How to improve neck mobility: turning, tilting and nodding, for desk work, driving and sport, how often, and when neck symptoms need a different plan

Turning, tilting and nodding

Young adults turn the head about 75 to 80 degrees each way, nod through about 130 degrees and tilt each ear towards the shoulder about 38 to 45 degrees. Range falls gradually with age, more after 50.

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4

Daily life uses little of it, except looking behind you

Fifteen everyday tasks used a median of about 20 degrees of nodding forward and back and 18 of turning, but reversing a car used 92% of full turning. The oldest drivers in one study had lost about a third of their head turn.

Sources 5, 6

Move it little and often

Separate turns, tilts and nods, slowly and as far as is comfortable: 2 or 3 at a time, every hour or so at a desk, building to about 10, as NHS inform's neck exercises suggest. The NHS's neck rotation holds each turn for 5 seconds, 3 times each side.

Sources 7, 8

The trials are small, and few measured range

A year of neck strength training improved neck range in 180 women office workers, and tai chi or qigong improved bending forward and back a little across 4 trials. In one trial of 100 office workers, a twice-daily neck movement game raised range and cut new neck pain over 6 months. But a 12-week stretching class didn't change neck range in 48 older women, and stretching alone made little difference to neck pain in a Cochrane review.

Sources 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Posture and phones are weak causes

Forward head posture was slightly greater in adults with neck pain, but not in teenagers, and texting posture didn't predict neck pain over a year, while poor sleep and inactivity did. Move often rather than chasing a perfect posture.

Sources 14, 15

Don't crack or force it, and know the stop signs

Manipulation gives small, short-lived and inconsistent gains in range, and in 24 published cases of harm after people cracked their own necks, half were torn neck arteries and 2 people died. Dizziness, double vision, slurred speech, trouble swallowing or tingling down an arm are stop signs, and a stiff neck with a fever is a 999 call: see the warning signs.

Sources 16, 17, 18

Three movements

The neck is the seven smallest and most mobile vertebrae. Most nodding happens where the skull meets the top vertebra and most turning between the top two, as our spine page explains. Neck mobility means turning (rotation), tilting each ear towards the shoulder (side bending) and nodding forward and back (flexion and extension).

What's typical

Young adults turn about 75 to 80 degrees each way, nod through about 130 degrees from chin on chest to looking at the ceiling, and tilt about 38 to 45 degrees each way. Range falls with age, more after 50, and on X-rays of 1,230 people the lower neck's bending forward and back fell from 68 degrees in their 20s to 45 in their 70s. Women usually have more range, except in side bending. In healthy people, the same person's range varied by about 14 to 20 degrees from day to day, so compare yourself over weeks, not sessions.

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 19

What daily life needs

Little, except looking behind you: in 60 adults, 15 everyday tasks used a median of about 20 degrees of nodding forward and back, 14 of tilting and 18 of turning, while reversing a car used 92% of full turning. Shoulder checks when cycling or changing lanes need the same; our neck pain when turning your head guide covers driving.

Sources 5, 20

What limits it

The small joints at the back and sides of the neck; the muscles (the upper trapezius and levator scapulae at the back and sides, the sternocleidomastoid at the front); how much stretch you tolerate; and age-related changes in the joints, which are common and often painless, as our strengthen your neck guide says. A stiff upper back limits looking up and turning too. Pain is the biggest limiter: across 27 studies, people with neck pain had less range in every direction.

Source 21

Desk work and phones

A link with neck pain, not a proven cause of lost range: posture types and texting posture didn't predict neck pain, and in 60 students, heavy phone users didn't have less neck range. Moving often matters more than holding a perfect position.

Sources 22, 15, 23

How people differ

Range falls with age, women usually move a little more, and very flexible people need control more than stretch. Rheumatoid arthritis in the neck, a past neck operation, osteoporosis or a recent injury change what's safe: see who should change the plan.

1. Turning

Sit tall and turn your head each way as far as is comfortable, without your shoulders turning. Note where your chin gets to over each shoulder, and whether one side is tighter.

