The #2 Exercise You Should Be Doing Daily

Jonathon Strefling, DPT • Oct 07, 2022

A simple neck movement often does wonders for addressing and preventing

neck pain and some types of headaches.

If you missed the #1 exercise you should be doing every day, CLICK HERE.


The Exercise


Let's cut to the chase, once again. Here is the simple movement that will be very helpful & appropriate for most people.


While sitting or standing in a good posture, bring your head directly back like you're giving yourself a double chin. Hold it 1-2 seconds and then relax back to your resting position (don't go forward too far). Don't tilt your head up or down.



Unless you have some reason to avoid these (they cause more pain in the neck or arm or you had neck surgery), you should incorporate them into your daily life in order to reduce your likelihood of being slowed down by neck pain or simple headaches.


Do these 2x/day (5-10 reps). If you spend a lot of time at a computer, do these 4x/day.

Neck Pain is Related to Sitting & Neck Position


Most of us use our neck in a forward (or flexed) head position with the daily tasks we do, such as reading, cleaning, driving, and working at a computer.


One study involving over 1,300 workers from more than 30 different companies were studied over a 3-year period. In this study, they found a significant relationship between time in a sitting position and neck pain. A significant relationship was also noted between the neck position (forward) and neck pain [1].

How Does This Movement Help?


Just like you read about in our previous post regarding the low back, we live and move in a very unbalanced way as it relates to the neck, as well. The head is most often moving forward of our balanced position. In addition, we are rarely moving backward.


When we perform this movement of our exercise (called "cervical retraction"), we are most likely preventing restrictions from building up at this joint (ie. scar tissue) as well as preventing over-stretching of the many soft tissues (muscles, nerves, etc) that travel up the back of our necks.




I pray this helps you in stewarding your body to the glory of God.


[1]  Ariëns GA, Bongers PM, Douwes M, Miedema MC, Hoogendoorn WE, van der Wal G, Bouter LM, van Mechelen W. Are neck flexion, neck rotation, and sitting at work risk factors for neck pain? Results of a prospective cohort study. Occup Environ Med. 2001 Mar;58(3):200-7. doi: 10.1136/oem.58.3.200. PMID: 11171934; PMCID: PMC1740110.

Share by: