Wow! I almost forgot that I needed to follow up on my last post...this aging thing is a little rough sometimes!
Oh well...I finally remembered. Better late than never...right?
In my last post Cycling Posture I talked about the postural distortion patterns that often plague cyclists, as a result of prolonged body positions and repetitive movement patterns. We discussed the concept of adaptive shortening, and briefly discussed the resulting imbalances that frequently occur within the Human Movement System (HMS).
Today let's take a look at how we can begin to regain proper posture through a variety of mobility and strength exercises. I promise to do my best to keep this post brief, so I will warn you up front...this may turn into another series of posts, in order to cover everything you need to know.
Are you ready? Then let's get started!
Let's start with the upper body, since many of you who are reading this are probably competing in triathlons, whether Sprint, Olympic, or Ironman...this information could help to keep you performing for longer, without succumbing to nagging shoulder injuries.
You may remember me discussing Upper Crossed Syndrome (UCS), and mentioning that this dysfunction results in decreased clearance within the glenohumeral joint capsule...often resulting in an impingement of various soft tissues that lie in and around the joint. Over time, impingement of these structures can result in degradation of the tissues, pain, decreased mobility, and instability of the joint itself. As we have discussed many times in the past, the human body is a remarkable 'machine', and adapts quite efficiently to various situations. The body will adapt in amazing ways in order to protect itself...we usually refer to these protective actions as compensations.
One such compensation that typically accompanies UCS is the drawing up and in of the shoulder. This is typical among individuals who are experiencing some degree of impingement. This action often results in an over active upper Trapezius muscle, as it is this muscle that is responsible for elevation and adduction (moving toward the body's midline) of the shoulder blades. This action effective reduces the amount of movement within the shoulder joint, thus preventing further impingement of the surrounding soft tissues.
While this serves to protect these tissues, it also compounds the problem, and can result in a condition known as Frozen Shoulder. A frozen shoulder requires a great deal of physical therapy, and can be quite painful to rehabilitate. We'll discuss the compensatory actions of the upper trapezius in a future post - but for now, let's take a look at the imbalance that occurs with UCS, and who the culprits are in this common postural distortion pattern.
The imbalance that is present with UCS involves the anterior chest muscles (pectoralis minor, pectoralis major) and a number of posterior chest muscles (mid-lower trapezius, rhomboid, sub-scapularis). These are some of the major players in UCS, but understand that these are not the only muscles involved, and in extreme cases, physical therapy is necessary to reverse the effects of this postural deviation pattern.
It is important to understand that these imbalances commonly involve both strength and length...muscle strength, and muscle length. Remember, many of these muscles have adaptively shortened due to prolonged positioning, and their antagonist muscle(s) have inversely lengthened. The overactive, shortened muscles must be returned to their normal resting length, while the underactive, weakened muscles must be retrained and restrengthened. Restoring balance in this manner will return the dysfunctional joint to normal function through proper positioning.
"So how do we do that?" You ask.
I am assuming you have all purchased a Trigger Point Therapy kit by now...right? What? You STILL haven't invested in your body, yet you are an active, aging athlete? Stop right now, and click on the Trigger Point banner in the upper left corner of this page to order your kit right now!
Ok...if you don't have a TPT kit, grab a tennis ball. What? No tennis ball? Well then, I guess you really SHOULD click the link above then, huh?
Let's start by releasing tension in the pec major and pec minor muscles. Remember, it's the tension and over-activity of these muscles that is pulling your shoulders forward (protraction). I've attached a short video which describes exactly how to perform this exercise, so take a moment or two to watch it before moving on.
I'm just like many of you...an aging, amateur athlete, who has a real job. Therefore, I understand that time is precious. One of the reasons I like this exercise so much is that not only do you get soft tissue work in the form of massage, you also get some stretching of the muscle tissue when you perform the pulling action. By combining these two techniques into one quick and easy to perform exercise, you can get away with having to perform a separate stretching routine for your chest muscles...thereby making this a very time efficient corrective-based exercise, that can be incorporated into any current fitness or training regimen.
Check back soon for the next installment - see...I told you it would be another series! Next time we will discuss some strengthening techniques for the mid and lower trapezius muscles, that will help to pull the shoulder blades down and back (depression and retraction), effectively creating more space within the shoulder capsule.
Thanks for reading, and as always...
Yours in Health and Performance,
John
