Concussion recovery often stalls because the neck, injured by the same forces that shook the brain, keeps feeding symptoms long after the brain has settled. This program reconditions that neglected neck with strictly sub-symptom progressions, starting from supported entry drills and finishing at full multiplanar strength. It is built for people cleared by their clinician to begin graded physical reconditioning.
Recondition the neck after concussion with sub-symptom progressions that rebuild strength, motion tolerance, and head control.
Begin loading the neck below the threshold that stirs any symptom. Supported positions and tiny doses let the system win every session.
Supine nodding reactivates the deep flexors and reintroduces gentle head motion with the brain spared any postural demand.
Wall presses rebuild neck strength isometrically, producing zero head movement and therefore zero provocation for a recovering brain.
Slow, small glides restore basic sagittal motion at an intensity chosen to stay under the symptom ceiling, not near it.
Advance whenAdvance when entry drills stay symptom-free during sessions and for the following 24 hours.
Expand movement variety and duration in careful steps. Each symptom-free session raises the ceiling for the next.
An ultra-light full circle reintroduces multidirectional load gradually, expanding tolerance without sudden vestibular demand.
Controlled turns rebuild rotation tolerance, the movement concussion patients most often restrict and most need for daily life and driving.
Neutral bracing strengthens head support so the neck stops fatiguing into the tension headaches that mimic concussion symptoms.
Advance whenAdvance after two weeks of full sessions with no headache, fog, or fatigue response.
Train genuine strength and combined planes now that tolerance is established. The neck starts absorbing the forces it will meet in full activity.
Sustained slow circles build the endurance a reconditioning neck needs before it can support full days of normal activity.
Shallow diagonals introduce the combined flexion-rotation patterns of real movement at a depth the recovering system can certify safe.
Rotational isometrics rebuild the bracing strength that helps the neck damp future impacts before they reach the head.
Advance whenAdvance when loaded multiplanar work completes cleanly with energy left over and no next-day payback.
Close the gap to unrestricted activity with full-range, sensory-challenged work. The neck returns to duty stronger than before the injury.
Eyes-closed rotation retrains the cervical position sense concussion disrupts, restoring clean sensory input the balance system depends on.
Full-range diagonals demonstrate complete multiplanar tolerance, the practical benchmark for finishing reconditioning.
Rotation across varied speeds prepares the neck for the quick, unplanned head movements of normal life and sport.
The 360 degree resistance head unit this program is built around, with the anchor and bands you need to train every direction from day one.
We call for an effort level instead of a specific weight, because the right resistance depends on you, the movement, and where you are in your training. For the sets and reps listed on each exercise, pick the resistance that makes the last few reps feel like the level shown.
You finish the set with several clean reps still in the tank. The work stays easy and fully controlled from the first rep to the last.
You could manage a few more reps at the end, but not many. The final reps take real effort while your form holds.
You reach the last prescribed rep with little or nothing left. Completing every rep with good form is genuinely hard.
These are starting points, not rules. Everyone is built differently, so adjust to fit you: size down if your form breaks before the final rep or a movement aggravates a symptom, and only size up once every rep feels smooth and pain free. When you are unsure, choose the lighter option.
