Cervical gymnastics is a popular neck health exercise among office workers at present. There are many types of cervical gymnastics, mainly by simply and gently rotating the head and neck up and down, left and right, to achieve local exercise of the neck.
Especially for people who often sit in the office and sit in front of the computer for a long time, doing cervical exercise in their spare time can accelerate the blood circulation of the neck, relieve muscle spasm and enhance the toughness of the neck. It should be noted that although cervical vertebra exercises can prevent cervical spondylosis, they are mainly suitable for long-term desk work and patients with mild cervical spondylosis, and patients with severe symptoms of cervical spondylosis should use them with caution.
How many times a day do cervical spine exercises?
People with early cervical spondylosis should do it at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, and then for ten minutes each time. In fact, you can do it a few times more when you are free, which is very good for cervical vertebrae.
Types of cervical gymnastics
Cervical exercises are not limited to specific action forms. When practicing, you can choose the appropriate method according to your health and occasion. In addition to the more common rice exercises and phoenix exercises, there are the following common ones:
Office style
1. Basic posture: Before doing all kinds of training movements, stand naturally, look straight at your eyes, keep your feet shoulder-width apart, droop your hands naturally and relax your whole body.
2, lean forward and lean back: hands akimbo, first look up and lean back, while exhaling, eyes looking at the sky, pause for a minute; Then slowly lower your head to the chest position, inhale at the same time, and look at the ground. When doing this, keep your mouth closed and keep your chin as close to your chest as possible. After stopping for one minute, do it up and down four times.
3. Raise your arm and turn around: first raise your right arm, palm down, look up at your palm, turn left slowly, and stop for one minute. When turning, pay attention to the heel turning 45 degrees, the body center of gravity leaning forward, and then the body turning to the right rear side. Inhale slowly when you turn, and exhale slowly when you turn. The whole movement should be slow and coordinated. When you turn your neck and waist, try to turn as much as possible and stop for a minute. When you return to your natural posture, change your left arm. When changing the left arm, put down the hand and slowly press it down along the ear root. After changing the arm, do the same action and repeat it twice.
4, left and right rotation: hands akimbo, first slowly turn your head to the left, while inhaling on your chest, let your right neck straighten, stop for a minute, then slowly turn to the left, while exhaling, let your left neck straighten, and stop for another minute. Do this repeatedly and alternately for 4 times.
5. Lift your shoulders and neck down: slowly lift your shoulders and neck down as much as possible. After stopping for a minute, slowly put down your shoulders and relax, and naturally stretch your head and neck to restore nature. Then, sink your shoulders hard and stretch your head and neck upward. After stopping for a minute, relax your shoulders and exhale naturally. Pay attention to inhale slowly when stretching your neck, hold your breath when staying, and relax your shoulders and neck as much as possible when relaxing your shoulders. After returning to the natural style, do it again four times.
6. Swing from side to side: the head slowly tilts to the left shoulder, so that the left ear sticks to the left shoulder. After stopping for one minute, the head returns to the middle position; Then tilt to the right shoulder, and the right ear should be close to the right shoulder. After stopping for a minute, return to the middle position. Repeat this for 4 times, inhale when your head swings, exhale slowly when you return to the middle position, and try to relax your shoulders and neck when doing exercises. It is better to move slowly and steadily.
7. Wave-like flexion and extension: the mandible bends and stretches downward and forwards in a wave-like manner. When doing this action, the chin should be as close to the chest as possible, the shoulders should be raised, the chin should be flexed slowly, the chest should stand forward, and the shoulders should move up and down slowly. Inhale slowly when chin flexes and stretches, exhale slowly when head is raised and restored, relax shoulders, and make two one-minute pauses; Then do jaw extension and flexion in reverse, inhale from top to bottom, exhale when restoring, and practice twice on both sides.
Yoga style
1, ostrich style: legs are shoulder width apart, lean forward, put your hands under your feet, let your palms communicate with them, raise your head when inhaling, and slowly relax when exhaling. This posture can improve cervical fatigue and can be done together with Palmer format.
2, fish style: lie flat, arch your body when inhaling, support your body with your head and hips, and form a hole in your back; Knees are bent and crossed, palms closed on the top of the head or arms crossed to hold the elbow joint. When exhaling, slowly relax and lie flat. This action can put the stress point and extension point on the cervical spine, which is very helpful for the health of the lumbar spine and can also eliminate wrinkles in the neck. Beginners can straighten their legs, which greatly reduces the difficulty and makes the exercise goal more clear.
3. Tortoise posture: The two movements of breathing are like a tortoise sticking its head out of its shell. Open your knees, sit up straight, and curl your calves back to the root of your thighs; The upper body leans forward, the palms are open, and the cervical spine is driven when inhaling, and the chin is raised. When exhaling, the jaw is close to the chest, and the focus of exercise is on the neck. Turtle posture mainly exercises the flexibility of cervical spine, which is also very helpful for shaping neck lines and eliminating double chins.
