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Chin tuck (deep neck flexors)

How to do the Chin tuck (deep neck flexors) correctly: it targets the Deep neck flexors, upper neck posture, the hold is 5 s, 10 reps, and the steps below keep it on the muscle instead of the joint.

This is mobility information, not physiotherapy and not a diagnosis. Pain is the border: a stretch that hurts at the attachment, sharpens, or sends pins and needles down the limb is loading a nerve or a tendon, not a muscle — stop and, for anything that persists or radiates, see a clinician. After an injury or surgery, stretching follows the treating clinician's protocol, not this page.

How to do it

1. Sit tall and look straight ahead; imagine a string pulling the crown of the head up.
2. Draw the chin straight back — as if making a double chin — without tilting the head up or down.
3. Hold 5 seconds, keeping the face level and the jaw relaxed.
4. Release smoothly and repeat, building to 10 reps a few times a day.

Why this stretch exists

The head weighs about five kilograms, and every centimetre it drifts forward of the shoulders multiplies the load the neck muscles must hold. Screen posture drifts the head forward, the deep neck flexors get weak, and the back of the neck tightens to compensate — the classic tension pattern. The chin tuck retrains the small stabilisers that hold the head back where the load is smallest. It is the one neck exercise that belongs in a desk routine, and it is dosed in reps rather than long holds because it trains endurance, not length.

The tuck is painless by design: pain down the arm, dizziness, or symptoms that radiate below the shoulder are not stretching problems and belong to a clinician. After a whiplash or neck surgery, neck exercises follow the treating clinician's programme.

Hold and frequency figures: the standard stretching and range-of-motion literature — 15–60 second holds, two to four rounds per muscle (about 60 seconds total), two to three sessions a week for measurable gains, static holds after activity or as their own session, dynamic movement before. The injury-prevention position: the systematic reviews — stretching does not prevent injury or soreness; it buys range of motion and comfort. Checked 2026-09-06.

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