Cervical herniated discs cause an annoying and painful condition that, depending on its characteristics, can limit the life of the person who suffers from it. To counteract its negative effects, this time we bring you a routine of exercises and maneuvers that you can perform autonomously from your home or office to improve the pain caused by a herniated cervical disc.
Cervical disc herniation exercises focus on achieving stretching and relaxation of the neck and nearby structures. We must emphasize that these stretching exercises do not mean a treatment method to cure a cervical herniated disc; the main objective is to relieve much of the pain present in patients with cervical hernias who have mild to moderate symptoms.
We invite you to put into practice the following exercise routine daily to improve the discomfort derived from a cervical hernia…
Sitting in a chair with your back straight and your hands resting on your legs, slowly rotate your neck first toward your right shoulder, pause in the middle, and then twist back to your left shoulder (it should appear to look over your shoulders with each movement); Perform 2 sets of 6 repetitions.
Sitting with the same posture as the previous exercise, tilt your neck downwards, raise it until you stop in the center and bend down again; Complete 2 sets of 6 reps.
In a sitting position, gently tilt your neck to one side and the other making a brief pause in between, repeat the movement for a couple of minutes. To give you an idea, this exercise is very similar to when you shake your head to bring out the water that has entered your ears when swimming or showering.
As we initially mentioned, cervical disc herniation exercises go far beyond the injured point; In this sense, the stretching of the shoulders could not be missing from this routine.
Shoulder girdle circles require the synchronized rotation of both shoulders, imagining that the shoulders are like a clock that starts at 12 o’clock while gently rotating clockwise and then counterclockwise. Make 8 circles in each direction daily.
In a sitting, bring your chin closer to your chest while you feel how the back of the neck gradually lengthens, gently go up and down about 8 times and then repeat about 8 more times (at no time should you feel pain). Make sure your feet have a firm rest on the floor and that your back is straight enough in the chair.
In addition to these 5 stretching exercises, we recommend physical activities such as swimming, yoga, and pilates to prolong the health of your spine. Don’t forget to consult a specialist beforehand if you can (or not) perform these exercises, he will explain what are the disadvantages and benefits that this could bring to your cervical area.
When suffering from a cervical disc herniation, any impact exercise that puts pressure on the neck can trigger pain and worsen your current condition; These are known as prohibited exercises for cervical hernia. To prevent this, keep these 5 activities away from you…
This is a high-impact sport par excellence, which requires a great physical effort for the person who practices it. The force and impact exerted by the rebound of the feet on the ground has an impact on all the bone structures of the body, therefore, patients with cervical herniated discs should rule it out of their daily lives.
Activities such as tennis and paddle tennis lead to constant and vigorous movements with the arms, which can cause the cervical injury to worsen.
Although for many people playing soccer with friends means a common and fun recreational activity, behind all the excitement hides a sport of very high impact that people with cervical hernias should not practice.
Basketball is another physical activity that involves actions such as: running, jumping, jogging and throwing the ball overhead, all this increases the risk of suffering more bone and joint wear and tear also increasing cervical problems.
Improper positions when riding a bike increases your propensity for back pain in general and especially for tightening your neck area when you have one or more cervical hernias. We suggest you pause this activity until your medical condition improves, or failing that, when the specialist in charge of your pathology considers it so.
