What happens if you crunch your neck? Fitness trainer answers

What happens if you crunch your neck? Fitness trainer answers

It makes us feel better when we do it, but it’s actually dangerous.

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Is it okay to crunch your neck and is it safe for your spine?

The neck is one of the most vulnerable parts of the body. It has very small and least durable vertebrae compared to those in other parts of the spine. The neck is the most susceptible to injury because it has weak muscles that bear a lot of strain.

It is the most mobile part of the spine. Nature designed it so that we can easily and quickly make movements, tilts and turns of the head. However, this mobility does not mean that we should rotate our necks in an attempt to hear a crunch.

We think that crunching helps to put the vertebrae back in place, and sometimes we even feel better. On the contrary, this way we only worsen the condition of the neck and increase the risk of injury.

For example, when an arm is fractured, a cast is put on to immobilize the limb. This allows the bones to heal. The same principle applies to the neck. A sore neck requires rest, not exercise or daily crunches.

What happens if you crunch your neck?

The openings in the cervical vertebrae carry arteries and veins that provide oxygen to the brain. Constant crunching can lead to injury to these arteries.

Also, regular neck crunches worsen the condition of the vertebrae, wear out the joints, loosen the ligaments. This can lead to the appearance of hernias, squeezing blood vessels, there is a lack of nutrition of the brain. A person may have: headaches, deterioration of the general condition, dizziness, gait and speech disorders.

What to do if you want to crunch the neck?

It is necessary to leave the cervical department at rest and work with the muscles and tissues that surround the spine.

It is very effective to target the muscles near the spine with myofascial release techniques (MFR). MFR is a technique of self-massage with a roller or ball. It helps to get rid of stiffness in the muscles, remove muscle spasm and reduce the feeling of pain by increasing tissue elasticity.

Effective exercise with a tennis ball

It is necessary not just arbitrarily roll on the ball, but consciously work on the painful area or trigger points. Roll the muscles without affecting the ligaments, joints and bones.

Técnica

• Take a tennis ball. Fix it in the space between your shoulder blade and spine and lie down on it. If it is very painful for you to lie down, do this exercise against a wall to reduce the pressure of your body on the ball.
• With pressure, roll your muscles with the ball for a minute on both sides.
• Next, fix the ball on the trapezius closer to your neck lie down on it. If it is very painful for you to lie down, do this exercise against a wall.
• With pressure, roll your muscles with the ball for a minute on both sides.

Get rid of the bad habit of crunching your neck. Work on the tissues and muscles that surround it, and leave your neck alone. After a while, it will stop hurting and you will feel lighter.