2. Tilting and nodding

Tilt each ear towards its shoulder without lifting the shoulder, then nod your chin towards your chest and look up towards the ceiling. Compare sides rather than chasing a number.

3. What to watch for

A stretch or a mild ache is fine. Dizziness, blurred or double vision, or tingling down an arm when you turn or look up is not: stop, and see the warning signs.

Typical range, and how it changes with ageStrong evidence

In 60 young adults, head and neck range in total was about 130 to 136 degrees of nodding, 77 to 91 of side bending and 155 to 162 of turning, with women moving more. In 70 men, nodding fell from about 130 to 117 degrees and turning from 160 to 153 between the teens and the late 30s. Range fell with age in 337 people aged 11 to 97, across 34 studies and in 400 adults, more after 50. Only norms measured with a CROM device (a frame worn on the head that measures neck angles) are judged usable across 55 studies, so treat exact numbers as rough.

Sources 1, 24, 25, 2, 3, 4, 26

Measuring itEmerging evidence

The CROM device is the best-tested way to measure neck range, and phone apps are reliable on low-certainty evidence. In healthy people, range varied by about 14 to 20 degrees from day to day, so small changes may not be real.

Sources 27, 28, 29, 19

Neck pain goes with less rangeStrong evidence

Across 27 studies of 2,366 people, people with neck pain had less range in every direction, from about 7 degrees less side bending to about 90 degrees less in total, and less again after whiplash. Office workers with neck pain turned less.

Sources 21, 30

Daily tasks and drivingStrong evidence

In 60 adults, 15 everyday tasks used a median of about 20 degrees of nodding forward and back, 14 of side bending and 18 of turning, while reversing a car used 92% of full turning. In 28 students, backing up a car used about 68 degrees of turning.

Sources 5, 20

Older driversEmerging evidence

The oldest of 80 drivers had lost about a third of their head turn. In 270 drivers aged 70 to 88, less neck range went with unsafe driving only before other factors were taken into account, and a 12-week physiotherapy programme that included neck and trunk turning raised road-test scores a little in 178 drivers over 70, without reporting neck range.

Sources 6, 31, 32

Posture and phones are weak causesEmerging evidence

Across 15 studies, forward head posture was slightly greater in adults with neck pain but not in teenagers. Posture types didn't predict neck pain in 1,108 17-year-olds, and young women who slumped had less lasting neck pain at 22 (686 people). Texting posture didn't predict neck pain over a year in 396 adults, while poor sleep and inactivity did, and heavy phone users had no less neck range in 60 students.

Sources 14, 22, 33, 15, 23

Stretching doesn't change postureStrong evidence

Across 23 studies, stretching didn't change posture, while strengthening helped the upper back and neck a little. In people with neck pain, exercise improved the head's forward angle by about 3.4 degrees across 10 trials.

Sources 34, 35

For neck pain, strengthening has the best supportStrong evidence

Strengthening the neck, shoulder blades and arms helps neck pain, while stretching and range of motion exercise alone made little or no difference across 27 trials in a Cochrane review (low-quality evidence). Strengthening, motor control and yoga-type exercise helped by similar amounts across 40 trials. Specific strength training cut the worst neck muscle pain by about 79% in 48 women, and neck and shoulder stretches twice a day eased office workers' pain by 1.4 points out of 10 in 96 people. Neither measured range, and most office-worker reviews didn't either.

Sources 13, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40

Trials that measured rangeEmerging evidence

A year of neck strength training improved turning, side bending and nodding in 180 women office workers. Tai chi, qigong or Baduanjin improved bending forward and back a little across 4 trials of 208 people. Adding stretching to usual care improved bending back, turning one way and side bending in 38 people, and posture re-education or static stretching each added about 10 degrees of bending forward in 31 women. Deep neck flexor (chin tuck) training gave very small gains in the 2 of 12 trials that measured range. After whiplash, neck-specific exercise improved range within groups at 3 and 15 months in 140 people, with no untreated group, while a 20-session exercise programme eased pain no more than advice in 172 people.

