Causes of Neck Pain During Pilates

Do you ever get neck pain during Pilates? My neck often felt sore and overworked for years when I first started doing Pilates. While some soreness from strengthening your neck is normal in the beginning, constant neck pain is not. What can I say? I’m stubborn sometimes! There are several reasons you may get neck pain during Pilates and just as many ways you can relieve it, too. 

Why You Get Neck Pain During Pilates

Especially when they are beginners, people will get neck pain from the exercises that require flexing or curling through the upper spine. When you’re curling up off the ground, you have gravity working against you. Pilates has a lot of these types of exercises, and a few things could be causing your sore neck. 

1. Leading with your head. When you curl up, you should be curling your whole spine, not just lifting your neck up. When you lead with your head, your neck muscles get a lot of action. Your abs? Not so much. 
2. Weak abs. Your abdominal and core muscles that support your spine are what you are trying to engage while curling up. When these muscles are weak, your neck takes on more of the work. 
3. Lifting versus lengthening. In Pilates, we are looking for a uniform, C-shaped curve of the spine when curling up, bending sideways, or extending into a backbend. To find that curve, it’s important to lengthen the spine while bending. We call this a two-way stretch, and when you’re doing it correctly your core turns on and the curl happens almost effortlessly. No more neck pain! 

Remember too, that working your muscles is a good thing. You need those muscles to be strong to support your head and neck. With consistent practice, building core strength, and learning the two-way stretch and lengthening, your neck will hurt less and less over time. Until you get to that point, it’s okay to rest down on the mat, do fewer reps, or do the exercise without curling up at all. In his book Return to Life Through Contrology, Joseph Pilates suggests working up to doing the full Hundred over time.

Tips for Reducing Neck Pain

Working on core strength and finding your C curve will help reduce your neck pain during Pilates. The following drills or pre-Pilates exercises will help. 

1. Support your head at the base of your skull with your interlaced hands or with a small towel. Using your hands or towel, gently pull to lengthen the back of your neck and lift very slightly. From there, work on curling up from the tip of your sternum and keep your head weighted into your hands or the towel.
2. Sit on the floor or mat with your knees bent, feet planted on the floor, and hands holding the back of your thighs. Keeping your hands strong on your thighs, roll back slightly, thinking of getting your tailbone under you. Focus on keeping your chin slightly tucked so your spine from the neck through the tailbone stays in a curl.  
3. Practice arm glides. I call this your “lounging on the beach” pose. From a laying down or sitting position, prop yourself up on your forearms. Keep your legs bent and feet planted on the mat. Now curl up and away from the mat so you can feel your core activate and have less weight on your arms. Next, try to slide one arm forward without shifting too much from side to side. This drill helps you to find the C curve, activate your core, and build core strength. Alternate arms for five reps on each side. As you get stronger, try to do two or three rounds and work towards sliding both arms at once. 

Neck pain during Pilates is normal in the beginning, but these tips will help. Not only will you find the pain is gone, but you’ll also have a stronger core and likely find that many exercises get easier for you.