4. Cat Stretching: Keep kneeling posture, with hands and knees as gravity support points. When inhaling, the back is concave, the chin is lifted up, while the hips are lifted up, the shoulders are pressed down, and the arms are straight; When exhaling, arch your back so that your chin and chest are close together. The cat stretching action of landing at four o'clock can effectively exercise the muscles of the back and abdomen, making the spine more flexible and less difficult.
5. Wolf stretching: Support your body with your hands and toes and stretch your legs as much as possible. When inhaling, the head leans back, so that the front side of the neck is fully extended and the arms are perpendicular to the ground. When exhaling, the head slowly relaxes and returns to the normal position. This posture can fully lengthen and stretch the 26 spinal cords, stimulate the connection between the brain marrow and the spinal cord, and is very helpful for nourishing the brain.
6, Pa format: legs straight, try to separate, upper body tilted down, hands on the ground, keep your back stretched. When inhaling, stretch your hands vertically, lift your head upward, and when exhaling, take the top of your head, elbow joint and feet as gravity support points to keep your back stretched. If it is too difficult, you can bend your legs slightly to relieve the pressure on the ligament.
10 minute exercise
1, warm-up activities: stand up straight, chin up, chest out and abdomen in. Legs upright, toes forward.
2. Practice method: Raise your hands horizontally, just like the clock points to 9: 00 at 15, and then raise your arms to 10 at 10, and do it 100-200 times continuously.
In-car exercise
1, around the neck: turn your head to the right and inhale at the same time; Head forward low, chin as close as possible to the chest, and exhale at the same time; Then turn to the left and inhale at the same time. Repeat 5 times from left to right.
2. Spread your shoulders: straighten your back, put your arms around your elbows, then lift your arms behind your head, lower your head, look down with your eyes, take a deep breath for 5 times, and then return to your original position. Do it five times.
3, chest: stretch your arms backwards, grab the back of the chair with both hands, push your chest forward as much as possible, and tilt your face upward at an angle of 45. Do it five times.
4. Turn around: sit up straight and sink your shoulders. Drive your body to the left with your waist, put your right hand on the steering wheel and put your left hand back on the backrest. Then repeat an action in the opposite direction, five times left and five times right.
5. Lift the heel: lift the right knee upward with the tip of the right foot for 5 seconds. Point the right foot down, control it for another 5 seconds, and then restore it. Change your left leg and repeat this action. Do it five times on each leg.
6. Wrist pressing: put your hands on the steering wheel with your palms down. Gently press and pull the forearm and wrist. Then palm up and press gently again. Do it five times.
Twelve-character exercise
The formula of twelve-character cervical vertebra exercises can be summarized as follows: washing, combing, lifting and rubbing; Rotating, pressing, rotating and grinding; Squat, rub, spit and adjust.
Prepare for action. Your feet are naturally shoulder-width apart. Try to relax and breathe evenly.
The first section: after washing your face, stick your palms on both sides of your nose, from bottom to top, from inside to outside, around the whole front to your ears, and massage 12 times;
The second section: comb your hair with your fingers slightly bent, and comb it three times with your fingertips from front to back, from the top of your forehead to the occipital bone, from both sides to the back of your head, and along the top of your auricle to your neck;
Section 3: Lifting the ear, squeezing and pulling the ear helix up, middle and down 12 times;
The fourth quarter: first rub the head rest with the palm of your left hand, then rub the top, and finally rub the Dazhui, each time 12, and then change your right hand, each time 12;
Section 5: Turn the neck in the following order: raise your head and lower your head, turn left and lower right, restore the upper left to the lower right, and restore the upper right to the lower left. The above actions are similar to the word "rice", also called "rice exercise";
Section 6: press the waist and feet to separate naturally, stand up straight, put the palms of both hands on the waist, massage around Shenshu point from inside to outside 12 times, and then massage from outside to inside 12 times;
Section 7: Turn your waist with your hands akimbo, turn your back clockwise 12 turn, and then turn counterclockwise 12 turn;
Section 8: Rub your knees with your legs together and bend slightly. Press your palms on your knees, first clockwise and then counterclockwise, and turn your knees 12 times;
Section 9: Squatting hips and feet are naturally separated, knees are slightly flexed, palms are opposite, and both palms feel angry. Squat down slowly and stand up 12 times;
Section 10: Mo Sanjiao presses the palm of his left hand on the back of his right hand, and massages his chest, upper abdomen (upper abdomen) and lower abdomen (under the navel) clockwise 12 times;
Section 11: Exhale the old and new feet naturally, palm down, slowly lift to a height higher than the head, inhale at the same time, then retract the elbows and put your hands close to your shoulders. In your mind, put the air on the top of your head, and then push it forward along the cervical vertebra and thoracic vertebra to Dantian (navel) (with breath). When they push it to 1 13, they suddenly shout loudly.