Sources 9, 10, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45

A movement game and a stretching classMixed evidence

In one trial of 100 office workers, a smartphone game that prompted active neck movements twice a day raised range and cut new neck pain over 6 months (20% against 44%). But in 48 women aged about 75, supervised stretching twice a week for 12 weeks didn't change neck range, though it raised shoulder range by a third. One trial each, pointing different ways.

Sources 11, 12

The upper backEmerging evidence

Thrust manipulation of the upper back had large short-term effects on neck range in 6 weak trials. Self-mobilisation over taped tennis balls raised neck bending straight away in 52 people, and upper back exercise or manipulation added to neck exercise raised bending forward about 8 degrees and back 9 to 12 in 26 office workers. The larger reviews and trials of upper back work measured pain, disability and posture, not neck range.

Sources 46, 47, 48, 49, 50

Cracking and manipulationMixed evidence

Manipulation raises neck range a little and only straight away, inconsistently across studies. In 24 published cases of harm after people cracked their own necks, half were torn neck arteries (cervical artery dissection), half were strokes, and 2 people died; how often it happens is unknown. Chiropractic care had a small link with artery tears that may reflect the neck pain itself (very low certainty), and professional statements advise warning patients and checking for artery problems first.

Sources 16, 17, 18, 51, 52, 53

Neck circlesMixed evidence

We found no trial of neck circles or head rolls as an exercise. Neck circling has been studied only as a way to measure movement, in 39 adults, and the only trial of CARs (controlled articular rotations: slow circles at the edge of your range) is at the hip, in one session.

Sources 54, 55

Little and oftenStrong evidence

NHS inform's neck exercises use 2 to 3 repetitions at a time, practised every hour, building to about 10; the NHS's neck rotation holds 5 seconds, 3 times each side, at least twice a week; and an NHS emergency department leaflet holds each movement for 5 seconds, 5 times. These are guideline doses: no trial has compared them.

Sources 7, 8, 56

Stretching doesn't prevent injuries, and gains fadeStrong evidence

Stretching programmes didn't cut sports injuries across 25 trials, the extra range from one session fades within about 30 minutes, and range slips back over weeks when people stop.

Sources 57, 58, 59

Little and often

Separate turns, tilts and nods, slowly and as far as is comfortable: 2 or 3 at a time, every hour or so on desk days, building to about 10, as NHS inform suggests; or holds of 5 seconds, 3 to 5 each way, once or twice a day, as the NHS and an NHS emergency department leaflet do.

Sources 7, 8, 56

Chin tucks every day

8 to 10 slow chin tucks, eyes level, sliding the head back rather than tipping it down (our spine mobility routine and neck and shoulder stretches).

Circles once separate moves are comfortable

Neck circles in small, slow arcs with the shoulders still. The move page's dose is "3 slow circles each way, once or twice a day (our editorial starting point). With a sore neck, use separate nods, tilts and turns instead: the NHS leaflet holds each for 5 seconds, 5 times." Skip tipping the head back if it makes you dizzy.

Gentle side stretches and the upper back

Let the hand's weight do the work rather than pulling: the upper trap release at 2 slow holds of 30 seconds per side (the move page's dose), and the levator stretch for 20 to 30 seconds, 2 to 4 times each side (our editorial starting point). Then thoracic rotations at 6 rotations per side, moving with the breath (the move page's dose); our thoracic mobility guide has more.

Strength 2 or 3 times a week

Lying chin tucks, head lifts and light holds against your hand, plus rows, 2 or 3 times a week, light and slow (our neck and shoulder strength routine and strengthen your neck guide). In a year-long trial, neck strength training improved range as well as pain.

Sources 9, 13

How long it takes

Range trials ran from 4 weeks to a year. Expect change over weeks, and judge it over weeks too, since range varies from day to day. Keep moving daily: movement breaks are the habit that matters at a desk.

Sources 9, 10, 19

Common slip-ups

Pulling the head with the hand; dropping the head back heavily at the top of a circle; shrugging the shoulders while turning; turning fast to "crack" the neck; pushing through dizziness, tingling or a headache (our editorial list). Each move's page teaches its technique.

