So what’s the SOLUTION?
FIRST it’s important to understand, “neck muscles can reduce angular and rotational acceleration of the head which is felt to be the mechanism of concussion” states Dr. Conidi. (71)
SECOND “don’t assume that there is a correlation exits between an athlete’s neck size and neck strength, some individuals with taller and slender necks surprisingly had greater strength than other individuals with shorter and fatter necks,” according to Dr. Robert Cantu, MD (70)
THIRD because the neck is capable of moving in so many different directions and angles, a variety of exercises, methods, tempos and ranges of motion should be used when developing the neck muscles. (69)
MEANING a variety of exercises, methods, ranges of motion, and tempos should be utilized when developing a neck strengthening program (65).
Research strengthening the neck in many different directions and angles compared to training the neck out in one or two planes of motion revealed moving in many different directions and angles had a 58% greater increase in strength (68).
To accomplish this Ryan Cidzik, as former Director of Football Strength and Conditioning at the University of Memphis recommended the following neck strength movements should be considered (65). Currently Ryan Cidzik is a member of the Stanford University Sports Performance Program (learn more – bio)
Primary motions of the neck include: (65)
- Flexion (as in tucking the chin to the chest)
- Extension (as in lifting the chin from the chest and tilting the head back)
- Lateral Flexion (left & right – as in touching the ear to the shoulder)
- Rotation (left & right – as in looking over the shoulder)
The secondary motions of the neck include: (65)
- Upward Diagonal Rotation (left & right – as in rotating the chin from the left shoulder at an upward 45 degree angle to the right)
- Downward Diagonal Rotation (left & right – as in rotating the chin downward from a 45 degree angle to the left shoulder: the opposite of Upward Rotation)
To learn more about incorporating these exercises into a week program review the complete article.