Exercises for cervical osteochondrosis

Good afternoon friends! Today we will learn how to do exercises for cervical osteochondrosis of the spine. If at the initial stage of this disease you do not sound the alarm, you will soon become a regular client of the clinic. What do you think, is it not easier to start treatment on time or for the purpose of prevention and try to correct the situation at a very early stage? Let's find out how this disease affects our condition, and how we can help ourselves at home.

Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine - symptoms

I talked about the symptoms in more detail in a large article on the treatment of the disease. Here I will just explain a few points that you should be aware of. What happens in our spine if we get osteochondrosis?

At the initial stage, ligaments and bones undergo painful changes. The body informs us about this by a violation of sensitivity and periodic pain. Then more serious violations occur - cracks, the height of the state of the disc changes, the points of attachment of the muscles approach.

This leads to improper sagging of muscles and ligaments, while the vertebrae begin to shift. As a result, severe pain in the neck and many other problems: headache, circling, tinnitus, weakness and numbness of the hands, “goosebumps”, etc. About the diagnosis and treatment of chondrosis I advise you to read a very good article by Svetlana Malysheva.

Exercises for cervical osteochondrosis

The fact that it is necessary to consult a doctor is not even discussed - sooner or later, but you will come to the clinic. Serious medical treatment is usually prescribed immediately. In addition to it, you will be advised to carry out at home an equally effective treatment with the help of therapeutic exercises, or exercise therapy, as doctors say, which will be a good help for recovery.

The Benefits of Exercise

Treatment of cervical chondrosis with exercises (exercise therapy) is useful and gives a good effect at any stage of the disease. At the same time, therapeutic exercises solve several problems at once:

• Strengthens weakened neck muscles, reducing the load on the spine.
• Relieves hypertonicity of the cervical muscles, helps to get rid of severe pain.
• Improving blood flow, well nourishes the intervertebral discs.
• It improves metabolic processes, and this restores damaged cartilaginous tissues in the spine and slows down the process of vertebral degeneration.
• Normalizes motor function, improving mobility, which medicines cannot do.
• The duration of remission increases.

How to do therapeutic exercises

• For greater efficiency, try to do gymnastics a day not once, but at least twice, not for long, for 10-15 minutes.
• During execution, follow the posture.
• Listen carefully to your condition, especially during an exacerbation of the disease. No sudden movements, tilts and turns!
• Particular attention to one's condition during circular movements of the head, especially when performing a full circle or when tilting back.
• Neck pain, dizziness - this is a signal that the exercise should be stopped immediately.
• The key to success and recovery is slow exercise.

Daily, performing simple exercises from the complexes offered to you can quickly get you back in line. There are dozens of such simple complexes, it is important to choose the right one for you and perform it regularly.

Attention! You should be aware that not all exercises are equally beneficial. A number of them during the period of exacerbation cannot be performed categorically.

Exercise during an exacerbation

Specialists have developed several complexes, safe exercises for the treatment of osteochondrosis of the neck during an exacerbation, which are available at home, I will introduce you to two of them:

Complex number 1.

1. Sitting or standing. Relax the entire collar area - neck and shoulders. Rest your palm on your forehead and try to push it away with your head (resist the movement of your head with your palm), then relax again. In time, the resistance should be within 3 seconds, do the same amount of subsequent relaxation. Perform movements smoothly, this exercise cannot be done abruptly. A very good workout for the neck muscles if you do it 5 times.
2. Perform an exercise similar to the first, but pressing your palm to the temporal region. First press to the right temple, then to the left side of the head. The duration of pressure is the same - 3 seconds, if you increase the execution time, then lactic acid accumulates in the weakened muscles, and they will quickly get tired. Number of runs: 5 - 10 times.
3. sitting. Straighten your back and relax the collar area. Slowly pull your shoulders up towards your ears and stay in this position for up to five seconds. Slowly lower your shoulders. Do the exercise at least five times.
4. Standing, elbows pressed to the waist, hands clasp the lower back. Do 10 movements to the right and left.
5. Standing or sitting. Gently and slowly make shaking movements with your head, as if saying the word "yes" - lower your head a little down and lift it up, but do not throw it back too much. Duration - 3 minutes.
6. And now he will say “no”, slowly turning his head to the right and left for 3 minutes.
7. Gymnastics ends with a light rubbing of the neck area with circular and rubbing movements for three minutes.

Complex number 2. It is also allowed to perform during backache.

1. Mill. Standing, legs slightly apart. Bend over and stretch your arms forward. Rotate with your hands - everyone knows this exercise as a "mill".
2. Sitting or standing. Very slowly tilt your head to the side and try to touch your shoulder with your ear. Then do the exercise in the opposite direction.
3. Perform exercises number 5 and 6 from the previous complex.

Attention! Before starting gymnastics, do a little test. Turn your head to the side and tilt your chin to your chest. Did you experience pain and discomfort? Consider doing exercises so that this condition is removed first of all.

Exercises for cervical chondrosis during remission

This is a very well-known set of exercises according to Chelnokov, which doctors advise to do at home during the period of remission, when the acute condition of the patient has passed, and also for the prevention of the disease. The exercises are simple, by the way, along the way, they help to clean well at home. It is advisable to do gymnastics at least once a day, but preferably up to 3 times.

