Why does my neck hurt when I am in Ustrasana (Camel pose)?

One of the most common reasons for neck discomfort or pain when trying to take your head back in Ustrasana is short, tight neck flexor muscles. In the full version of Ustrasana, the neck is in extension (arching), if your neck flexors are too tight they will prevent you from extending your neck comfortably. It’s the same concept as when your hamstrings are short and tight you will find it hard to fold forward into a forward bend.

MUSCLES THAT FLEX THE NECK

Muscles that flex the neck and head: sternocleidomastoid, anterior scalenes, longus colli and capitus.

An example of active flexion of the neck and head.

MUSCLES THAT EXTEND THE NECK

Muscles that extend the head and neck: sub-occipitals, upper trapezius, splenius, semispinalis, longissimus and iliocostalis.

An example of active extension of the head and neck.

ARE MY NECK FLEXORS TIGHT?
If you have a head forward posture, it is very likely that they are. Over time, when the head is held forward of the ribcage (which is very common when we look at computer screens or our phones) nearly all of the muscles at the front of the neck become shorter and tighter. At the same time, the muscles at the back of the neck are becoming longer and weaker (except for the ones right at the top of the neck).

Head forward position on the left, neutral on the right.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO CORRECT THIS?
In general, you need to do two things - strengthen your neck extensor muscles and lengthen your neck flexor muscles. Make sure that your neck doesn’t hurt in any of the following positions. If it does, you may have gone to far or have some other issue with your neck apart from tight muscles.

STRENGTHENING THE NECK EXTENSOR MUSCLES
To prepare for the pose you will need to strengthen your neck extensors. Below are examples of postures that strengthen the muscles on the back of the neck. It’s important not to jut your chin forward when you do these, otherwise you will jam the top of your neck (C1 and C2). Before you lift your head and neck into extension tilt your nose down slightly, then, slowly lift the head and neck into position.

LENGTHENING THE NECK FLEXOR MUSCLES

You can try this in a variety of postures before you attempt it in Ustrasana.

Against the floor - keep your ribs anchored to the front of your pelvis and tilt your nose down towards your chest.

Dandasana: tilt your nose down and take your head back until your ears are in line with your shoulders. Make sure you don’t lift the front of your ribcage as you do this or you will lose the stretch in the neck.

Chatus pitham: tilt your nose down slightly to feel the muscles contracting at the top of your throat (it is a very subtle action - don’t overdo it), once you feel the muscles contracting, start to take your head back without lifting your nose. Don’t go all the way back, just until you can feel all of the muscles on the front of the neck working. Start in the position shown at first, then gradually over time you will be able to take your head back a little more each time you practice.

Purvottanasana: practice in the same way as Chatus pitham.

PRACTICING ROTATION
During rotation from one side to the other, nearly all of the muscles in the neck go through a full range - from very short to very long. So this is a great way to work on lengthening short tight muscles and strengthening long weak muscles. By lengthening your neck and tilting your nose down slightly before turning your head, you will be lengthening the right muscles in preparation for Ustrasana. Most people find that turning their head to one side is easier than the other. If this is you, you will need to balance this out before taking your head back in Ustrasana. If you don’t, your neck will twist as you take it back and cause problems in the joints or compress nerves.

Trikonasana: make sure your neck is long and nose slightly down when you are upright and maintain it like that as you tilt to the side, then slowly turn to look up.

Ardha matsyendrasana variation

Maricyasana C

TECHNIQUE: HOW TO PROGRESS THE NECK IN USTRASANA

Once your neck extensors are strong and you can rotate the neck easily without pain you can start to lengthen your neck flexor muscles in Ustrasana. Make sure that every other part of your body feels comfortable in Ustrasana before you start working on the neck movement. If your lower back is hurting or you have not kept your abdominal muscles engaged there will not be proper support for the neck. See other posts on Ustrasana for more details.

To take the head back, first tilt your nose down slightly to feel the muscles contracting at the top of your throat (it is a very subtle action - don’t overdo it), once you feel the muscles contracting, start to take your head back without lifting your nose. Don’t go all the way back, just until you can feel all of the muscles on the front of the neck working. Don’t let go of the effort at any stage, then when you bring the head back to neutral (when exiting the pose) it will be easy because the neck flexors will do the work.

At first only take your head to this position. You can see Anita’s muscles at the front of her neck (sternocleidomastoid) working to hold the head and neck in position. Make sure you keep the nose tilting slightly down towards the chest the whole time.

By practicing like this, keeping the neck flexor muscles active as you gradually lengthen them, you will start to feel that your neck is stronger as well as having more control when you take your head back. This takes time - it may take weeks or months before you feel comfortable taking your head back.

If this isn’t working for you, it’s possible that the neck flexor muscles are still too tight and you will need to do more to lengthen them, or, you have some other issue that needs investigating. If you know you have instability in the neck, then it is probably better not to take the head back at all. Instead stay with the above version to create strength and stability.

written by Jean Campbell