Say Goodbye to Upper Back Pain: A Guide to Better Posture ✌️
In this article
- Alleviates Upper Back Pain: Strengthening the lower traps and serratus anterior helps correct imbalances.
- Improves Range of Motion: By addressing Upper Cross Syndrome, these exercises enhance flexibility and mobility.
- Promotes Proper Posture: Regular practice of these targeted exercises and stretches, along with posture reminders, leads to a more natural, upright stance.
Do you sit all day?
Are you someone that has to sit at a desk all day for school or work, and you find yourself with upper back pain or tightness in your chest and neck? When we sit in the “desk job” position for long portions of the day, our bodies start to adjust in order to keep us in that position without having to use muscles to hold it there.
This causes us to naturally hold ourselves in this “hunched” position, which causes weakness in the lower traps and the serratus anterior muscles.
Upper Cross Syndrome
This is known as Upper Cross Syndrome, where our head and neck are angled forward along with a tight pectoralis minor and upper trap muscle.
When we are in this hunched position, we lose range of motion and often have pain with movements. If this has happened to you, don’t worry! We can strengthen and stretch to fix this!
As demonstrated in the video above, we can stretch the tight muscles and strengthen the weak muscles and fix our natural positioning! If you have seen any of the Matheny Muscle workout, we emphasize multi-muscle exercises.
Dumbbell Pullovers FTW 🏆
The dumbbell pullover is the best exercise for serratus anterior strengthening. We also need to make sure the scapula is positioned properly, which is why we strengthen the lower trap as well.
You can stretch the chest by putting your hands on the sides of a doorway and leaning forward. You can always cue yourself to sit upright in a chair throughout the day by adding a pad or pillow to the lower back to remind you to sit properly!