Desk work and phonesEmerging evidence

Posture and phone use are weak causes of neck pain and didn't go with less range, so move often rather than chasing a perfect position: a few turns, tilts, nods and chin tucks every hour or so, as NHS inform suggests, or our 3-minute desk movement break.

Sources 22, 15, 23, 7

DrivingEmerging evidence

Reversing used 92% of full turning, and the oldest drivers in one study had lost about a third of their head turn. A physiotherapy programme with neck and trunk turning improved road-test scores a little in drivers over 70. The NHS says not to do anything that could be dangerous, such as driving or cycling, while you can't move your neck; our neck pain when turning your head guide covers driving.

Sources 5, 6, 32, 60

Sport and the gymEmerging evidence

In a year-long trial, neck strength training improved range as well as pain, so neck strength work is no reason to expect a stiffer neck. Before contact sport or heavy lifting, a few slow turns, tilts and nods prepare it; our strengthen your neck guide covers neck strength for contact sport.

Sources 9, 37

Older adultsEmerging evidence

Range falls gradually with age, and one 12-week stretching class didn't change neck range in women around 75, so move little and often, include the upper back, and keep turning your head in daily life. The NHS asks adults over 65 for activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility on at least 2 days a week.

Sources 2, 12, 61

After whiplashEmerging evidence

Neck-specific exercise improved range within groups at 3 and 15 months in 140 people, with no untreated group, while a 20-session exercise programme eased pain no more than advice in 172 people. The NHS advises trying to carry on with everyday activities, not using a neck collar and not resting your neck for long periods; our whiplash guide has the plan.

Sources 44, 45, 62

A painful or stiff neck right now

A neck that is painful or stiff right now, after sleeping awkwardly or for no clear reason, belongs first with our stiff neck guide, and pain when you turn your head with our neck pain when turning your head guide; come back to this plan as it settles (our suggestion).

Turning in daily life (our suggestion): turning towards the stiff side can feel tight and achy, up to about 5 out of 10. Turn to the edge of the comfortable range and back, little and often, rather than into a sharp catch. Pain that changes from day to day "is not a sign that you're doing damage", an NHS trust says, and the next morning is the test. In long-lasting muscle and joint pain, exercise that allowed some pain did no worse than pain-free exercise.

Arm symptoms

Use your arm, not your neck, as the main guide. An exercise is fine if it does not send pain, tingling or numbness further down your arm, and any increase settles within an hour. A hospital leaflet on nerve glides allows some increase in symptoms but not one lasting over an hour; applying that to every exercise is this site's suggestion.

Stop and get checked if the arm feels weaker or numbness spreads.

After whiplash or neck surgery

After whiplash, keep your neck moving gently within comfort and follow our whiplash guide: the NHS advises against a neck collar and against resting your neck for long periods. After neck surgery, follow your surgical team's limits first (our suggestion).

Source 62

Rheumatoid arthritis in the neck

With rheumatoid arthritis that affects your neck, leave this out: the NHS says long-standing rheumatoid arthritis raises the risk of an uncommon but serious problem at the top of the spine (cervical myelopathy).

Osteoporosis or a recent injury

Painless cracking that happens as you move needs no treatment. You don't need to force it: if you feel the urge many times a day, move your back through its range and strengthen it instead. Don't force your neck, and don't self-manipulate with osteoporosis or after an injury.

Dizziness or vertigo

Often an inner-ear problem rather than the neck: see a GP. With numbness, weakness, a drooping face, double vision, or trouble speaking or balancing, call 999.

Dizziness, light-headedness or tingling into an arm during the neck moves are stop signs, not sensations to push through.

Very flexible already

If you're already very flexible, put your time into strength and control through the range you have. Stretch only areas that feel genuinely tight, and only to a mild pull, and avoid hanging at the end of your range or pushing joints back past straight. The strength and control moves below are a place to start, and our hypermobility guide has a full routine, the evidence and the warning signs. If you do Pilates, our Pilates for hypermobility guide covers which moves to adapt.

Source 63

Stop and get medical help

If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise.

Call 999 (911 in the US)

For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; severe difficulty breathing; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.

