One problem for people with sloping shoulders is that the vertebrae on the front side of the spine are compressed. This increases wear and fatigue not only of the vertebrae, but also of the intervertebral discs, increases the load on the joints, leading to their inflammation and pain. Stretching the thoracic spine will overcome these problems.
This exercise stretches the joints, ligaments and muscles of the front surface of the spine. It will also help straighten your shoulders. This exercise will make it easier to perform normal everyday movements such as bending and turning, especially when getting groceries out of the trunk of the car or working in the garden.
Correctly performing the exercise “Stretching the thoracic spine” is not easy, because... During movement, the muscles between the arms and shoulder blades may contract too much. If you feel tension primarily in your shoulders, try to relax your upper torso. If you still feel discomfort, perform the “Easy option”.
Spinal rotations
This exercise was created by renowned physical therapist Gray Cook. As you do this, you prevent the unwanted movement in your lower back that you often do when trying to unlock and relax your mid-back. Additionally, internal rotation of the knee relative to the ball can cause further rotation and separation of the spine from the attachment points underneath.
Execution order:
- Lie on the floor, with the upper part of the body placed in a horizontal plane and the lower part on its side;
- Bend one leg at the knee, move it up and to the side and place the ball under the knee;
- Touch one palm to the other, while the lower part of the body should remain motionless.
- Repeat on the other side, placing the ball under the knee of the other leg.
How to exercise for neck pain
Meta-analysis S. Louw, S. Makwela, L. Manas. Effectiveness of exercise in office workers with neck pain: A systematic review and meta‑analysis / The South African journal of physiotherapy Scientific research has shown that strength training is best for non-specific neck pain.
Several experiments at once 1. LL Andersen, MB Jorgensen, AK Blangsted. A Randomized Controlled Intervention Trial to Relieve and Prevent Neck/Shoulder Pain / Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 2. B. Gram, C. Andersen, MK Zebis. Effect of Training Supervision on Effectiveness of Strength Training for Reducing Neck/Shoulder Pain and Headache in Office Workers: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial / Journal of biomedicine and biotechnology 3. CH Andersen, LL Andersen, B. Gram. Influence of frequency and duration of strength training for effective management of neck and shoulder pain: a randomized controlled trial / British journal of sports medicine confirmed good results from a series of simple exercises with dumbbells.
What movements to perform to strengthen muscles
Most of the exercises described below involve weights. For starters, light dumbbells of 1–2 kilograms or even 0.5 liter bottles with water or sand are suitable.
However, in order to maintain muscle tone, you will need to increase the load over time. Therefore, it is better to immediately buy collapsible dumbbells.
Raising arms with dumbbells
Raise your arms straight in front of your body until the dumbbells reach collarbone level. Don't lock your elbows—keep them slightly bent.
Lower the dumbbells back down and repeat again. Make sure that your shoulders do not rise towards your ears or come forward. Work smoothly and control the lowering phase.
Perform two or three approaches 10–15 times. When you can easily complete 15 repetitions, increase the weight of the dumbbells.
Standing Dumbbell Flyes
Stand up straight, take dumbbells, slightly bend your elbows. Tighten your abs and lower your shoulders. Spread your arms out to the sides until they are parallel to the floor, while simultaneously turning your hands with your thumbs down. Smoothly lower your limbs back and repeat again.
Don't lift your shoulders, keep your neck straight, look forward. Perform two or three sets of 10–15 repetitions.
Bent-over dumbbell raises
Bend your body forward until it is parallel to the floor, straighten your back. If you feel tightness under your knees, bend your legs to make it comfortable.
Take dumbbells and hold them with straight, lowered arms. Direct your gaze to the floor in front of you. Raise your arms to the sides until they are level with your body, lower them back and repeat.
Perform smoothly and under control, do not use inertia. Do two or three sets of 10–15 reps.
Shrugs
Stand up straight, holding dumbbells with your arms extended at the sides of your body. Raise your shoulders towards your ears, hold for a second and lower back down. Do two or three sets of 10–15 reps.
Strengthening the neck in static conditions
For this exercise you will need an expander or a regular belt. Stand up straight and put the loop of a fitness band or belt around your head at the back of your head. Grasp the free end with both hands and pull forward.
Photo: Alexander Starostin / Lifehacker
Resist the tension by keeping your head straight and level for 5 seconds. Then rest a little and repeat three more times.
Next, turn the loop so that the end of the belt or expander is on the side, and repeat the same thing - pull the projectile with your hand and resist, keeping your head level and straight.
Photo: Alexander Starostin / Lifehacker
For 5 seconds, try as hard as you can - pull as hard as you can to keep your neck straight, without skewing to one side. Repeat the same on the other side.
What exercises to do to stretch
To perform one of the exercises you will need a mat and a massage roller. But you can do without the latter.
Stretching the pectoral muscles
Photo: Yulia Obolenskaya / Lifehacker
Stand in the doorway, place your forearms on the doorframes parallel to each other. Step one leg forward, shift your body weight onto it, and pull your chest out of the room.
If the doorway is too wide and you feel uncomfortable, you can do the movement differently. Stand facing a corner, place your forearms vertically on the walls on either side of it and push your chest forward.
Hold the pose for 10 seconds, rest and repeat two more times. Gradually increase the time in position to 30 seconds at a time.
Back of the neck stretch
Photo: Yulia Obolenskaya / Lifehacker
This simple exercise can be performed right at your desk. Straighten your back, relax and lower your shoulders, look forward. Move your head back to create a double chin.
Keep looking straight ahead. Feel the stretch in the back of your neck. Hold for 5 seconds, relax and repeat three to five more times.
