When the neck is painful and limited in motion there are certain exercises to do that will help alleviate the pain and stiffness. Rotation towards the painful side is the first step. By rotating your head you can move the disk away from the nerve helping stop the pain complex. One set of 10 rotations per hour is ideal to alleviate the pressure on the nerve and stop the pain.

In conjunction with rotation lateral flexion is the second step to a pain free neck. By pulling your head over the affected side will provide the pressure needed to move the disk off the nerve. Remember to pull hard, no pain no gain. One set of 10 lateral bends per hour is ideal to alleviate the pressure on the nerve and stop the pain.

This is the final exercise in the triad. Extension is the most important of the three and should ways be done last. The most awkward exercise of the three, extension is performed by retracting your head backwards without bending it up or down. Once retracted then the patient must look to the ceiling extending the head as far back as possible. The farther and more painful the motion the better the response will be once completed. When the head is fully extended the patient will rotate the head side to side, as if saying “no” with your head. This exercise is to be repeated 1 set of 10 extensions per hour for the best results. Once the pain stops with any of these exercises then you can stop that particular exercise. Only continue the exercise if there is pain.

Lying at the end of your bed with your head extended over the side is a good way to reduce pressure on the joints and discs. Extension of the neck relieves the posterior intervertebral disc pressure and thereby relieves pain. Repeated regularly, this exercise has been shown to significantly reduce peripheral pain and decrease nerve root compression.