Neck Exercise - Levator Stretch

Commonly Used For: Back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain and headaches.

Video Transcription: I'm going to show you how to do a levator stretch, which is the muscle that attaches from your shoulder blade up into your neck, and can contribute to both back and shoulder pain as well as neck pain and headaches. What you're going to want to do is stabilize your shoulder blade down by either grabbing on to the bottom of a chair or sitting on your hand. I prefer to grab on to something if I can. You're going to tuck your chin back kind of giving yourself a double chin, turn your head towards your opposite shoulder, and look down towards your armpit. You should feel a stretch right along this back side of your neck. If you don't feel the stretch intensely enough, you can take your opposite hand, come over the back side of your head, and gently pull down. You want to hold that stretch 30 seconds to a minute. And that's your levator stretch.