Personal Trainers Forum

[Personaltrainer]

Strengthen your vulnerable neck

Women's necks: an area of relative weakness and vulnerability in terms of sporting injury. US researchers believe that women's relative instability in their necks may be the cause of their greater risk of concussion when playing sports such as soccer, baseball or basketball.

A Swedish team has looked specifically at the effects of heading the ball in soccer, trying to analyse why women suffer more concussion than men, and whether they are at greater risk of brain damage as a result. And researchers from Finland have examined the effects of specific training on levels of neck pain.

These three useful pieces of research help us to identify easy and simple exercises that could reduce pain, improve stability and enhance strength in women's necks. Here, for instance, is a routine to help increase neck girth.

Complete the four exercises 2 to 3 times a week. They should take no more than 5 to 6 min in total. For each exercise perform 12 reps, taking 5 sec to move through each repetition in a slow, controlled manner.

* Neck extension: Place both hands behind your head. Try to move head backwards, but resist the movement with your hands. Don't tip chin.
* Neck flexion: H old both hands against your forehead. Try to move head forward, but resist the movement with your hands.
* Neck lateral flexion: Hold one hand against the side of your head. Use your hand to resist the movement as you try to touch your shoulder with your ear.
* Shrugs: elevate the shoulders in a very smooth manner, imagine you are trying to get your shoulders to touch your ears. Place them back down again.