Overview of NeckCare Home Exercises

Butterfly Exercise

The Butterfly Exercise challenges multiple components of sensorimotor control including proprioception (movement sense), oculomotor control, and eye-head coordination. The patient attempts to follow a moving target using head movements. The target follows a predetermined path at varying speeds.

Configuration options:

• Difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, Hard
• Repetitions: select per difficulty level

Default: All three difficulty levels, 1 repetition each.

Butterfly Visible Path Exercise

The Butterfly Visible Path Exercise is a variant of the Butterfly Exercise in which the trajectory of the target is visible on the screen. This provides the patient with a visual reference of the path the target will follow.

Configuration options:

• Difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, Hard
• Repetitions: select per difficulty level

Default: Easy, 1 repetition.

Dot Hunt Exercise

The Dot Hunt Exercise challenges sensorimotor control, including eye-head coordination. The patient attempts to locate and aim at recurring dots using head movements. The difficulty levels vary based on how long dots are visible, the required time spent on target, and the maximum distance between dots.

Configuration options:

• Difficulty levels
• Repetitions: select per difficulty level

Default: All difficulty levels, 1 repetition each.

Maze Exercise

The Maze Exercise challenges sensorimotor control by requiring the patient to navigate through maze paths using head movements.

Configuration options:

• Difficulty levels
• Repetitions: select per difficulty level

Default: All difficulty levels, 1 repetition each.

Joint Position Error Exercise

The Joint Position Error Exercise challenges proprioception, specifically joint position sense, a component of sensorimotor control. The patient starts with his head in a neutral position with eyes closed. The patient performs active movement away from the neutral position and attempts to relocate the head back to the exact initial neutral position.

Configuration options:

• Movement directions: Flexion, Extension, Rotation Left, Rotation Right
• Repetitions: select per direction
• Target offset: 0° (center) or 20°

Default: All four movement directions, 3 repetitions each, 0° offset.

Target Recall Exercise

The Target Recall Exercise challenges proprioception, specifically joint position sense, a component of sensorimotor control. The patient moves their head to a target shown at a random position, memorizes that position, and returns to the neutral position. With eyes closed, the patient then attempts to relocate the head to the memorized target position.

Configuration options:

• Difficulty levels
• Targets: select per difficulty level
• Attempts: select per target

Default: All difficulty levels, 2 targets each level, 2 attempts each target.

Move and Hold Exercise

The Move and Hold Exercise challenges cervical spine mobility. The patient moves into their comfortable maximum range, holds that position, and then returns to center for each movement. The Move and Hold Exercise supports flexion, extension, left/right rotation, and left/right lateral flexion.

Configuration options:

• Movement directions: Flexion, Extension, Rotation Left, Rotation Right
• Repetitions: select per direction

Default: Lateral flexion and rotation, 3 repetition each (flexion and extension excluded).

Customizing an Exercise

To configure any exercise in a program, click Customize next to the exercise name. From there you can adjust difficulty levels, movement directions, repetitions, and offset/attempts/targets (where applicable). Click Confirm to save your changes.

For step-by-step guidance on building and assigning a program, see Create a Customized At-Home Exercise Program for a Patient.