Exercises while lying down

Lie down with a soft pillow under your neck, and with your knees bent up.

Exercise 1: The chin nod exercise

• Gently and slowly nod your head forward as if to say ‘yes’.
• Feel the muscles at the front of your neck.
• Stop the nodding action just before you feel the front muscles hardening.
• Hold the nod position for five seconds and then relax.
• Gently move your head back to the normal start position.
• Repeat up to 10 times.

Exercise 2: Head rotation

• Gently turn your head from one side to the other.
• Look where you are going.
• Progressively aim to turn your head far enough so your chin is in line with your shoulder and you can see the wall in line with your shoulder.
• Repeat 10 times to each side.

Exercise 3: Shoulder blade exercise

• This exercise will relax and ease any tension in the muscles on top of your shoulders and it will give you pain relief.
• Lie on your right side with your arm resting up on two pillows. (See photo a, below.)
• Roll your left shoulder blade back and across your ribs towards the centre of your back. (See photo b, below.)
• Hold the position for 10 seconds.
• Repeat five times.
• Repeat lying on the left side for the right shoulder blade.