Does this posture look familiar?
A huge number of my clients with upper back and shoulder tightness guiltily admit to poor desk posture. Along with long hours spent driving, tapping away on laptops and curled up watching T.V., it’s little wonder that our bodies quickly adapt to this hunched over position, adopting it as the norm.
At the end of a long day in our hunched over positions, we drag ourselves to the gym to get fitter and healthier, often peddling away on the static bike, still adopting our hunched position, and finishing off with a few sets of chest press and trapezius shrug exercises.
The gym may seem like a great idea at the end of a long working day to get stronger and improve posture, and whilst it can be, it is crucial that you complete the appropriate exercises to do just that, rather than adding to postural issues, which can lead to poor technique, compensation problems, and ultimately, injury.
With our shoulders hunched and rounded throughout the day, our chest muscles are getting ever stronger to support this new position. Our upper trapezius muscles end the day tight and sore from pulling our shoulders up to our ears. You can now see how our chest and trapezius strengthening exercises are not helpful.
Upper cross syndrome is caused by muscular imbalance. Therefore, if the upper trapezius and pectorals are strong and tight, there must be weak and over-stretched muscles allowing this to happen. The lower trapezius, rhomboid and cervical flexors (in the neck) are the culprits.
The Solution…
To combat upper cross syndrome, we must correct this imbalance by lengthening the pectoral and upper trapezius muscles and strengthening the lower trapezius, rhomboids and cervical flexors.
There are 3 main exercises that I believe are the most effective.
1. Set the shoulders
Tuck your chin (think about holding a tennis ball under your chin) and pull your shoulders down and back (imagine trying to get your shoulder blades in the back pockets of your jeans). This is something you should be consciously trying to achieve throughout the day until the position comes naturally.
2. Lengthen the pectorals
To lengthen the pectorals, perform chest stretches by opening out the chest using a wall or door frame, aiming for at least 3 x per day, holding the stretch for 10-15 seconds, repeating 2-3 times.
3. Strengthen the lower trapezius and rhomboids
The most effective exercises for strengthening the lower trapezius and rhomboids is a seated row. If you are a member of a gym, there may be a seated row machine.
To perform this exercise at home, a theraband can be used. A theraband is a stretchy band used for resistance exercises. They come in different levels of resistance depending on your strength, so be aware of this when purchasing – if you live locally, the lovely people at Warwick Sports Shop are very knowledgeable and can assist in selecting the correct level of resistance. To perform a seated row, adopt a seated position on the floor, with the legs straight out in front. Wrap the theraband around the feet holding the ends of the band with no slack in the band. Pull the band towards your chest, drawing your shoulders back and together keeping your back straight. Perform 2-3 sets of 15 reps.
Good luck and enjoy your new found great posture!
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