Open Exercise

Development draft, v0. Formats and IDs may change.

Catalogue

Neck Flexion Stretch

oec:neck-flexion-stretch

A seated or standing flexibility exercise that stretches the muscles along the back of the cervical spine by bringing the chin toward the chest.

Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.

Also called: Back Neck Stretch, Cervical Flexion Stretch, Neck Extensor Stretch, Seated Neck Flexion Stretch

How to do it

Setup

  1. Sit upright on a chair or flat surface with your feet planted, spine tall, and shoulders relaxed.

Movement

  1. Interlace your fingers and rest your hands lightly on the back of your head near the crown.
  2. Gently lower your chin toward your chest, allowing the passive weight of your arms to guide the head downward.
  3. Hold the stretch at a comfortable point of tension along the back of the neck without forcing it.
  4. Carefully release your hands and return your head to the neutral upright position.

Breathing

Exhale as you draw your chin toward your chest, then maintain slow, rhythmic breathing throughout the hold.

Cues

  • Chin to chest
  • Tall torso, flex only the neck
  • Let arm weight guide, do not yank

Common faults

Slumping through the thoracic or lumbar spine.
Keep your back flat and upright so the stretch remains localized to the cervical spine.
Pulling forcefully on the back of the head.
Apply only gentle guidance with your hands; never aggressively force the neck into flexion.

Safety

  • Discontinue immediately if you feel sharp pain, dizziness, or tingling sensations radiating into the arms.

Muscles

  • Upper cervical extensors stretched
  • Splenius stretched
  • Upper trapezius stretched
  • Levator scapulae stretched

Joints

  • Cervical spine: Flexion

Details

Movement
Stretch, Neck isolation
Modality
Flexibility, Mobility
Mechanics
isolation
Force
static
Laterality
bilateral
Kinetic chain
open
Level
beginner
Equipment
None
Record
Duration
Load
none

Sources

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

neck-flexion-stretch.json