{
  "$schema": "https://openexercise.org/schema/v0/exercise.json",
  "aliases": [
    {
      "text": "Neck CARs",
      "kind": "common"
    },
    {
      "text": "Cervical CARs",
      "kind": "common"
    },
    {
      "text": "Cervical Controlled Articular Rotation",
      "kind": "common"
    },
    {
      "text": "Neck CAR",
      "kind": "abbreviation"
    }
  ],
  "anatomy": {
    "muscles": [
      {
        "muscle": "sternocleidomastoid",
        "role": "prime-mover"
      },
      {
        "muscle": "splenius",
        "role": "prime-mover"
      },
      {
        "muscle": "deep-neck-flexors",
        "role": "synergist"
      },
      {
        "muscle": "upper-cervical-extensors",
        "role": "synergist"
      },
      {
        "muscle": "levator-scapulae",
        "role": "synergist"
      },
      {
        "muscle": "erector-spinae",
        "role": "stabilizer"
      }
    ],
    "joints": [
      {
        "joint": "cervical-spine",
        "actions": [
          "flexion",
          "extension",
          "lateral-flexion",
          "rotation",
          "circumduction"
        ]
      },
      {
        "joint": "thoracic-spine",
        "actions": [
          "isometric-stabilization"
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "classification": {
    "modalities": [
      "mobility",
      "rehabilitation",
      "flexibility"
    ],
    "movement_patterns": [
      "mobility-drill",
      "isolation-neck"
    ],
    "mechanics": "isolation",
    "force": "not-applicable",
    "kinetic_chain": "open",
    "laterality": "bilateral",
    "planes": [
      "transverse",
      "frontal",
      "sagittal"
    ],
    "contraction": [
      "dynamic"
    ],
    "level": "beginner"
  },
  "equipment": {
    "required": []
  },
  "external_ids": {
    "wger": "1939"
  },
  "id": "oec:neck-controlled-articular-rotation",
  "instructions": {
    "setup": [
      "Stand or sit tall with feet flat on the floor and a neutral spine.",
      "Gently brace your core, pull your shoulders down and back, and clench your fists to create full-body irradiation and isolate the neck."
    ],
    "steps": [
      "Tuck your chin toward your chest into full cervical flexion.",
      "Rotate your chin along your collarbone toward one shoulder as far as comfortable.",
      "Tip your ear toward the same shoulder into lateral flexion.",
      "Extend your head back and around, rolling smoothly through extension to the opposite side without hyperextending or pinching.",
      "Drop your ear toward the opposite shoulder, then rotate your chin down along the opposite collarbone back to the chest to complete the circle.",
      "Pause briefly, then repeat for the prescribed repetitions before reversing direction."
    ],
    "breathing": "Breathe smoothly and continuously throughout the rotation without holding your breath.",
    "cues": [
      "Draw the biggest circle you can with your chin.",
      "Move the neck only; keep your shoulders glued down.",
      "Smooth out any jerky corners."
    ],
    "common_faults": [
      {
        "fault": "Moving the shoulders or thoracic spine to create artificial range.",
        "correction": "Lock your torso in place, pin your shoulders down, and move strictly from the cervical spine."
      },
      {
        "fault": "Rushing through the rotation.",
        "correction": "Perform each circle slowly under control, taking five to ten seconds per repetition."
      },
      {
        "fault": "Pushing into sharp closing-angle pain or nerve pinching.",
        "correction": "Bypass any painful pinch by carving just inside the painful boundary of range."
      }
    ],
    "safety": {
      "precautions": [
        "Avoid forcing through dizziness, sharp pain, or numbness; keep movements within a comfortable, pain-free active range."
      ],
      "spotter": "not-needed"
    }
  },
  "measurement": {
    "load": {
      "kind": "none"
    },
    "profiles": [
      {
        "required": [
          "reps"
        ],
        "optional": [
          "duration",
          "rpe"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "records": {},
    "reps_counted": "per-side"
  },
  "name": "Neck Controlled Articular Rotation",
  "previous_ids": [
    "oec:neck-cars"
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "generated": [
      "/name",
      "/summary",
      "/classification",
      "/anatomy",
      "/equipment",
      "/measurement",
      "/instructions",
      "/setup",
      "/relations"
    ],
    "license": "CC-BY-SA-4.0",
    "review": {
      "status": "machine-generated",
      "model": "gemini-3.8-flash",
      "at": "2026-10-31"
    },
    "sources": [
      {
        "title": "wger: Neck CARs",
        "url": "https://wger.de/en/exercise/1939/view-base",
        "license": "CC-BY-SA-4.0"
      }
    ]
  },
  "relations": [
    {
      "type": "variation-of",
      "target": "oec:neck-roll"
    },
    {
      "type": "substitute-for",
      "target": "oec:neck-roll"
    },
    {
      "type": "progression-of",
      "target": "oec:neck-half-circle"
    }
  ],
  "setup": {
    "position": "standing"
  },
  "status": "active",
  "summary": "A slow, deliberate mobility drill tracing the maximal active perimeter of the cervical spine through flexion, rotation, lateral flexion, and extension."
}