Over the years I have been involved in combat sports and get to treat my fair share of combat sport athletes. I myself managed to scrap my way to a Judo blue belt and dip my toe in and out of boxing on a weekly basis. Lately I’ve decided to try and unravel the enigma known as Brazilian jiu jitsu, at which I’ve concluded I’ll probably be a career white belt if the feedback from my coach is anything to go by.
So it’s safe to say I’ve been in a few scraps, which brings me to one of the most common injuries in modern martial arts. Grapplers neck!! Now this is not a scientific term or description, its just a general observation on a fairly large population of the BJJ, Judo and wrestling population that come to see me with pain and stiffness in the neck and upper shoulder areas.
What are the causes?
The grappling arts are full of lovely techniques where your opponent can control you by the neck, leverage you by the neck or even attack your neck for the purpose of submission victory. Nasty right? No wonder there are so many sore necks on my treatment table.
So what can you do?
The neck consists of seven bones or vertebra known as the cervical spine. In days gone by the old school fighters used brutal strengthening methods like neck bridging or even head butting a heavy bag to increase the durability of their neck. For a recreational martial artist I couldn’t advise against this more strongly. The neck is not designed for heavy weight bearing or resisting great loads. Even the act of texting can put a strain on it. Extreme caution is required when performing any stretching or strengthening of the neck area so gently does it. A strength coach I know for a professional boxer uses suspension training for his client which is great but I’d only use this method under the supervision of someone who knows what they’re doing.
If the neck feels like it’s under unnecessary stress, the ever vigilant sentinel that stands guard over your neck (the nervous system) will kick into overdrive and lock it into a painful, protective spasm. It can take a lot of time and therapy before your nervous system decides it wants to be friends again and release your neck from it’s protective embrace.
One of the best techniques I’ve found to keep your neck in a healthy condition is the humble chin tuck. Simply protrude your chin forwards as far as you can then retract it back, tucking it in. It encourages a good range of motion and give the deep neck flexors a nice stretch. Perform regularly for a couple sets of 20 reps per day for the best results.
As well as chin tucks, simple range of motion exercises are recommended to encourage good movements patterns. Especially if you spend a lot of time using computers. Flexion, extension, rotation and side flexion.
Stretches that I regularly use with clients to promote a healthy neck are simple stretches of the upper trapezius and levator scaplula. For the upper traps simply reach a hand over the top of your head and pull your head to the side with gentle over pressure. Hold this for approximately 10 seconds.
For the levator scapula, repeat the same technique employed for the upper trap but rotate your hanging arm around your back. You should feel the stretch in a different part of your neck.
These techniques performed consistently will go towards helping protect your neck from strain and injury. Looking after it will increase your chances of staying on the mat and not on the treatment table.
RB