Neck Pain & Deep Neck Flexors

Did you know that neck pain can:
-Reduce strength
-Reduce endurance

-Reduce range of motion

-Decrease speed and smoothness of movement .

As a result, can lead to:
-Increased co-activation of muscles, resulting in decreased relaxation of muscles
-Decreased deep muscle activity

-Increased fatiguability

-Increased fatty infiltration into the muscle

-Reduce muscle fibre change; from more endurance-based fibres to more fatiguable ones. .

Exercise is recommended for individual’s with neck pain and is the most commonly used conservative intervention. Research has shown its effectiveness for pain relief and in the prevention of neck pain or future episodes. There is also strong evidence that exercise is effective at improving neuromuscular function and changing the above aforementioned changes in neck pain individuals. A study indicated that deep neck flexor exercises produced significant immediate pain relief in order of 14-21% better than head lift only exercise. However, research has also shown that a one size fits all exercise program is not specific enough to make all of these changes. Therefore, a thorough assessment of your underling deficits to establish a specific exercise program is highly important. .

Get your neck assessed to start exercising today.