrease neck distress, it will also cause a greater rectus abdominis and external oblique activation, which will increase the effectiveness of your exercise.
Has poor technique and shape
It is normal that you can mark the neck incorrectly. During sit-ups and squats, many people simply lift their bodies, leading with the front of their cervical spine, so the neck, as opposed to your core, leads the parade.
That may be old news for you. But poor posture, the resulting neck pain, occurs in abdominal movements that you might not expect. Like the plates. Many people lift their necks to look around the room or drop their heads; Either scenario will make the neck muscles work.
Take care where you put your hands
For crunches, it is best to cradle your head with your hands (by placing your fingertips behind your ears, not on your neck). The trick is to support the weight of your head without pulling with your hands. To do that, keep a light touch and focus on shooting with your core.
With plates, the goal is to keep the cervical spine as a neutral continuation of the rest of the spine. Just as your head feels in line with your torso and legs when standing, it should be in line with the rest of your body when it is on a board.
Gravity is pulling on your neck
When standing, gravity keeps the head stacked on top of the neck. By contrast, in positions such as a Russian twist, V-crunch, plank, or side plank, gravity does the opposite. In fact, you are working to force your head out of a neutral alignment.
And when it comes to the pull of gravity, it doesn't help that our heads are heavy. A normal head can weigh between 4 and 5 kilos, and often when performing central flexion exercises, athletes feel the full weight, and more.
When the head is not on your neck in perfect alignment, it puts a lot of extra weight and pressure on your spine. Something similar happens when we bend the neck while using our mobile phones. Believe it or not, this poor posture and head position significantly increases the load on your spine.
For example, when you bend your head at a 60 degree angle, you exert approximately 27 kilos of stress on the cervical spine. That is why neutral neck alignment during abdominal exercises is important to minimize pain and discomfort and reduce stress on the spine.
Avoid bending exercises
If you have ongoing neck problems, I would recommend eliminating core flexion exercises for standing and supine exercises. Since your neck doesn't need to fight gravity in these positions, you don't have to work overtime and put excessive strain on those muscles.
Any standing or supine exercise such as medicine ball slams, dead bug or bird-dog requires little or no strain on the neck.
