Exercises to unroll the shoulders

If you find your posture rounded in the shoulders and hunched in your back then this blog show you 5 ways to help. You can do these at home and all you need is an exercise band.

We have found that these people that come into our office suffer from this problem:

  • Nursing mothers
  • Mothers of young children
  • Office workers
  • Truck drivers
  • Taxi drivers
  • People who spend long periods of time on their devices

Our Goal

When a person has rounded shoulders and a hunched upper back they are suffering from imbalance in the front of the chest and in the mid and upper back. We will generally find in most cases, that the front chest muscles, the pectoral muscles, are tight and the muscles in between the shoulder blades are weak.

Equipment needed:

  • Elastic exercise band
  • Loose clothing
  • Yoga mat (carpet or a rug is fine)

With the activities below, we look at stretching the pectoral area (front of the chest), engage the core and strengthen in between the shoulder blades (rhomboid muscles). Try these exercises gently and as you improve you can increase the repetitions. Please stop if there is any pain and let your health practitioner know.

Warm up

Hold the band in a ‘W’ shape over your head while having slight tension in the exercise band. Bring the band to the chest and then up and over your head to your upper back. Do 20 times as a warm up before you go onto the 5 exercises to help rounded shoulders and a hunched back.

1. Pectoral stretch

  • Stand in a door frame with the closest elbow at right angles.
  • Ensure your upper arm, just above the elbow is contacting the door frame.
  • Have the same leg forward in a scissor stance, this is to create stability. You are stretching the pectoral major muscle here.
  • Gently bring the shoulder forward until you feel a stretch in the pectoral area.
  • Hold for 20 seconds then bring the arm up the frame so it is at 120 degrees. You can now repeat this stretch for the pectoral minor muscle.
  • Repeat these 2 stretches on the other side.

2. Bent elbow Pull backs

  • Bring the elastic exercise band around a stable object, such as a pillar.
  • Have elbows at right angles, arms by your torso, as you hold onto each handle
  • Engage the core
  • Straighten arms out in front and then pull back so elbows are behind torso

You are aiming to feel the mid back firing

Do 10-15 reps

3. Straight arms pull backs

  • Hold the exercise band between your hands with your arms up at shoulder height and out in to the side of your body
  • Engage the core
  • Bring your arms back back on the band at shoulder level
  • Rotate your hands so they are facing the ceiling and feel the stretch in the front of your chest as the mid back engages.

4. Band over and behind head (medium to advanced)

  • Hold the exercise band between your hands with your arms up at in a ‘W’ position
  • Engage the core
  • Bring the band down to your chest slowly as you pull band apart You should feel the muscle on the side of your torso engaging
  • Slowly bring band over head as you keep tension in the band
  • Bring band behind up and over your head to the mid back area
  • KEEEP band off the body slightly
  • Do 5 reps, each rep should take about 10 seconds

5. Shoulder lift

  • Lie on your back with the band behind your, just below the shoulder blades
  • Cross the band so you have an X in front of you
  • Engage the core
  • Arms are by your side
  • Pull the and up over your head.
  • Aim to keep the mid back on the floor
  • Do 12-15 reps

Please stop any exercise that causes pain and speak to your musculoskeletal practitioner.

If you haven’t checked in with your neck mobility then CLICK HERE to check out how you can do that.  Find out how a Cervical Denneroll can help the neck curve, CLICK HERE.

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Lisa, director

Categories Neck & Shoulder Problems, Posture
 
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