Your Personal Best: Neck stretch

As we get older, we tend to lose flexibility and range of motion throughout our body, stiffening up through our joints, ligaments and tendons.

One of the earliest places that’s evident is in the neck. Dr. Milady Murphy shares a simple exercise that can counteract that negative process. Here’s how you do it:

Neck stretch:

• While sitting in a chair, relax your feet and set them slightly apart
• Bring your shoulders back and down, and place your hands above your knees
• Bring you chin down toward your chest; hold for 5 seconds
• Bring chin back to center
• Work chin toward shoulder; hold for 5 seconds
• Look downward, bringing your chin down for 5 seconds
• Bring chin back to center
• Repeat and feel the stretch behind your neck
• Repeat on opposite side

You can do these stretches one to three times a day. This stretch helps increase your range of motion and flexibility throughout the neck area, but it also improves your sightline. That’s especially important when you’re driving.