The Neck Hump

Question:
I am 52 and have noticed lately that the base of my neck in the back is somewhat humped.I have noticed this on others as well. Is there any exercise that can prevent this from getting worse or, better yet, repair the damage?

Answer:
Thanks for your question!

The "neck hump" to which to refer is common in the population due to bad posture and the tendency of gravity to pull us down towards the earth's center. The cervical vertebrae of the neck begin to compress down, the head juts slightly forward, and suddenly you have a hump where there used to be just a little rise.

This is the junction of C7 and T1 where your neck connects with the ribcage, and is the first outward dorsal curve of the spine's natural "S" shape. When the multifidus muscles that connect the vertebrae to each other shorten the bones push together unnaturally and create the extra bump. This can also be the first signs of the osteoporotic "dowager's hump", so it does bear watching and working on now.

How can you help? It's actually quite simple :-). First, make sure you do some kind of weight bearing (on your feet) cardiovascular exercise daily (walking is the best). Second, here are some exercises that should help restore your natural spine curve and help to lengthen your neck out of your ribcage and improve posture.

Lie on your back with your knees bent , your feet hip bone width apart, and your arms by your sides. Pay attention to your breathing and to the muscles in your torso. The abdominal muscles are not just in front, they actually wrap around your torso from your spine to the front, around your ribs, waist, & pelvis, forming the round sides of a cylinder.

Feel your ribs move to the front, side, and back as you breathe--the abdominals are helping to move your ribs! Now pay attention to your pelvis. Make sure that you are not pushing your lower back into the floor; your pubic bones should be in the same horizontal line as your hip bones--you may have an arch in your lower back and that's OK, you are supposed to!

Now as you inhale let your ribcage, abs, and pelvis relax. As you exhale contract your pelvic floor as though you had to stop peeing, feel your abs wrap tighter around your ribs and waist like a corset, and feel your diaphragm under your ribcage pull up and under the ribs. Make sure again that you are not flattening your lower back into the mat. Do this conscious breathing a few times.

Put your hands on your belly and notice that now it pulls in (it may feel soft, but you are going for width and depth, not for tightness!). Repeat 10-15 times.

Now add a small rocking of your pelvis--tipping it back on the exhale (hipbones back and tailbone up) and forward on the inhale (arching the lower back). Repeat the tilt/arch 8-12 times.

Then add a curl up of your upper body on the exhale. Nod your head and then pretend you are holding a large egg or small orange under your chin (in other words keep space between chin & chest); then let your ribs drop in and down (don't shove them down!) as you curl up towards your pelvis (do not pull forward from your head at this point--use the ribs).

Stay there for a moment and consciously breathe as above, making sure that you have not tucked your hip bones back to the floor--get your pubic bones back down towards the
mat and see if you can get as deep and wide in your belly as when your head was down. Repeat 4-8 times.

Always work with pulling the belly in and not pushing out! Pushing out or bearing down at all is bad.

Arm Circles--
Still on your back with the pelvis neutral, lift arms up to ceiling, overhead, and circle around to the sides and back to your hips. It is important that your ribs stay down; it is not important that your hands touch the floor. Do 4-6 in each direction. This can also be done standing against a wall.

To add back strengthening--

Prone Hip Extension--
Lie on stomach with forehead on hands and do the same breathing as above. On exhale push your pubic & hip bones into the mat and lift one straight leg off the ground keeping the hips still and not moving your back. Alternate legs 6-8 times and then do both at the same time 6-8 times.

Flight--
Then place arms by your sides with palms down. Set up pelvis the same as above but this time lift and lengthen your head & chest while at the same time reaching your hands towards your feet and then lifting your hands/arms. Keep chest open & feet down. Repeat 6-8 times.

Do these 2-7 times per week.

If these work for you I have a 30 minute neck/shoulder Pilates MP3 that you can download and play on your computer, your ipod, or burn onto a CD.

More about osteoporosis here.

Tags: Osteoporosis, OsteoPilates, reiki, pilates, lynda lippin, caribbean, turks, caicos, turks and caicos, providenciales, energy, healing, fitness, exercise