Posture

Most people who exercise are focusing on a flatter stomach, a firm chest, and firm and defined arms. Unfortunately, most people give little attention and focus to the structure, stability, and alignment of their body. Not only to look great but to feel and work great as well.
Posture is one aspect of health and fitness that most people neglect in their conditioning program. When the posture of our body is strong and stable, proper alignment and overall symmetry fall into a healthy place that our bodies were initially intended for.

The muscles in our shoulder girdle are designed to stabilize the scapula (shoulder blades), position the humerus (upper arm), and elevate the pectorals (chest). By creating a greater sense of stability and proper positioning in the shoulder region, the stresses that are normally transferred to the upper trapezius and levator scapula (neck stabilizer muscles) will be greatly decreased, resulting in less pain and injury in the neck.

When you slouch, your shoulders and the position of your arms, move to a more forward and lower position; potentially causing problems over time. Whether its inflammations in your shoulder or simply some form of impingement syndrome, the forward positioning of the arms can lead to a great deal of irritation and inflammation in the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints.

As we work through our days and live our unique lifestyles most of us are left with tight neck, back, and shoulder muscles that seem to need constant massage and attention. What if it was simply our posture or rather lack of maintaining a proper posture that was causing this discomfort and pain. This improper alignment from our bad posture causes our body to fight against itself and causes muscles to compensate and therefore tighten weaken and eventually become injured.

If your upper shoulder and neck muscles are trying to hold your shoulders in position all day with no help from the postural stabilizers of the middle back, rear shoulder and rotator cuff, How can they be expected to do anything except cramp up weaken and stop working properly?

How can we avoid or fix this issue? These improper positions are usually created by a few factors. One being tight chest muscles (pectoral) and internal shoulder rotator (subscapularis) muscles. These muscles when tight draw the shoulder forward and rotate the hands to a pronated position. Another cause is the weak stabilizer muscles in the mid-trap, rhomboid, and external shoulder rotator (Infraspinatus, Teres minor) region. When these muscles are weak they allow the muscles in front to “win” the battle causing you to “slouch” or “sag” forward leaving the muscles of the upper shoulder and neck compensating inefficiently.

What ever the case may be the answer is a combination of things. WE need to first assess our lifestyle and working habits. Then we can see what is causing us to normally “slouch” during our daily routine. Then we can learn to sit up properly and create a proper posture throughout our day. Try standing more often then sitting. Roll your shoulders back and chin should be straight up so our eyes are facing straight ahead. Flexing our abdominal muscles help support our lower back as well. Aside from all this we need to stretch the tighter muscles in the from (chest and shoulders) and strengthen the supporting and stabilizing muscles in our back and rear shoulders. Along with a balanced physical conditioning routine to properly align and stabilize our body to create a healthy foundation.