How to Avoid Neck Muscle Pain During Abdominal Exercises

A lot of people are getting into the healthy lifestyle bandwagon and are starting to get involved in incorporating physical exercise in their daily regimen. More often than not, people do crunches and abdominal exercises because most overweight Americans have their fat clumped up in the waist area. But in most cases, people tend to perform these exercises wrong, leading to neck muscle pain and discomfort.

Now that crunches are being favored more than sit-ups, which was said to be more difficult to do. But most people experience neck muscle pain because of poor form. Proper crunches are done with the spine curling forward and the shoulder blades lifting the floor, all the time the neck stays close to the neutral position.

So, how can one avoid such discomforts while still keeping the exercise? For most people, taking over-the-counter pain medications, ointments, and creams, or prescription muscle relaxants or pain relievers. But there are techniques in performing crunches and other abdominal exercises that can help prevent neck muscle discomfort, here are some of them:

• Don't forget to stretch. This should be done before and after you try to do crunches, to help loosen your muscles and make them more flexible for exercise. Performing crunches with stiff neck muscles will put more strain on the neck.
• Look for other workout positions. Although crunches are normally done lying down on one's back, it doesn't mean that all abdominal exercises are done on your back. Find ab exercises that can be performed sitting down or standing up.
• Keep on doing your exercise. It's understandable how your neck muscles would feel a bit sore and worn out after it has been exercised for the first time. As you regularly do it, the more you become used to it and the pain will go away.

You may feel discouraged at the fact that doing ab exercises can cause your neck muscle pain and discomfort. However, you should not let it stop you, but instead see it as a hurdle to get over. If you continue to experience pain even though you're performing the exercises right, see your doctor to know what else could be causing your neck pain.