Antedote to

admin

February 11th, 2014

The antidote to modern living

OK so maybe not the complete antidote to all the issues of modern living, but definitely an antidote to one of them.

Do you spend a lot of time at a computer?

Behind the wheel of a car?

Ever been pregnant?

Nursing babies and small children?

Then I would wager that you may also experience tightness in the neck and shoulders and sometimes headaches? If so, this blog is for you!

Let’s try a little test, just for fun. Now you’re not allowed to cheat in this OK? You have to follow the instructions.

OK??

What I want you to do next is to stand up, get yourself in front of a mirror and take a look at your reflection. In particular, I want you to look at the way your hands and arms hang. Especially the hands. Check the angle of the palm compared to your leg. Do this before you read any further.

Off you go and find your nearest mirror then…

Now I hope you haven’t cheated. Remember, you’re just cheating yourself…

Right here’s the next bit…

When you observed your hands, did you find that your palms were facing the front of your thigh and you were looking at the backs of your hands? Not sure? I’ll let you take another look if you need to.

So here’s the thing.

Ideally, the hands should hang down at the sides of the legs with the palms facing the side of the thigh. If your hands were facing the front of the thigh and you get a view of the backs of the hands when you stand in front of the mirror, then it is a sign that your shoulders are falling inwards towards the chest and downwards towards the floor.

You’re not alone, it is one of the epidemics of modern living. Too much time spent at desks and in cars; pregnancy and early motherhood also give rise to what is known as “upper cross syndrome”. There, you can impress your friends now. One of the symptoms of upper cross syndrome is that the muscles of the chest become shortened and tightened.

So, what to do about it?

Here’s a lovely simple stretch that just needs a bit of wall:

Postural correction for upper cross step 1

Postural correction for upper cross step 2

And here it is in words…
1. Stand next to your chosen bit of wall. Place your forearm against the wall so that the upper arm is level with the shoulder.
2. Step forward and allow the wall to restrain the movement of the arm a little, the arm will move back behind the body.
3. You should feel a stretch at the top of the front of the chest, just below the shoulder.
4. Step back and return to your start position, allowing the stretch to release.
5. Repeat the forward step for a total of 6 times.
6. Turn around so you have the other arm closest to the wall and do the same move with the other arm for a total of 6 times.

Now go back to your mirror and have a look at the angle of your hands. Your stretch will have drawn the hands closer to their ideal position at the sides of the thigh with the palms facing the leg.

A little bit of magic! Also known as postural correction.

It’s one of the things that we at FitActive like to do.

That was fun wasn’t it? Have a go at doing these stretches every day and you will find the muscles across the chest becoming less tight. This will allow the shoulders to draw back and in turn reduce shoulder and neck tension along with accompanying neck pain and head aches. Yay.