How do you get relief for the upper trapezius muscle? Doing simple neck exercises help to loosen the muscle that connects the neck and shoulder. While strengthening exercises will help build endurance and stronger muscle, stretch exercises will give muscle flexibility. A simple neck exercise that will reduce neck tension is by using a towel on the upper trapezius.

The upper trapezius muscle connects from the base of the head and spreads to the top of the shoulder. This neck muscle is the target muscle where the most amount of tension or stress is held. When the upper trapezius muscle becomes tight and painful, it can be painful and uncomfortable. The upper trapezius if really tight can cause headaches, dizziness and numbness and tingling down the arms. The motion that the upper trapezius helps elevate the shoulders towards the ears.

I will describe how to relieve the neck tension while sitting to do these neck exercises for the upper trapezius towel stretch. Start by sitting in the best posture – meaning feet flat on the floor, back straight, chin tuck, eyes level and looking forward. You should be away from the back support of the chair to be able to use your arms. Roll a towel up or take a light jacket for this exercise. Take a towel and drape it over the right shoulder. Take your right hand and hold on to the front portion of the edge of towel. The left hand should come behind your back to reach for the other edge of the towel.

 With equal tension, pull with both hands down on the towel. The pressure of the towel should give relief on the neck. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Repeat three times. You should feel pressure but not discomfort or pain on the right side. To add more of a stretch, bring your left ear towards your left shoulder. Also, adjust the towel and try moving up and down the neck / shoulder area for these neck exercises for more tension relief. Switch to the left side and repeat.

These neck exercises should be done within tolerance and no pain symptoms should occur. Try this simple neck exercise at least once a day to help reduce the neck discomfort. Why don’t you try this right now and report how you felt.