Sources 64, 65, 66

A stiff neck with a fever

Call 999 or go to A&E: a stiff neck and you can't look at bright lights; a very painful headache; a very high or very low temperature, feeling hot or cold to the touch, or shivering; confusion, slurred speech or not making sense; a rash that does not fade when you press a glass on it; or a first seizure (fit). These can be signs of meningitis. Call too for any other symptoms you're worried might be meningitis.

Source 67

After a neck injury

Call 999 or go to A&E after a neck injury if the person is unresponsive, has severe neck pain or cannot move their head, has fallen from a height such as 5 or more stairs, or is drunk or has taken recreational drugs. Do not drive yourself. Being 65 or over, a dangerous fall or crash (from more than 1 metre or 5 stairs, diving, a high-speed or rollover crash, being thrown from a vehicle, a bicycle collision or an accident on a motorised recreational vehicle), or tingling in the arms or legs after an injury puts you at high risk of a broken neck: get checked.

Brain, artery and spinal cord signs

Call 999 or go to A&E: a headache that came on suddenly and is extremely painful; numbness or weakness in the face or body; a drooping face, or being unable to lift both arms and keep them up; difficulty speaking, swallowing, balancing, walking or remembering; double vision or loss of vision; drowsiness or confusion. A torn neck artery often starts with headache and neck pain, sometimes with dizziness or tingling, so head or neck pain unlike any you have had before needs checking.

Call 999 or go to A&E: new problems walking, loss of bladder or bowel control, or a sudden loss of coordination, such as difficulty doing up buttons. These can be signs of pressure on the spinal cord.

Heart signs

Call 999: chest pain that spreads to your arm, neck or jaw, especially with breathlessness, sweating or feeling sick. It could be a heart attack.

Get help from NHS 111: pain or tightness in your chest, neck, shoulders, jaw or arms that comes and goes, often brought on by exercise, stress, emotion or cold and easing after a few minutes' rest. It can be angina, a sign of a heart problem. If you've been diagnosed with angina, get help from NHS 111 too if it feels worse than before, is happening more often, lasts longer or happens when you're resting.

Source 64

Same day

Same day (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): severe neck pain that starts suddenly or gets worse quickly; heaviness or weakness in the arms or legs; pins and needles in an arm along with neck or arm pain; or pain between the shoulder blades.

Same day: clumsiness in your hands, or numbness, pins and needles or weakness in one or both arms, that is getting worse; problems with balance or walking since the neck pain started; or neck pain with a severe headache.

Sources 60, 68

After whiplash

Same day after whiplash (urgent GP appointment or NHS 111): severe pain despite taking paracetamol or ibuprofen; tingling or pins and needles on one or both sides of the body; problems walking or sitting upright; a sudden "electric shock" feeling in the neck and back, which may also go into the arms and legs; or weak hands, arms or legs. Don't drive or cycle until you've spoken to a GP or NHS 111.

Source 62

Dizziness or visual changes when you turn your head

Often an inner-ear problem rather than the neck: see a GP. With numbness, weakness, a drooping face, double vision, or trouble speaking or balancing, call 999.

Neck pain with feeling generally unwell, or that started while you were ill with another condition such as rheumatoid arthritis or cancer; or neck pain with blurred vision, ringing in the ears or dizziness.

Stop and get checked for dizziness, double vision, slurred speech, trouble swallowing or any of the warning signs above.

Dizziness, light-headedness or tingling into an arm during the neck moves are stop signs, not sensations to push through.

Neck circles when an artery problem is possible

Stop for dizziness, vision or speech symptoms. With a pinched nerve, skip looking up and turning toward the sore side if they bring on arm symptoms

No trial shows harm or benefit from neck rolls. An international framework advises clinicians to avoid end-of-range turning and tipping the head back when an artery problem is suspected.

Driving

You can't turn your head far enough to look round when you drive: don't drive until you can (the NHS says not to drive or cycle while you can't move your neck), and see a general practitioner (GP) if it doesn't ease within a few weeks.

Source 60

A trapped nerve that's getting worse

Arm weakness or numbness that keeps getting worse, severe pain that painkillers and rest do not touch, or an unexplained fever.

