Physical Therapy Patient Treatment
Your cervical spine represents the seven vertebrae that are located just below your skull leading down to the upper back. Exercises that increase flexibility help to reduce pain and make it easier to keep your neck and spine in a healthy position. Tight muscles cause imbalances in spinal movements. This can make injury of these structures more likely. Flexibility exercises for the neck, chest, and upper shoulders can be helpful in establishing safe movement. A slow progression of stretching exercises can increase flexibility in these areas, ease pain, and reduce the chance of reinjury.
CERVICAL STABILIZATION:
Around the Crown exercise to train the protective muscles of the cervical spine. Strengthening of the neck muscles alone will not produce the functional fluid motion that you enjoyed prior to your cervical problem, you want to be able to move without guarded movement.
The patient starts this exercise, two weeks post-op, after the sutures have been removed from the cervical surgical site. In the upright supported straight back sitting position, the patient begins by placing their fingers at random places on the head and pushes with gentle pressure against the crown portion of the head. Use only enough pressure so that you can hold your head from moving and not create ANY increase in your symptoms. Do the Around the Crown exercise daily to fatigue for four weeks.
Then move on to the next, level ( six weeks post-op ) to using the heels of your hands to produce, more force, but still being able to hold the head still and not create ANY increase in your symptoms.
1. Using light pressure, press into right temple. Resist bending head sideways. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 5 times per set. Do 2 sets per session. Do 2 sessions per day.
2. Using light pressure, press into left temple. Resist bending head sideways. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 5 times per set. Do 2 sets per session. Do 2 sessions per day.
3. Using light pressure, press into forhead. Resist bending head forward. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 5 times per set. Do 2 sets per session. Do 2 sessions per day.
4. Using light pressure, press into back of head. Resist bending head sideways. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 5 times per set. Do 2 sets per session. Do 2 sessions per day.
After doing that daily to fatigue for two weeks, then go on to the next level. At this time, you will need someone to assist you by having them push against your crown . while you keep your eyes- closed. Again, using only enough force so that you can hold your head still and not create ANY increase in your symptoms.
Purpose: The utilization of your arms and shoulders will strengthen them as well as your neck muscles at the initial onset of the Around the Crown exercise sequence. This will increase the tone of the supporting and protecting structures of the head and neck. Next by having your eyes closed and another person pushing on your crown, you will develop the protective reflexes of your neck musculature. Then, the neck will move with the freedom and security as it did before your cervical problem.