Mobility Assessment
If you are unfamiliar with this process and would like to know more about the rationale check out this post. Here, to protect you from redundancy, I will try to focus more on the process and less on the rationale.
Shoulder Flexion
Most of us spend a lot of time hunched forward with our shoulders internally rotated and head jutted forward. Almost every client I see (and me too) has some level of forward head posture (tech neck), kyphosis (rounded upper spine), and reduced shoulder flexion. These things will make it harder to do overhead tasks, lower our lung volume, create pain and injury, and negatively impact our balance. All things to avoid.
Luckily when it comes to mobility a little goes a long way. A few minutes, a few times a day can be the difference. Sometimes I struggle with posts like this because they can only scratch the surface and I want to write a million pages. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to do a training session and explore more. If that isn’t possible look for someone who has some years of experience and a background or certification in corrective exercise. The Squat University on Instagram is full of helpful information. His book is also one great resource to dive deeper.
The Assessment
Shoulder Flexion
Place your feet hip/shoulder distance apart. They can be a little away from the wall.
We need to keep a natural curvature in our low back for this. You can roll up a small towel and place it between your low back and wall. If your back arches away from the wall more than an inch(ish) it can trick you into thinking you have more shoulder flexion than you do.
Keep your arms straight at the elbow.
Lift your arms up and try to touch the wall. Make sure they are straight up.
If you can touch the wall your shoulder flexion is sufficient. You can see how stiff I am feeling from working on this post all day! After a good twenty minutes I can usually get my arms to touch.
Shoulder Flexion
If your elbows bend, arms go out to the side in a “Y” direction, or do not reach the wall you will want to work on your shoulder flexion.
Shoulder Flexion
If your arms do not reach the wall or your back arches in order to reach the wall then you want to work on your shoulder flexion.
Thoracic Spine Extension - Kyphosis
It is usually easy to see if we have a rounded upper back when we are standing. One way to be sure is to lie down. If you are looking backwards instead of straight up your upper spine is stuck in a flexed position.
What to do
If you are unable to get your arms against the wall it could be because of your thoracic spine. If your upper back is rounded forward you’d have to reach your arms up and behind you in order to reach the wall. Also, if you are rounded forward then it will be impossible to not have forward head posture (tech neck). That’s why the thoracic spine is included in this post for shoulder flexion. It goes hand and hand with your shoulders and neck. This connection also means that the exercises below help all three areas. Three for one special!
Kyphosis and its corrective exercises are a great example of why I sometimes hesitate to post information like this. One reason for kyphosis is osteoporosis. The vertebrae can basically start to crumble in a way that doesn’t allow them to be stacked vertically. You don’t want to be pressing on your spine with osteoporosis. With other spinal conditions you may not want to be bending certain ways. Before you take advice like this or workout with a trainer you need medical clearance. If you have a medical condition make sure a medical professional has educated you on what exercise is safe and what is not.
Thoracic Spine Extension
Inhibit
- press a lacrosse, softball, or massage ball or foam roller into the front of the shoulder and chest muscles
- the latissimus dorsi roll below is also a really good one here
Lengthen - gentle backbend over the foam roller
Activate - thoracic spine extension
Integrate - go and do you’re workout with this increased range of motion and muscle activation
Inhibit
When foam rolling the most important thing is the pressure onto the muscle. Movement can be used to find spots that are more tender. Look for tender spots on the chest and front of the shoulder, hold pressure, relax and breath. Try not to press so much it hurts or you can’t breath. If so back off the pressure. If you have one, a lacrosse or massage ball works much better than a foam roller. Place it against the wall and lean into it.
Lengthen
Keep your hips on the floor and place the roller just below your shoulder blades. Keep your low back still. If you notice the bottoms of your ribs popping up and down then your low back is probably moving too much. This won’t be a very big movement. Try a gentle upper back bend over the roller. You can go up and down or hold the position. When you’re ready place the roller a little higher. This can be done at any spot on the upper back. It’s possible to overdo anything, especially this. I had a client one time feel a pop that created pain for a few days. Do not force this. If it’s your first time take it very easy. If you have osteoporosis it’s recommended not to press directly on the spine with the foam roller. You’d probably want to skip this one.
Activate
Keep the front of both hips glued to the floor the entire time. Don’t shrug your shoulders up. You probably will feel your low back working but if you feel it more than your upper back make the movement smaller. Make sure you’re looking down towards the floor rather than out in front of you so you don’t strain your neck.
Shoulder Flexion
Inhibit - press a foam roller on the latissimus dorsi
Lengthen - stretch the latissimus dorsi
Activate - prone - foam roller exercise
Integrate - go and do your workout with this increased range of motion and muscle activation
Inhibit
Click here to visually see where the lat muscle is. You can be a little more on the side of the ribs, underneath the underarm, or the arm. Roll your body forwards and backwards to find the tender spots. Be careful to not go on your bottom ribs. They are called “floating ribs” because they do not attach to your sternum. Who knows how much pressure they can handle. Better safe than sorry.
Lengthen
Child’s pose from yoga with your arms on the roller. The straighter and closer together they are the deeper the stretch. Keep your head down and don’t shrug your shoulders. Hold stretches like this for a good minute.
If you need a deeper stretch try it one arm at a time. Press into the ground with the other hand to add some rotation. When you rotate you should feel a deeper stretch.
Activate
If you can’t get the roller behind your head don’t worry about it. Ditch the roller and just move your arms. Try to lift your chest off the floor an inch. You probably will feel low back muscles working but if it’s the majority of what you’re feeling you might want to do this exercise standing with your back against the wall. Keep your shoulders down away from your ears and your gaze towards the floor to protect your neck.
And I can’t help myself
Remember there are a thousand exercises that are just as good as the ones I chose. Keep learning and adding variety into your routines.
