Scott, our  Remedial Massage Therapist at Errol Street Chiropractic Centre in North Melbourne is going through another three great stretches this time for the upper and middle trapezius muscles and the levator scapulae.

These stretches will help anyone who feels tension in their upper shoulders or has pain between the shoulder blades. It can help to relax the shoulders and stop them from elevating.

The 3 areas to stretch in the video are:

  1. Upper Trapezius: This muscle sits on either side of your neck and helps with elevation of the shoulders. To stretch this muscle you cross your arms as if to give yourself a hug using the underneath hand to pin down your shoulder. Next laterally bend the neck to the other side and bring and tilt it forward. Hold for 20 seconds each side.
  2.  Middle Trapezius: This muscle sits just below the Upper traps and runs along the backs of the shoulders. This muscles helps with elevation of the shoulders and retraction of the shoulder blades. To stretch this muscle, keep shoulders down and bring your chin to chest. To increase the stretch you can bring your hands behind your head and gently push the back of the head. Hold for 20 seconds.
  3. Levator scapulae: This muscle originates at the base of the skull and attaches into the top of the scapulae (shoulder blades). To stretch this muscle bring one hand behind your back (or you can grab the bottom of chair if that’s uncomfortable) to keep the shoulder pinned down, then flexing the neck forward and rotate the head to look towards opposite hip. To increase the stretch the other hand can be used to gently pull the head towards the other hip. Hold for 20 seconds each side.

PLEASE NOTE: As with all stretches these shouldn’t cause any pain, and if you’re feeling pain you should stop stretching immediately.

Please feel free to contact us for further information.

9329 1118

www.errolstchiro.com.au

Categories Remedial Massage, Stretches