The 30kg head position
I am sure everyone has seen someone with upper cross syndrome (UCS), whether they knew what it was called or not. A person with UCS will look like they are hunched over with rounded shoulders and head protruding forward. See the image below to get a better visual of what UCS looks like.
Basically, if someone has UCS they will have tight (overactive) upper traps and levator scapula muscle as well as tight chest muscles. Along with these tight muscles, the neck flexors on the front side and the rhomboids and lower traps on the back are weak. The tight or over-active muscles have become shortened and the weak or under-active muscles have been lengthened. This is what happens when there is a muscle imbalance in the body.
In the above
image, the muscle on the left is the tight (overactive) muscle
and the one on
the right is the weak (underactive muscle)
UCS is one of the more common muscle imbalances
that people possess and the majority of them don’t know they have it. Someone
can get UCS from doing repetitive things such as their job. People who sit in a
chair all day tend to hunch over and overtime will start to possess UCS. If your
job requires you to stand all day while slightly bending over while working with
your hands the same would apply. Also, people that exercise and work out the
chest/upper traps a lot more than the lower traps/rhomboids will eventually get
UCS. If you already possessed muscle imbalances before you started exercising
then it would gradually get worse as you performed exercises, unless
corrected.
People with UCS may complain of symptoms such as
neck pain, jaw pain, upper thoracic pain and headaches due to the muscle
imbalances and altered posture. Over time, poor posture can lead to all the
above symptoms as well as more long term complications such as osteoarthritis or
degenerative joint disease.
So how do you fix Upper Cross Syndrome? You need
stretch the tight (overactive) muscles and strengthen the weak (underactive)
muscles. The chest muscles and the upper traps need to be stretched. Here are
some examples of stretching exercises that can be done.
Pectoral stretch
Stand against an object and form a 90 degree angel
with your arm. Draw your navel inward. Slowly lean forward until a light stretch
is felt in the front shoulder and chest area. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.
Switch arms. Perform 1-2 sets twice a day.
Upper Trap/scalene
stretch
Stand in place with good posture. Draw navel
inward. Retract and depress scapula on the side being stretched. Tuck chin and
slowly flex head to one side, pulling one ear toward the same shoulder. Hold the
stretch for 30 seconds. Switch sides. Perform 1-2 sets each side twice a
day.
The rhomboids/mid-lower traps need to be
strengthened. Here is an example of a strengthening exercise that can be
done.
Pick a weight that you can perform 12-20 reps
easily. You can also you resistance bands. Stand with feet shoulder width apart
and with body in good posture. Draw navel inward. Pull bands/cable toward your
lower chest area and flex the trap muscles. Make sure to use your back muscles
to pull the bands/cable toward you and not your biceps. Lower your body as if
you were squatting or sitting in a chair. As you lower your body let the
bands/cable go forward. This should be done is smooth motion. Bring your body
back up to the starting position as you bring the bands/cable toward your lower
chest. Do 12-20 reps for 1-2 sets once a day. *You want to pick a weight or
resistance that you can easily perform the 12-20 reps in order to execute proper
form. ** Be careful not to elevate shoulders or protrude head forward while
performing this exercise.
Lie prone(stomach down) on the floor. Activate the
gluteal muscles and pinch should blades together. Lift chest off the floor with
thumbs pointed up and arms externally rotated. Hold for 1-2 seconds. Slowly
return body to the ground keeping chin tucked. Repeat 8-12 times, 1-2 times a
day.
I never heard of UCS but that's totally what I have and what you must have been working on with me. Thanks for passing this on Derek. Gives me two more exercises to add to my repertoire and reminds me that I need to keep stretching daily until it's reversed.
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ReplyDeleteHi Dr Derek, thanks for the great exercises, they have helped me a lot. I winder if you have any advice as to how I could adapt them for one shoulder. I have a weak lower trap on my right side. Whenever I do many of the exercises I can feel my stronger side taking over. Any way I can stop this happening? particularly with the last exercise?
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