The neck rotation stretch warms up the small muscles that are involved in head movement and stability. These muscles are often neglected when warming up for a workout. It is extremely important for athletes involved in contact sports to stretch out neck muscles. Football and rugby players have the highest need for strong flexible neck muscles, so this is a popular stretch in their warm-up routine.
Tight neck muscles may cause tension where they attach on the skull creating headaches. By stretching out these muscles it may relieve some of those pains.
To do the neck rotation stretch start by standing or sitting with a straight back posture. Start by tilting your head forward. Try to touch your chin to your chest. Rotate your clockwise and tilt your head as far as you can to the right. Keep rotating your head to the back, looking as far behind you as you can. Finish by tilting your head to the left with as much range of motion as possible. Repeat these steps multiple times. Then rotate counter-clockwise.
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