Today’s Tuesday Tip is something I really need to work on myself!
Poor T spine (upper back) mobility can contribute to tight chest muscles, hunched over shoulders and of course…pain.
You can treat shoulder pain or dysfunction with upper spine mobility and stretches. The shoulder and thoracic spine are closely connected and in order to work properly they must work well TOGETHER.
Before exercising your upper body (especially shoulders) always make sure to work in some T spine stretches and corrective exercises after your dynamic warmup. This will help prep your neural system for the workout and allow your shoulders and spine to work better together! Check out the video below for a couple of easy stretches to do at home.
Do each exercise 3x, repeat daily if possible. Remember these key tips…
- Breathe through the movement
- Engage your core and prevent your lower body from moving with your arm
- If you are unable to get your arm above your head, tuck your hand behind your lower back.
- For the side lying exercise with the foam roller keep your non working hand face UP on the ground. This will prevent you from using the ground as an anchor.
- Only stretch as far as you can go, don’t over do it as you will start to feel it in your lower back and defeat the purpose.
Let me know what you think in the comments! Happy Tuesday everyone 🙂
