Q&A: Neck and Head Pain During Barbell Squats

Question:

The previous workout when performing squats I was close to failure when I started to get a intense pain in my neck and the back of my head ( I had this again last night during squats). My training partner believes my head and neck position is too far back causing me to tense my upper back and neck very hard on the eccentric part of the squat causing pain where the neck tendons attach to the skull. Has any of your clients had this problem? What do you recommend?

Answer:

Hyperextending the neck is a common fault during barbell squats and may be a large part of the reason you are feeling the pain in your neck. As you descend and the hip angle decreases, if you continue to look straight ahead your neck will extend significantly by the time you reach the bottom position. The head and neck should remain in a neutral position relative to the body throughout the exercise. The chin should be just slightly down. Imagine you are holding a tennis ball between your chin and sternum, and maintain that position.

The bar may also be positioned too high. During barbell squats, the bar should be positioned just over the spines of the scapulae, on the traps and rear delts, and not higher on the traps on the back of the neck. When the bar is placed high on the traps, it tends to place a lot of pressure on the spinous processes of the seventh cervical or first thoracic vertabrae, which can cause serious damage over time.

Keep your head in a neutral position, the bar lower on the traps/back of the rear deltoids just above the spines of the scapulae, and you should no longer feel any pain in your neck during squats.