Stretching on a roller
Photo: Yulia Obolenskaya / Lifehacker
For this exercise you will need a massage roller. If you don't have one, you can use a rolled blanket.
Lie on the floor, place the roller under your upper back near your shoulder blades. Raise your hands and clasp your fingers behind your neck. Lower your head and pelvis to the floor and relax in this position. To begin with, 10 seconds is enough, over time you can increase this time three times.
If you are doing the roller motion, you can also roll your upper back in this position.
How often to exercise
In the scientific studies cited above, people trained for an hour a week for periods ranging from 20 weeks to a year.
You can break this hour into any convenient segments. For example, in one experiment CH Andersen, LL Andersen, B. Gram. Influence of frequency and duration of strength training for effective management of neck and shoulder pain: a randomized controlled trial / British journal of sports medicine tried doing 60 minutes once a week, 20 minutes three times, or 9 minutes every day. The results were consistent across all groups.
In another study, L. Andersen, C. Saervoll, O. Mortensen. Effectiveness of small daily amounts of progressive resistance training for frequent neck/shoulder pain: Randomised controlled trial / The journal of the International association for the study of pain found that even two minutes of strength training five times a week is enough to significantly reduce pain levels in 10 weeks.
So choose a schedule that suits you, but it's best to do stretching exercises every day. It will take no more than 5 minutes.
Spinal extension on knees
This variation of the exercise helps you learn the correct position of the lower back, which is maintained when performing deadlifts and squats. It also automatically creates length in the mid/upper back. In addition, during execution, all attention is paid to the triceps brachii muscle, since you simultaneously bend the shoulder and elbow. This is a fairly unconventional position, but it helps keep this muscle in peak shape in terms of flexibility and strength.
Execution order:
- Get on your knees, place your palms on the floor.
- Without lifting your palms and knees from the surface, raise and lower your body.
Bent over scorpion exercise
The prone scorpion has been a classic dynamic mobility exercise in many trainers' programs for many years. This exercise is good because it stretches two areas: the hips and the upper spine. Specifically, it targets the clavicular head of the pecs, biceps, and anterior deltoids, which tend to become tight and overactive.
Execution order:
- Lie on your stomach, arms out to the sides.
- Bring your left leg as close to your right hand as possible, without lifting your upper body from the floor.
- Return the leg to the starting position and repeat for the other leg.
Is your back and neck pain associated with osteochondrosis?
Osteochondrosis B. Ytrehus, C.S. Carlson, S. Ekman.
Etiology and pathogenesis of osteochondrosis / Veterinary pathology is a serious and in many cases inherited disease in which the blood supply to cartilage and ossification (ossification) of bones are disrupted. Such problems often begin in childhood or puberty and can lead to various skeletal deformities such as severe thoracic kyphosis (hunchback) or changes in the head of the femur.
At the same time, constant or recurrent pain in the back and neck, for which some doctors diagnose “osteochondrosis of the spine,” is often caused by others. When should I see a doctor about back pain? / Mayo Clinic reasons such as:
- spasm or damage to the muscles surrounding the spine;
- protrusion or herniation of an intervertebral disc;
- myalgia - muscle pain;
- arthrosis - destruction of cartilage.
With such disorders, you can relieve pain with exercise, but first you should make sure that the condition does not require medical intervention.
Fetal position with raised arm
This is another classic back mobility and activation exercise that is often overlooked for some reason. With the correct technique, the serratus muscle and lower trapezius muscle receive a better load. Moreover, the last stage, when you need to raise your arms, is difficult for some athletes and needs to be worked on.
Execution order:
- Get on all fours, put your arms slightly forward.
- Lower your buttocks onto your heels, while keeping your arms straight.
- Slowly raise and lower your arms.
Be more active - become healthier
To get rid of ailments, it is necessary to unload the spine, remove the tension accumulated over the years from the vertebrae, intervertebral discs and the muscle corset responsible for flexion and extension of the body. You can cope with this task with the help of special stretching exercises for the back.
The training complex for the spine and back muscles includes simple techniques that are accessible to people with different levels of physical fitness. It will make your body flexible, your movements and gait will be easy and free, it will help you become stronger and stronger, and also prevent the development of diseases of the joints and bones.
However, stretching exercises may not be suitable for everyone. You should exercise with caution if you have scoliosis, osteoporosis, arthritis, osteochondrosis, thrombosis, and some diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Therefore, before you start training, consult your doctor.
Three-point spinal rotations
Sometimes you need to stop movement in one area to create movement in another area. In this case we are talking about the lower back. When you are on all fours, trying to open your chest, you will find it very difficult to move, this is partly because your hips are pressed to the floor and your knees are in contact with the ground, which limits the rotational potential in your lower back.
Execution order:
- Get on all fours.
- Place one hand behind your head and rest the other on the floor.
- Turn your body as high as possible without lifting your knees from the floor.
- Repeat for the second side.
When to see a doctor
There are a number of symptoms. When should I see a doctor about back pain? / Mayo Clinic, in which you should not postpone a visit to the doctor:
- the pain is constant or acute, worsens at night, when lying down;
- pain spreads to one or both limbs;
- there is weakness, numbness or tingling in one or both limbs;
- there is swelling or redness on the back;
- weight loss for no apparent reason;
- having problems with bowel or bladder control.
If the pain is not severe and occurs from time to time, for example after a long day at work, you may well be able to improve your condition with exercise.
Recommendations
The question arises: when is the best time to perform these exercises? Here are some recommendations:
- Use as recovery exercises within sets. During the break between performing certain exercises, athletes often simply rest. We advise you not to waste time and do the exercises from our list during breaks.
- Active restoration work. Research has shown that active bodyweight movements stimulate recovery after intense workouts.
- Completing the workout. Just do these exercises after finishing your workout for recovery.