Neck placement during your workout is important!

Today I spent much time explaining to a client the importance of being mindful of the shape of the neck during the Pilates workout. My guiding principle is that the curvature of the cervical spine should not be extreme whether in flexion or extension exercises. For instance, when a new client is first learning the breast stroke, the natural instinct is to look up when lifting the upper body. Now, when this happens, there is a long smooth extension in the thoracic spine which ends in a sudden sharp extension in the top cervical vertebrae, predominantly C1-C4. It is important to always lengthen the curve created by these cervical vertebrae especially in extension, but also in flexion exercises. If this muscular contraction pattern is practiced too much the muscle fibres which cross over the C1-C4 region will shorten over time, which could lead to various pain issues related to compression of the cervical spine some of which include disc compression, headaches and so on.