Rounded shoulders are a common postural abnormality and there are many ways our society promotes this bad posture.
Sitting down for long hours in front of a computer screen, driving, looking down at your phone or tablet, bad training habits (focussing on chest muscles), sleeping in a curled-up position, even how we feel can contribute to a postural change.
What are the signs of rounded shoulder posture?
While shoulders do appear to have a slightly rounded forward appearance in most people some signs of a greater than normal internal rotation of the shoulder joint are as followed:
- When viewed from the front shoulders rolling inwards and the elbow pointing outwards to the side (the correct position is for the elbow to point backwards).
- Palms facing backwards (the correct position is for the palms to face inwards towards the legs).
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOUR MUSCLES WITH ROUNDED SHOULDERS POSTURE:
So, as above image shows a lot of tight and weakened muscle causing this issue.
Left unaddressed Rounder Shoulder Posture can lead to Shoulder impingement, unnecessary pain and tension in the upper body, which can become harder to correct the longer that you keep re-enforcing the posture.
Don’t worry, there are many solutions to correct this bad posture. I like to use the following treatment plan:
- Soft tissue massage is good way to start. It will get rid of trigger points present in those tight muscles.
- Passive and dynamic stretching, spending time with your therapist, to learn how to stretch the right muscle properly.
- Facilitation for the weak muscles (Latent Trigger point).
- Strengthening the weak muscles. The therapist can show you the basics strengthening exercises, but a follow up with an exercise physiologist is recommended.
- Last one but not least being aware of your posture all the time. This involves changing your postural habits at home and at work and doing your stretches and exercises as recommended.
This is a general management plan; every individual is different and so is their treatment.
If you would like to get a postural assessment of your shoulders and or your whole body, please feel free to contact our Remedial Massage therapist, Gary, or book online today. Following a thorough initial assessment, Gary will be able to work with you to develop a specific treatment plan to help you reach your goals.