The Best Physio for Neck Pain: Our Top 4 Exercises

The best physio for neck pain includes targeted exercises that improve mobility, strengthen stabilising muscles, and relieve tension.

Effective exercises include the Pilates Ball Chin Tuck to activate deep neck stabilisers, Pilates Ball Chin Tuck with Rotation to enhance upper neck mobility, Silly Arms to relax the shoulders and upper back, and the Levator Scapulae Stretch to ease stiffness.

What causes neck pain?

Neck pain is most commonly caused by a combination of factors including muscle tension, inactivity, and poor sleep. It is seldom related to structural damage and degenerative changes seen on scans are frequently normal ageing changes and not necessarily related to your pain.

Most likely, your neck pain is the result of weeks, months or even years of reasons, and the pain is telling you that you need to change something. However, neck pain can become quite debilitating if not managed properly.

Your neck is made up of seven small cervical vertebral bones that sit are on top of one another. These bones are attached by vertebral discs and surrounded by a number of different muscles. Your neck is very mobile and has an important role, as it supports your head and allows you to look around your environment.

Neck pain may result from an acute injury such as a whiplash, or pain may develop over time in a more chronic overuse nature. Neck pain that develops over time, such as with postural loading issues or osteoarthritic change with age, tend to have a combination of factors that need to be addressed.

Can a physio help with neck pain?

Yes, neck pain can be managed by a combination of regular movement changes, hands-on therapy and active exercises, including strengthening.

Neck pain often results from prolonged poor posture, muscle tension, or repetitive strain rather than structural damage. Physiotherapy provides relief by focusing on restoring movement, strengthening supporting muscles, and relieving tension to help you move more freely and without pain.

The neck is part of a flexible spine and is designed to move. Getting strong and retraining natural movements of your whole body, including your shoulders, will help your neck recover.

Our top 4 physio exercises for neck pain

1. Pilates ball chin tuck Image

This exercise is designed to help lengthen your neck and work your deep neck stabilisers, improving your neck muscles endurance. Lying with your knees bent up with your head resting on a small semi-inflated Pilates ball. Keeping your shoulders relaxed and chest open, gently tuck your chin in feeling your neck lengthen. Do not over contract just try to feel the deep muscles under your chin activate. Hold the activation for around 20 seconds then repeat.

2. Pilates ball chin tuck with rotation

This exercise is designed to help lengthen your neck and rotate your upper neck. Around 50% of your neck rotation occurs in the upper two joints of the neck, this is a great exercise for directing movement in that area away from the lower neck.

Lying with your knees bent up with your head resting on a small semi-inflated Pilates ball. Keeping your shoulders relaxed and chest open, gently tuck your chin in feeling your neck lengthen. Do not over contract just try to feel the deep muscles under your chin activate. Then gently spin your neck side to side, keeping your chin down gently to help stretch the upper neck.

3. Silly arms

Standing upright trying to keep your neck and shoulders relaxed. Spin your arms around your body in a relaxed fashion and let them flop against your body. Try to feel your ribs spin and neck muscles relax as if your arms are going to fly off. The idea is to reduce tension in the neck and get your upper back spinning to offload your neck.

4. Levator scapular stretch

Place one hand behind your back. Then side flex your head away towards the opposite shoulder. Using the other hand, gently pull your head towards the shoulder, whilst pushing the other shoulder down to stretch the side of your neck.

What about whiplash?

A whiplash injury, usually caused by rear-end car accidents or sporting injuries, will frequently result in strained neck muscles, neck stiffness and pain. In some cases, headaches and pins-and-needles down the arms may occur post whiplash injury. In more serious cases, fractures in the bones of the neck may occur, post injury it is important to be assessed by a physiotherapist or doctor to assess the extent of injury.

Physiotherapy treatment of whiplash associated disorders includes education, reassurance, manual therapy to help reduce pain and regain motion, exercises to regain function, muscle retraining to restore strength and neck endurance. Whiplash can persist for some time as well as being quite debilitating if not managed early and effectively. Therefore, getting assessed and advice early is always the best option.

What should you do if you have a whiplash injury?

Book in with us for a neck pain physio assessment to exclude any serious injury, we’ll start you on the road to a smooth recovery. Like any acute injury, reducing pain is often assisted by ice to help settle inflammation, along with some manual therapy and movement advice. Evidence has shown that keeping your neck mobile and maintaining a normal level of activity can help you recover more quickly.

Book with our physio for neck pain today!

Neck pain is not something you have to live with. Contact us for a neck pain physio assessment and let us help get your neck moving again freely.