As we get older those little annoying aches and pains start adding up. Why oh why am I working out and taking care of myself only to feel 10 years older than I really am? And it’s little wonder too. We have jobs that have us stare at a computer all day or manual labour jobs that have us performing repetitive movements day after day…what’s a body to do? A common complaint is a stiff neck and it is often associated with what is called Upper Crossed Syndrome characterized by a rounding of the shoulders and a forward head. Upper Crossed Syndrome can lead to shoulder impingement and headaches and well…it’s a pain in the neck!
Outside of something medical going on (and always consult a Doctor) muscular imbalances are often a source of those little aches and pains. The next time you are walking down the street just observe how people carry their heads and see if you can spot the forward head crew. Outside of a visual inspection of their posture, you can assess for tight muscles responsible for this by performing a pushing or pulling exercise such as a standing cable row or a standing cable press. If the shoulders elevate during this movement then yep, you have a muscle imbalance that needs to be addressed.
If we look at the muscles involved in a forward head posture, certain muscles would be tight while others would be weakened and not pulling their weight, the slackers! The overactive muscles in this case are the upper traps and muscles in the neck called the sternocleidomastoid and scalenes which pull the head forward and weak cervical flexors which aren’t strong enough to pull the head back into proper alignment. Contributing to the rounded shoulders are tight lats and chest muscles and a weakness in the back muscles, namely the Rhomboids and Mid-Trapezius.
Correcting any muscle imbalance is important because it will help you move better, decrease your aches and help prevent injury in the future. If you play any type of sport, then correcting imbalances will also lead to better performance. So, how do we correct this one? Easy! The nuts and bolts of correcting any imbalance are to lengthen the tight muscles and strengthen the weak muscles. For instance, the forward head posture can be corrected by stretching the neck muscles and follow that up with exercises to strengthen the cervical flexors---chin tucks are the best for this and you can even do them at your desk! Foam rolling beforehand is best but do to the location of the neck muscles a foam roller just won’t fit but a device called a Theracane works well here…or the best idea yet…get your spouse to give you a neck massage before you stretch…you’re welcome!
Rounding shoulders can be corrected by foam rolling and stretching the lats and chest muscles followed by strength exercises for the Rhomboids and mid-trapezius such as rows. For those hard to reach areas you don’t have to use a foam roller. A med ball, tennis ball or even a golf ball work well.
I’ve uploaded 2 documents with routines to address forward head posture and rounding of the shoulders…give them a try. They are generally short routines and can be done pre-workout or even on your “rest” day.