It has been a few weeks since my last post, and instead of posting a question I have received, I am going to explain a problem I see on almost every patient that you can relieve pretty much on your own.
It is no secret that most people have the feeling that they "carry their stress in their shoulders", or so the popular phrase goes. This is for the most part accurate but not for reasons you may believe. A common area of complaint on people is their upper back/low neck area. The muscles always seem to be tight and after a long day that area can be down right sore. Aside from an injury or a subluxation, the most common reason for this is what is known as "Upper Cross Syndrome" - a fancy way of saying some muscles are weak while others are too strong/tight. With this "muscle imbalance" it tends to put a lot of strain on that specific area (upper back/low neck). This is usually either caused or intensified by what people do in their day to day lives.
If you google "Upper Cross Syndrome" you will find a picture (or many) of a side view of someone's upper body - a cartoon usually - which shows what I'm trying to explain quite well. The general idea of this muscle imbalance is that your pectoral muscles are tight causing your shoulders to round forward a bit. The rhomboids and lower trapezius which normally oppose this are weak so they allow this to happen. Rounded shoulders not only put strain on the upper back/low neck, but this also can reduce lung capacity if extreme enough. Now, the second part of this is the muscles around the neck. The weak cervical flexors and tight suboccipitals, upper trapezuis, and levator scapulae cause your head to sit in front of your center of gravity which causes "anterior head carriage". This also puts tension on that low neck/upper back area as well as the rest of your neck. This position over time can lead to biomechanical changes in your spine causing other issues to arise.
As I said earlier, what people do in their day to day lives can either cause this or make it worse. The main culprit of this is primarily our advancement in technology. Take a look at someone sitting at a computer from the side and you will undoubtedly see these postural changes. It is also evident in anyone trying to text or play video games. It makes a fun people watching experiment, but it also shows you how common this is.
Now for the solution - I'm not telling you to avoid all these things in your daily life, but being aware of your posture is half the battle. If you can catch yourself beginning to slouch and correct it (I know it isn't easy because I'm guilty of it sometimes) you can almost prevent these muscle imbalances. I say almost because you will have to do a little work as well to counteract all the times you don't catch it.
Stretch the tight muscles and strengthen the weak ones.
First thing, is stretching the pectoral muscles. This is easy to do and should be done a few times a day. Find a doorway and put your arms out to your sides and just lean in. You should feel a nice stretch across your chest. Hold this for a few seconds. There are three positions(A,B,C) that you should do to get the best results - they will each stretch differently. (Picture)
Second, strengthen the rhomboids and lower trap. This is called the Bruegger Postural Break or Exercise. What you do is place your arms down at your sides with the palms facing forward. Squeeze your shoulder blades together - then while still holding them together - push them down towards your feet. Hold this position for 8-10 seconds then rest. Do this a few times in a row(4-5ish). Doing this a few times a day will help pull your shoulders back relieving much of the tension on your upper back/low neck.
Finally stretching the tight neck muscles (I know I missed strengthening the neck muscles but these three will do the trick). Stand with your back to the wall. Now, try to touch your head to the ceiling - I know you won't actually touch it, this is just so you get the idea of stretching vertically. Next, while stretching vertically gently push your chin directly back - this is the motion you want, you don't have actually to push your chin. If done right you should feel a stretch just below the base of your skull and down the back of your neck. Do this a few times a day as well.
Over time, you should notice that pain or ache in the upper back or low neck slowly get better.
This is meant to be an informative exercise for people with common muscle imbalances. If you have had an injury or other symptoms that may be associated with upper back/low neck pain please see a physician for an exam before trying this.
I hope this was useful.
Dr. Andrew Snyder D.C.
SnyderChiropracticOfWoodbury.com
