The Stretch You Need The Least

Probably the most common stretch I see in gyms and fitness classes, beside hurting your discs by bending "wrong" to stretch hamstrings, is bringing one arm across your body in front, pictured at left. Although this posterior shoulder stretch is one of the most common stretches, it is one of the least necessary.

You probably already have over-stretched the back of your shoulders by slouching all day over your desk, steering wheel, and other work. Sitting and standing with rounded shoulders wears on the neck and shoulder joints and is a common source of upper back and neck pain. One of the most unnecessary things you can do is to further stretch the back of your already overstretched shoulder. Going to a gym to do it does not magically make it healthy.

The best way to stretch your shoulders for health is to skip the posterior shoulder stretch. Instead, stretch the front chest (pectoral) muscles, shown in Fixing Upper Back and Neck Pain to help straighten and "unround" your shoulders and upper back.

Here is a check for how well you can straighten your shoulder positioning for healthy standing and sitting:

• Can you put your hands on your hips and bring your shoulders back?
• You should be able to pull your shoulders back without tilting your shoulders forward, or arching your lower back, or jutting your head forward.
• When you can pull your shoulders back easily with your hands on your hips, try pulling your shoulders back with your hands clasped together behind your back. Keep chin in and shoulders back.

Occasionally I give my cerebral palsy patients the posterior shoulder stretch (above left illustration) if they have an overly pulled-back position. More helpful to these patients is The Ab Revolution, a method I developed where you move your spine from an overly arched lower back, so common in many people, to a less arched position, reducing much back pain. The muscles that bring the lower spine forward are the abdominal muscles so you get a free ab workout going about your day just keeping healthy straighter spine position. The post Fixing the Commonest Source of Mystery Lower Back Pain shows how easy this is.

It is rare to need the posterior shoulder stretch. Yet, notice how often you see it in fitness publications and gyms. Instead of doing stretches to practice rounded posture, use stretches like the pectoral stretch to restore healthy position. Then use the healthy positioning as a free built-in stretch for all you do so you don't get tight in the first place. That's fitness as a lifestyle.


Illustration and more ways to change stretches to be healthy are found in the book Stretching Smarter Stretching Healthier

Labels: abdominal muscles, arm, chest, fix pain, hamstring, lower back, posture, shoulder, sitting, stretch, upper back

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