When you feel tension or pain, you can’t always think that
stretching will help. In the forward head posture discussed in the last post, while the chest muscles are
short, the muscles located the other side in the back are overstretched and weak. It’s
likely you feel tension or pain in the back between the shoulder blades. You don’t want to stretch already overstretched muscles. Muscles coordinate with opposing
muscles by contracting and relaxing to make every movement. It is helpful to check your habitual
posture to see which muscles are
shortened or overstretched.
Strengthening
While stretching helps shortened muscles, “strengthening” exercises help overstretched,
weakened muscles increase muscle tone so that you can restore proper
posture. Here are easy exercises
you can do at a desk.
Upper back: When chest
muscles are short, the muscles in the upper back are overstretched.
- Relax the shoulders. Squeeze the shoulder blades together without using arms or any muscles other than the ones between the shoulder blades. Hold each squeeze for 5-10 seconds with 3-5 seconds of rest between squeezes. Repeat 10 times or until you feel fatigue.
Mid-back:
The muscles along the spine in the mid back are overstretched.
- Rest your hands behind your head, and lean backwards (extend the spine) within your comfort level.
Front of your neck: As the back of the neck is short and tight, the deep muscles of the front neck are weak.
- Pull your chin inward and head straight back. Hold it for 5-10 seconds with 3-5 seconds of the rest in between. Repeat 10 times or until you feel fatigue in the neck.