1. Take the first 4 exercises from complex No. 1, which can be performed during an exacerbation. These are exercises 1,2,5 and 6. Then do the following:
2. Sitting or standing. Place your palm under your chin and gently but firmly press, as if resisting. Keep your palm and chin still. Hold for 5-10 seconds, repeat five times.
3. Sitting or standing. Without tilting your head, keeping your chin horizontal, pull the crown of your head up as far as possible, at the same time try to lower your chin to your neck. Repeat with maximum effort several times.
4. Sitting or standing, head straight. Slowly turn your head to the right to the limit. Then repeat in the opposite direction.
5. Sitting or standing. Press your chin to your neck. Perform the previous exercise with turns to the right and left until it stops.
6. Tilt your head back. Try to reach your shoulder with your right ear 5 times. Then the same amount with the left ear.

Yoga exercises for chondrosis of the neck

Yoga is not only a way to keep the body in excellent physical shape. Some postures successfully cope with pain and discomfort in the cervical spine. This area, which connects our body and head, is the most sensitive and often suffers from various manifestations of osteochondrosis.

These poses, if performed correctly and regularly, will help relieve tension in the neck, relieve pain, improve muscle and ligament mobility and strength.

Stretching the neck muscles

• Lie on your stomach, stretch your hand palm up at a right angle to the body. For starters, you can even press it a little with your left hand.
• Raise your left arm up, lower your palm down and slowly drop your hand back to the floor, as in the photo. If possible, then as you exhale, join your palms together.
• Lie in this position for a while, breathing slowly, try to relax. The stretch is deep, do the exercise very slowly.

Attention! At the initial stage, do not try to perform gymnastics perfectly, you have everything - anyway, this will not work because of discomfort in the neck. In addition, your muscles are still too tight and not stretched. Do all stretching movements slowly, reaching out as you exhale. If it doesn't work out, God bless him, do what you can.

Your task is to recover, and not to show miracles of flexibility and set records. But if you start doing these exercises regularly at home, you will soon be able to do it the way you need it.

Shoulder stretch

Get on your knees and put your elbows on the blocks, as in the photo. Instead of blocks, you can take a low bench. Bring your hands together, as in prayer, lower your head down between your hands and place your hands on your back. Take 10 breaths.

Cow face hands

• Take a close look at photo #3. You may be familiar with this exercise. Get on your knees, first raise your right hand up, put it behind your back.
• With your left hand, reach for the fingers of your right and hook your fingers. Slightly lean back and take 5 unhurried deep breaths. Try to relax and not put pressure on your neck with your right hand.

Lean forward

Standing, join your palms behind your back, then lean forward and down, as in the photo. Take your hands back as far as you can and take 5 to 10 slow breaths.

Shoulder stretch

Rest your hands against the wall, they should stand parallel and slightly below shoulder height. Then move away from the wall a couple of steps and lower your head between your hands. Duration - 5 deep breaths.

Fish Pose

Place the block as shown in the photo: one under the shoulder blades, the other under the head. Lie down on them, relax and make yourself comfortable, put your hands on the floor. Duration - 5 slow breaths.

Thread in a needle

Get on all fours, stretch one arm forward, hold the other under the body to the side, pressing your temple and shoulder to the floor. Take 10 breaths and change position to the other side.

Sitting back turn

• Sitting, stretch your legs in front of you. Bend your right knee and place your foot on the outside of your left knee, as shown in the photo. The left leg is bent or lies still straight - do what is more convenient for you.
• Embrace your right knee with your left hand, and place your right hand on the floor, slightly behind. Inhale slowly five times and repeat with the other leg.

Once again, I want to repeat that at first you may not succeed in the exercises, but continue to perform them, based on the capabilities of your body and state of health.

Good advice: During prolonged sedentary work, especially at the computer, make it a rule to perform two simple exercises that will save you from backache and prevent cervical osteochondrosis.

Slowly lower your shoulders and take them back, then forward.

Make a few very slow circular movements of the head to the right - to the left.

What Not to Do

The quality of your life with cervical osteochondrosis largely depends on your behavior and lifestyle. To avoid aggravation (lumbago), you will have to give up some habits and acquire new ones.

1. Bath. During an exacerbation of the disease, it is contraindicated. But in the period of remission - please. While soaring with a broom, irritation occurs, stimulating processes in the body, due to this, swelling is removed, pain syndrome decreases. You can stay in the steam room for no more than ten minutes with an interval of 10-20.
2. Massage. It is not necessary to do during the lumbago - massage is allowed only when the pain syndrome is already behind, and the movements do not cause even a slight discomfort. During the period of exacerbation, massage is performed on the condition that not the neck is involved, but the adjacent part of the body - the back. At the reflex level, this will reduce pain in the neck. The session is carried out very gently, without straining the muscles.
3. Sport. Of all sports, give preference to walking, which stimulates almost all muscle groups.
4. Swimming. If there is no pain, you can swim. This helps to relax the muscles, increases the mobility of the joints. But the water in the pool should be warm to avoid exacerbation of the disease.
5. Yoga. Read about the gymnastics complex above. Performing special asanas strengthens the muscles of the back and neck, relieves tension between the vertebrae. This leads to an improvement in the blood supply to the deformed vertebrae, makes the ligaments with the tendons more elastic and mobile.

There are many methods of treating osteochondrosis of the cervical spine at home, one of them is exercises for the neck of Bubnovsky, a doctor who has achieved great success in treating the disease. The video is in front of you - try it and be healthy! With love… Galina Nekrasova.