Home Therapeutic Exercises

Therapeutic exercises can be performed at home using low-tech items such as a jump rope, a tennis ball and a wall. There are thousands of therapeutic exercises, but doing just a few to address common habitual stress in the spine only takes a few minutes. If you have any obvious chronic injuries to your ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, low back or neck, see your physician or a physical therapist for a complete assessment. Do not perform these therapeutic exercises if you have any chronic diseases or glaucoma or are pregnant.

Reduce Chronic Neck Pain

• Therapeutic exercises are designed to reduce low-grade physical tension and build functional strength in the muscles and a healthy range of movement in the joints to prevent a more serious injury. Chronic neck pain is common, as many people sit in front of a computer each day for hours or sit in the car to commute. Doing either can overstretch the back of the neck, creating "forward head" syndrome and chronic neck pain.

  To reduce this issue, use a clean jump rope. Stand with your feet apart and knees facing forward. Hold each end of the jump rope in your hands and keeping your lower abdominal muscles engaged, lift and lower the jump rope over your head and behind you to your hips and back over to the front. Repeat 10 times. This movement prevents and reduces "forward head" syndrome and Dowager's hump--a visible hunchback in the upper spine.

Reduce Wrist Pain

• Carpal tunnel syndrome can occur from repetitive movements such as typing with the wrists lowered or elevated above the hands. This creates tension on small bones in the wrists and can become painful. The remedy is to strengthen the long extensor muscles of the forearms.

  Squeeze an old tennis ball several times to develop the extensor muscles. Keep a smaller version on your desk at work and home to use throughout the day to prevent wrist pain and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Reduce Low Back Pain Without Strain

• Sitting for extended periods of time tires the small quadratus lumboratum that lie on either side of the spine above the waistline at the back. Passive stretching of the low back can help reduce chronic low back.

  At home, sit in front of a wall and lie back onto the floor. Place your heels on the wall and extend the legs straight, keeping a small bend in the knees. Put a pillow or rolled up towel below the neck for support. This is a variation of a yoga pose called Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani) and will passively stretch the low back and rest the heart as an elevation (the head below the heart). Remain in this position for 5 to 10 minutes and then slowly sit up.