Neck range-of-motion is terrible

[bridgerbenson]

All mobility issues associated with aging can be corrected with proper stretching. This is my opinion. I'm not a doctor.

I let my fitness go since November of 2024. By January I had such bad pain in my hips and back I was genuinely worried.

I always stretched for 30 minutes in the morning before that. I got back on my stretching routine. I couldn't believe how tight my hips, hamstrings and legs in general were. The more I stretched, the lesser the pain in my back and hips. If I miss a few days of stretching the pain starts back and reminds me to get back on my routine.

This point reminds me alot of the losing trust in Doctors thread that was going on here a few weeks back. Most Dr. are not going to recommend that you try stretching to solve your issues first.

I have degenerative disc and was in pain all the time. I never went to an ortho for it because I knew they would just push surgery. Working out and stretching eliminated my back pain and kept space between my disc's. I'd recommend focusing on stretching, utilizing YouTube like you have been.

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Unless there was a specific traumatic accident that caused your pain, I lean toward this thinking over running to a doctor every time something hurts. My neck was jacked up bad a couple months ago for no reason. Eased into some band exercises with a band tied to a bedpost. Pain and immobility that lasted several months went away after a week of addressing it. Same story with low back pain, knees, etc.


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[bigv]

I had same issue...couldn't turn head very far either direction. Just came on and lasted couple years. Went to chiro and he said I had arthritis from injury. Didn't remember injury. No treatment he did seemed to help. Went to a very good massage therapist. After two sessions it was gone!! Couldn't believe it....just SUPER tight muscles that wouldn't let go. It was painful but told her to dig it out. It hasn't come back.

 

[Marshfly]

Incredibly dangerous advice. Arbitrarily elongating muscles by force (which is what stretching is) can make things a hell of a lot worse. Muscles are support structures.

What?!

Consistent mobility exercises are a KEY component of balance, posture, stability, tendon and ligament strength, and simply being able to move in functional ways as a person ages.

In what world is stretching for mobility dangerous? Be specific.

 

[grfox92]

Incredibly dangerous advice. Arbitrarily elongating muscles by force (which is what stretching is) can make things a hell of a lot worse. Muscles are support structures.

You must be a traditionally trained doctor to suggest that increasing mobility through stretching is "incredibly dangerous advice"....come on man.

I will say that in certain circumstances stretching could hurt an already injured muscle that is over extended or torn. But I can assure you, you would know as soon as you attempted to stretch if that was the case.

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[wh0cansay]

You must be a traditionally trained doctor to suggest that increasing mobility through stretching is "incredibly dangerous advice"....come on man.

I will say that in certain circumstances stretching could hurt an already injured muscle that is over extended or torn. But I can assure you, you would know as soon as you attempted to stretch if that was the case.

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No traditionally trained doctor understands the concept of tensegrity. If stretching were inherently beneficial, every yoga practitioner would be pain-free.

Here's a good explainer video from people with proven results across the board:

 

[SWOHTR]

I’ve been doing neck exercises with a band for the past 3 months, to great benefit. 1x30 each front, right, left, back nods

 

[Mtndawger]

I had a specific injury which morphed into other osteo and skeletal issues in my neck. Had some images taken and the options given were cortisone shot, spinal fuse or PT. I opted for PT. It was the correct decision. Issues resolved. Like anything else though I believe even trained professionals bring personal biases and blinders into their work. Auto mechanics are a useful analogy. In my case I had a highly skilled, open minded PT and she utilized all the modern knowledge available to her. The above video is a great way to visualize this. Neck issues are not necessarily rooted in the neck.

 

[TaperPin]

This post has actually helped my minor neck stiffness. I don’t drive as often since being away from full time work and looking over a shoulder while changing lanes is noticeably more difficult. It’s easy to forget about using a full range of motion just to stay limbered up. I was starting to use a side eye rather than turn the head, not because it hurt, but things are just stiffer. In the two weeks since this post started I simply turn the noggin full lock to lock a couple times a day and it’s already made a difference while driving. This has made me more alert to other movements I’ve avoided because of minor stiffness. It’s like a light bulb came on and I discovered stretching for the first time. I’m a fan.

 

[goathunter.oregon]

The one thing that helps my ROM limitations is acupuncture combined with assisted stretching: the doctor applies the needles, then physically helps me stretch. It helps me every time. Chiropractic and massage are no where as effective for me as this acupuncture+stretching technique.

 

[Extrapale]

As mentioned by several others, deep tissue massage. You will know within a visit or two if that's the problem.

 

[grfox92]

If stretching were inherently beneficial, every yoga practitioner would be pain-free.

I never thought in a million years I would be arguing with a stranger on the internet that Stretching is bad for you, and I'm not going to.

But regarding your point about yoga.....I'm not sure how disconnected from reality you are, but you do understand hundreds of thousands if not millions of people worldwide have taken up the practice of yoga in the last 2 decades, specifically to alleviate chronic pain..... and it works. That's why people do it. To say that every Yoga practitioner would be pain free is a dishonest statement. No one is going to be pain free. But you sure can go from being on agony to living a normal life.

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[wh0cansay]

I never thought in a million years I would be arguing with a stranger on the internet that Stretching is bad for you, and I'm not going to.

But regarding your point about yoga.....I'm not sure how disconnected from reality you are, but you do understand hundreds of thousands if not millions of people worldwide have taken up the practice of yoga in the last 2 decades, specifically to alleviate chronic pain..... and it works. That's why people do it. To say that every Yoga practitioner would be pain free is a dishonest statement. No one is going to be pain free. But you sure can go from being on agony to living a normal life.

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Yoga is absolutely detrimental to human biomechanics in the long term and causes more chronic pain than it solves.

We have been eating grains for thousands of years as well, doesn't mean they're good for us.

 

[grfox92]

Yoga is absolutely detrimental to human biomechanics in the long term and causes more chronic pain than it solves.

We have been eating grains for thousands of years as well, doesn't mean they're good for us.

good luck to you.

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