Section 12: adjust the limbs and pat the right arm with your left hand, from the upper arm down to the hand, in the front, middle and back directions, three times with your left hand, three times with your left hand, three times with your left shoulder, and three times with your left back and right waist. Finally, stand up, raise your knees as high as possible, bend your hips, and swing your upper limbs back and forth with the tide. * * * 18.
Self-treatment
You can click, massage and move the affected area yourself, which will receive certain curative effect. The method is: 1 Tilt your head back, forth, left and right ten times, then slowly shake your head, turn left ten times and turn right ten times; 2. Shake the left arm and right arm 20 times; 3. Stretch your arms horizontally and bend and stretch your fingers 50 times each. Self-operation can be carried out once a day, generally from 1 to February.
major function
The function of cervical gymnastics is mainly to relax the neck muscles, and it can also relieve the pressure on the cervical spine. It is generally suitable for people who have tense neck muscles and feel tired of cervical vertebra after sitting for a long time.
Scientific and persistent cervical exercise can not only effectively improve the blood circulation of head and neck, activate brain cells, enhance the strength of neck muscles and increase the mobility of neck, but also activate various joints of cervical spine, restore or improve the physiological curve and mechanical balance of cervical spine, which is helpful to treat or prevent cervical spondylosis.
Matters needing attention in doing cervical gymnastics
1, pay attention to the process.
The cervical spine is a very weak part of the human body, so the neck movement must concentrate and not be distracted, so as to avoid new injuries caused by improper exercise.
2. Relax your whole body properly
During exercise, the neck muscles must be relaxed and try not to exert force, so that all joints of the muscles can be stretched, promoting blood circulation and speeding up rehabilitation.
3. Remember to slow down.
Because the neck muscle activity of patients with cervical spondylosis is very low, if you rotate too fast and exert too much force, it is easy to strain muscles or ligaments. In addition, some patients have osteopathy, and rotating the neck too fast may lead to sudden and intensified compression of blood vessels or nerves by bone spurs, which may lead to fainting. Therefore, it is necessary to do the cervical spine exercise slowly, and once there is unbearable pain or dizziness, it should be stopped immediately.
4. Ensure the intensity of exercise
Some patients shake their heads all day, but they just can't see any substantial effect. This is because the exercise intensity is too low. When doing exercises, you must stop until your neck is slightly hot, in order to play a substantial exercise role.
5, the action should be in place
No matter what kind of cervical gymnastics, there is a set of standardized movements, because only when each movement reaches the end of the movement can the neck be fully exercised.
6. Long-term persistence is the most important thing
As we all know, people who exercise for a long time will cause muscle aches with a little exercise. The same is true for doing cervical gymnastics. The first moderate exercise may aggravate the local pain or discomfort in the neck. But stick to it every day, and in the long run, you can really stay away from pain.
7. Be alert to the harm of "shanzhai cervical gymnastics"
Many "cottage cervical exercises" are widely circulated on the Internet. Although they can play a certain exercise role, in fact, they just bend the neck repeatedly from left to right, which is mainly done by the middle cervical vertebra. For patients with cervical hyperosteogeny and cervical segmental instability, excessive lateral flexion will lead to dizziness, nausea and even syncope.
In short, regular cervical exercise can play a role in exercising cervical spine and relaxing neck muscles, which has a certain role in preventing cervical spondylosis. However, it does not mean that cervical spondylosis can be treated by doing cervical exercise. Therefore, in the early stage of cervical spondylosis such as cervical spondylosis without cervical spondylosis or cervical spondylosis, the pain can be relieved by doing cervical exercises. Once the symptoms of cervical spondylosis are serious, it is necessary to be cautious, and it is best to carry out such neck function exercise under the advice of a professional doctor. However, patients with severe cervical spondylosis of vertebral artery type or those with severe pain during neck rotation are not suitable for cervical exercise.
Bottleneck scheme
1, "m" neck bending action.
All-round neck movement is easy to cause cervical sprain. Coach Yang Hongjian suggested doing a "rice-shaped" neck bending exercise.
First make a "cross" bend, that is, bend your head forward-reset-bend left-reset-bend back-reset-bend right-reset in turn; Then do "left front bend-reset-left back bend-reset-right back bend-reset-right front bend-reset" in turn.
2. Strengthen the neck strength.
Lower your head and stretch your neck muscles for 30 seconds. If you have cervical spondylosis, it will be uncomfortable to look back. Yang Hongjian of Coach said that in addition to improving the flexibility of neck muscles, the strength of neck muscles should also be strengthened.