Parkinson’s is notorious for causing neck pain and poor posture, which we know causes neck and upper back pain. Did you know for every inch your head protrudes past your normal alignment, you add 10 pounds of extra force on your neck? It can add up to muscular spasm, premature joint arthritis and nerve impingement. Let’s fix this!
How to Perform Moose Antler Exercise for Parkinson’s:
- Sitting or standing tall, stick your thumbs in your ears and flare your fingers up like moose antlers.
- Enclose you fingers around the back of your head, this creates an axis for which your skull can pivot around.
- Pull your head straight up to the sky using your thumbs and fingers to create a “tallness” feeling. To open your chest and correct posture more, pull your bent elbows out straight. This alone can relieve neck pain.
- Next look up with your eyes only, keeping your head still and nose straight ahead.
- Rotate your head up to match your eye gaze like you are looking up at the trees.
- Next look straight ahead with your eyes only, keeping your head still and nose straight ahead.
- Rotate your head down to match your eye gaze so you’re looking straight ahead.
- Next look down with your eyes only, keeping your head still and nose straight ahead.
- Then rotate your head down to match your eye gaze so you’re looking down at the ground.
- You can also do this looking side to side, starting with the eyes first and following with the head.
You can do this exercise all throughout the day, it will relieve computer and TV neck. It is a great one for the forward posture created by Parkinson’s. Try it and give me feedback!