A chin tuck is a small neck exercise for pain after whiplash: sit up straight, slide your chin straight back with your eyes level, hold it 5 seconds, and do 10.
Not every exercise is for every patient. The ones meant for you carry a check mark on the home sheet your physician fills out; stick to those, morning and evening, every day, unless the sheet gives you a different schedule.
What are the steps for the chin tuck?
- Get set: Sit upright on a firm chair, or stand up straight.
- Move: Glide your chin straight back, the way you would to make a double chin. Your eyes keep looking straight ahead.
- How many: Hold each one for 5 seconds. Do 10 in a row.
How does the chin tuck help you recover?
A rear-end crash snaps the head forward and back. Afterward, the small deep muscles in the front of the neck often go quiet, and the big muscles in the back of the neck and shoulders clench to hold the head up instead. The chin tuck wakes those deep muscles back up and trains your head to rest over your shoulders, not out in front of them.
Chin tucks are one of the moves people with a narrow neck canal can usually keep doing. If you have been told you have cervical stenosis, our guide to cervical stenosis exercises to avoid covers the positions to stay away from.
Which mistakes should you watch for?
- Looking down at the floor as you tuck. Keep your gaze level.
- Forcing it. The motion is short and easy.
- Hiking your shoulders up as you pull back.
When should you stop and call us?
Feeling a stretch, a bit of ache, or next-day stiffness is expected and fine. Stop the exercise and call us if you notice any of these:
- Sharp or stabbing pain
- Pain that jumps 2 or more points above your usual and lasts over an hour
- New numbness, tingling or weakness
- Dizziness or a change in your vision
Call 911 right away for chest pain, fainting or trouble breathing.
Why does your exercise log matter?
Each time you finish your exercises, tick the box on your log, and jot your pain number down once a day. The log rides along to every visit. Your technician adds up your days, has you demonstrate one exercise so form can be checked, and enters that tally in the visit note, right beside the treatments.
What to remember
- The chin slides back; the head does not tip down.
- Small and slow beats big and hard.
- Five-second holds, ten in a set.
Show us you have it: Do one chin tuck for your technician while you sit in the treatment chair. If any part is unclear, ask us to go over it again; there is no limit on that.
Other neck exercises in the program
This page belongs to the Gateway Midwest physician-directed physiotherapy program. On Natural Bridge Road, the physician who examined you signs each order, and no treatment runs without a physician on site.
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