No improvement after 6 weeks of exercise, or arm symptoms still there beyond 6 to 12 weeks.

See a GP

Neck pain or stiffness that has not eased after a few weeks, or after 8 weeks of looking after it yourself; painkillers are not helping; or you are worried. In many areas you can refer yourself to NHS physiotherapy.

Severe pain that is constant or disturbs your sleep, a fever or unexplained weight loss, or a history of cancer, inflammatory arthritis, tuberculosis (TB), a weakened immune system, neck surgery or a violent injury. Serious causes are very rare, but these need checking.

Source 60

During any session

Stop straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, the NHS says, and contact 111 if your symptoms worry you or don't go away.

NHS inform's neck exercise advice: rate your pain from 0 to 10. During exercise, 0 to 3 is minimal and 4 to 5 is acceptable; 6 or more is too much. If it goes higher, do fewer repetitions, move more slowly or rest longer between movements.

Exercise should not make your neck worse overall. Soreness from a new exercise should ease quickly, and your neck should be no worse the next morning. Stop any exercise that makes your symptoms worse or causes new pain.

Arm symptoms are the exception. If an exercise sends pain, tingling or numbness further down your arm, or the extra symptoms last more than an hour afterwards, make the movement smaller or leave it out. (A hospital leaflet on nerve glides allows a short-lived rise in symptoms but not one lasting over an hour; the rest of this rule is this site's suggestion.)

Sources 7, 69

Very flexible joints

See a GP if you think you or your child have joint hypermobility syndrome, for example joints that keep dislocating, ongoing joint or muscle pain and stiffness, frequent sprains, tiredness even after rest, poor balance or thin, stretchy skin. A GP may check your Beighton score, arrange tests to rule out other conditions and refer you to a physiotherapist.

Slowly and with control, in the middle of your range, stopping short of locking your knees or elbows or hanging at the end of a joint's range. If a joint feels about to slip, stop or make the movement smaller (our editorial rule, the same as in our shoulder dislocation guide).

Source 63

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.

Check first

Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting or hard straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists. After a recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, follow our shoulder dislocation guide or your surgical team first.

Speak to a GP first if you haven't exercised for some time, or if you have a medical condition or concerns. Get advice first, too, if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, have recently had a heart attack or an operation, or are pregnant or have recently given birth.

Source 70

A heart condition or high blood pressure

If you have a heart condition, follow your cardiac team's advice on how hard to work, and stop for the warning signs above. People with long-term conditions may wish to ask their specialist before starting. With uncontrolled high blood pressure, avoid straining against a held breath; the high blood pressure guide has more.

"Cracking your neck improves mobility"Mixed evidence

Manipulation's range gains are small and short-lived, and cracking your own neck has caused rare but serious harm, including torn neck arteries and strokes.

Sources 16, 17, 18

"Tech neck from phones and desks wrecks your neck's range"Mixed evidence

Texting posture didn't predict neck pain, heavy phone users had no less range, and posture is a weak cause of neck pain. Moving often matters more than any one position.

Sources 15, 23, 14

"Stretching is the way to fix a stiff neck"Mixed evidence

Stretching alone made little difference to neck pain in a Cochrane review, while strengthening has better support and improved range over a year in one trial.

Sources 13, 9

"Neck circles are dangerous for everyone"Mixed evidence

No trial has tested them either way. Our neck pain guide suggests separate moves when your neck is sore, and avoiding turning and tipping the head back to the end of the range when an artery problem is possible.

Source 54

"Good posture is the cure"Mixed evidence

Exercise changes head posture a little, about 3 degrees, but posture barely predicts neck pain.

Sources 35, 14, 33

"Losing neck movement is just ageing"Emerging evidence

Range does fall gradually with age, but a big or sudden loss, or pain, numbness or dizziness with it, needs checking: see the warning signs.

Source 2

"More neck mobility is always better"Mixed evidence

Range you can't control isn't an advantage. One review argues flexibility shouldn't count as a major part of fitness at all, and very flexible people need strength and control rather than more stretch.

Sources 71, 63