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Exercise

You’re here to heal your neck in order to get rid of your headaches, right?

Well, aerobic exercise is vital for tissue healing.

But, it has to be neck-friendly.

At least for now.

What do you think? Neck-friendly or not while you are healing?

For the first few weeks in your healing program, your aerobic exercise should keep you in an upright position, face forward, with your head balanced on a comfortably upright aligned neck.

Not with your head hanging out in space, which makes neck muscles work overtime.

And not with your neck bent around like a human pretzel.

Ixnay to activities that jar your head on your neck!

Those are the rules of thumb.

Not forever!

Just while you heal.

So, what’s neck-friendly? We will help you decide that as you go through your healing program. If we caution you to temporarily avoid the following activities, you can begin to understand why as you look at the pictures and answer the questions below.

Click “Neck Friendly” or “Not Neck Friendly” for an explanation.

Jogging

  • Nope!
  • Picture your head like a jackhammer on your neck.
  • Too jarring for irritated neck structures to heal.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!
  • Correct!
  • Picture your head like a jackhammer on your neck.
  • Too jarring for irritated neck structures to heal.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!

Swimming

  • Nope!
  • Picture your head cranking back and forth on your neck each time you take a breath.
  • Avoid extremes of neck range of motion for now.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!
  • Correct!
  • Picture your head cranking back and forth on your neck each time you take a breath.
  • Avoid extremes of neck range of motion for now.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!

Tennis

  • Nope!
  • Picture your head like a jackhammer on your neck.
  • Too jarring for irritated neck structures to heal.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!
  • Correct!
  • Picture your head like a jackhammer on your neck.
  • Too jarring for irritated neck structures to heal.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!

Casual Bike Riding

  • Nope!
  • Head-forward posture makes neck muscles work overtime, putting too much stress on healing neck structures.
  • And riding surfaces create vibration and jarring that stir up neck irritation.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!
  • Correct!
  • Head-forward posture makes neck muscles work overtime, putting too much stress on healing neck structures.
  • And riding surfaces create vibration and jarring that stir up neck irritation.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!

Cross-country cycling

  • Nope!
  • The picture says it all!
  • Look at the guy’s neck! It’s a human pretzel!
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!
  • Correct!
  • The picture says it all!
  • Look at the guy’s neck! It’s a human pretzel!
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!

Kickboxing

  • Nope!
  • Too jarring for your healing neck.
  • Plus your head is hanging out in space, unsupported by your spine, which creates increased neck muscle tension.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!
  • Correct!
  • Too jarring for your healing neck.
  • Plus your head is hanging out in space, unsupported by your spine, which creates increased neck muscle tension.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!

Spinning

  • Nope!
  • Head-forward posture makes neck muscles work overtime, putting too much stress on healing neck structures.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!
  • Correct!
  • Head-forward posture makes neck muscles work overtime, putting too much stress on healing neck structures.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!

Walking

  • Nope!
  • Repetitive jarring with each step as heel strikes the ground may be too irritating for some folks’ necks as they start our program.
  • We’ll help you figure this one out when we see you.
  • Correct!
  • Repetitive jarring with each step as heel strikes the ground may be too irritating for some folks’ necks as they start our program.
  • We’ll help you figure this one out when we see you.

Golf

  • Nope!
  • Face forward? Nope.
  • Head balanced on comfortably aligned on spine? Nope.
  • Nope + Nope = Nope.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!
  • Correct!
  • Face forward? Nope.
  • Head balanced on comfortably aligned on spine? Nope.
  • Nope + Nope = Nope.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!

Stationary Bike

  • This is a trick question because of the picture.
  • Stationary biking is one of the most neck-friendly aerobic exercises IF you sit up and let go of the handlebars (not like the lady in the picture!).
  • Let your hands rest at your sides.
  • Keep a face-forward posture with your head balanced on a comfortably aligned neck spine.
  • Friendly neck posture + non-jarring + great aerobic workout = GOOD CHOICE!
  • This is a trick question because of the picture.
  • Stationary biking is one of the most neck-friendly aerobic exercises IF you sit up and let go of the handlebars (not like the lady in the picture!).
  • Let your hands rest at your sides.
  • Keep a face-forward posture with your head balanced on a comfortably aligned neck spine.
  • Friendly neck posture + non-jarring + great aerobic workout = GOOD CHOICE!

Weight training

  • Nope!
  • Avoid all over-the-shoulder lifting early in your healing program.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!
  • Talk with us about possible, limited weight-training exceptions that may be OK for your healing neck.
  • Correct!
  • Avoid all over-the-shoulder lifting early in your healing program.
  • Save this for when your neck has healed and your headaches are under control!
  • Talk with us about possible, limited weight-training exceptions that may be OK for your healing neck.

Elliptical machine

  • This is a trick question because of the picture.
  • Ellipticals are one of the the most neck-friendly aerobic exercises IF you stand up and do not use your arms to pump the resistance handlebars (which creates too much neck and shoulder tension during your early neck healing program).
  • Avoid head forward postures (the lady on the left has it right, the man in the middle and woman on the right are in neck-stressing, “head-forward” postures).
  • Friendly neck posture + non-jarring + great aerobic workout = GOOD CHOICE!
  • This is a trick question because of the picture.
  • Ellipticals are one of the the most neck-friendly aerobic exercises IF you stand up and do not use your arms to pump the resistance handlebars (which creates too much neck and shoulder tension during your early neck healing program).
  • Avoid head forward postures (the lady on the left has it right, the man in the middle and woman on the right are in neck-stressing, “head-forward” postures).
  • Friendly neck posture + non-jarring + great aerobic workout = GOOD CHOICE!

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