The prone chin tuck is a neck strengthening exercise done lying face down with your head over the edge of a bed. You keep the chin gently tucked and lift the back of your head until it lines up with your body, working the muscles at the back of the neck (neck extensors) against the weight of your head. It is a harder version of the seated chin tuck, so it usually comes later in a neck program.

How to do the prone chin tuck

Lie on your stomach on a firm bed with your shoulders at the edge, so your head and neck are clear of the mattress. Rest your arms on the bed by your sides.
Let your head hang down gently, with your face toward the floor.
Tuck your chin in a little, then lift the back of your head toward the ceiling until your head is level with your body. Your eyes keep looking at the floor, so the neck lengthens rather than arching back.
Stay level for a few seconds, breathing steadily.
Lower your head slowly back to the hanging position and rest a moment before the next lift.

What you should feel

An effort in the muscles at the back of your neck and the top of your shoulders, with a sense of length at the back of the neck. It should not be painful.

Common mistakes

Lifting the face to look forward. That arches the neck back and lets the chin poke out.
Lifting the head higher than the line of your body.
Letting the head drop fast at the end. Lower it as slowly as you lifted it.
Shrugging the shoulders or holding your breath.

How often

Many programs start with 5 to 10 lifts, holding each for 3 to 10 seconds, once a day, and build the hold as it gets easier. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Pain, numbness or tingling spreads into an arm or hand, or your neck pain or headache builds with each lift.
You feel dizzy, faint or unsteady. Stop and get medical advice the same day. If you faint, it does not settle within a few minutes of sitting still, or you cannot stand or walk steadily, call emergency services.
Things look double, your vision suddenly blurs or goes, your speech slurs or becomes muddled, swallowing becomes hard, your face or lips go numb, one side of your face droops or one side of your body goes weak or numb, you suddenly become so dizzy or unsteady that you fall or cannot stand or walk, your legs suddenly give way but you do not black out (a drop attack), or you get a sudden severe headache. Stop and call emergency services, even if it goes away.
An electric shock feeling runs down your back or into your arms or legs as your head bends forward. Stop and get medical advice the same day.

From the clinic

Your head is heavier than it feels, so this is a big step up from tucking your chin sitting down. Get the chin tuck and the deep neck flexor exercise comfortable first. When you finish, rest your forehead on your hands for a few breaths, then roll to your side and sit up slowly, because hanging your head can leave you briefly lightheaded.

Some people can't lie face down comfortably. If it is hard on your back or your breathing, or you are pregnant, ask your physio for another way to train these muscles.

If your neck pain started after a recent car accident or fall, get it checked by a doctor or physio before you begin. Keep still and call emergency services if the pain came straight after a high-speed crash, a car that rolled over, being thrown from a vehicle, being hit by a vehicle while walking or cycling, a motorbike or quad bike accident, a horse riding accident, a diving injury or a fall from a height or down several stairs, or if you have numbness, tingling or weakness in an arm or leg. If you hit your head and were knocked out, cannot remember what happened, have had a headache ever since, are being sick, or take medicine that thins your blood other than aspirin on its own, go to an emergency department, and do not drive yourself.

If you have a condition that stiffens the spine, such as ankylosing spondylitis, new neck pain after even a minor fall, knock or jolt is an emergency: keep still and call emergency services if it started straight after the injury, or go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, if it started later. See a doctor the same day, before any exercise, if you are 65 or over, have low bone density (osteoporosis) or have taken steroid tablets for a long time, if your neck pain is severe, if you cannot turn your head halfway toward each shoulder, or if it hurts when you press on the bony middle of the back of your neck. Having none of these does not rule out an injury.

After neck surgery or a broken bone in the neck, check with your surgeon or physio before you start.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Prone chin tuck