We first started working on his neck muscles after he was
born. We would put him on the Boppy pillow and get him to raise his head up. I
also had him work on the head up or neck extension neck exercises while he was
on his stomach on the bed. These were easy head up neck exercises for our son.
We just kept increasing the amount of time to have him build his endurance.

One way you can work on a baby’s neck muscles is to practice
how high the baby can raise the head up. You can start off the head up neck
exercises with barely off the bed/floor (like the picture); then increase to an inch off the
floor; then a couple inches off the floor. You can try to increase the neck
range of motion and endurance with any upper body support for the baby.

Another way to help get the baby to raise the head up and do
neck exercises is to gently stroke the back. You want to stroke with your palm
starting from the neck and all down the back. This will help facilitate the
baby’s neck and back muscles to work on neck and back extension. This is a
simple trick to do for head up neck exercises.

Babies are not too young to have benefits of strong neck
muscles by doing head up neck exercises. These neck exercises could help the
baby be sure to lift the head while sleeping and avoid the sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS) as much as possible. Other baby neck exercises will be
described at a later time. Enjoy looking up!

Technorati Tags: head, head up, neck exercises, neck extension, neck muscles, neck range of motion

Would you like to know how to loosen up your neck after a
long day or even in the middle of the day? Want to be able to keep your neck
range of motions and muscles from tightening up? Ever feel you need to shake
your head from side to side? Try doing some head up wobble neck exercises to
loosen your neck muscles and joints.

These head up wobble neck exercises are similar to other
side to side (lateral flexion) neck exercises. The added motion of tilting your
head up while doing a head up wobble neck exercises will loosen up the sides of
your neck. The first couple of levels in the neck or cervical spine are the focus
of these head up wobbles neck exercises.

These head up wobble neck exercises are good for releasing
shoulder and neck tension. These neck exercises can be done sitting or
standing. I’ll describe these head up wobble neck exercises in sitting to avoid
any balance deficits. These can also be done on a ball or on the bed. Let’s
begin!

Sitting Position:

• Feet flat on to the floor
• Sit up tall
• Bring your chest up and toward the facing wall
• Relax your hands in your lap
• Bring your shoulders down from your ears
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together
• Perform a chin tuck by bring your chin back towards your
  shoulders
• Relax your jaw, by keeping your lips together but teeth
  apart
• Eyes looking straight ahead

Head Up Wobble Neck Exercises:

• Breathe in
• Tilt the top of your head back by 45 degrees
• Have your eyes look up at the ceiling
• Breathe out
• Bring your left ear towards your left shoulder
• Then tilt your right ear towards your right shoulder
• Be sure that your head doesn’t twist away from the facing
  wall
• Repeat 10 times

There should be no pain or discomfort with these head up
wobble neck exercises. Begin with slow, smooth and controlled motions. You can
start with small tilts and then big tilts to the side when your neck is warmed
up. Avoid clenching your teeth with these neck exercises. These head up wobble
neck exercises can be done a couple of times a day to keep your neck range of
motion and limited neck tension. Other neck exercises will be described at a
later time.

Technorati Tags: cervical spine, chin tuck, head up, lateral flexion, neck exercises, neck muscles, neck tension, shoulder blades