Saturday, March 15, 2008

Do you have a pain in the neck?

Well, maybe you're boss will get fired, but until then, here is
a one-minute stress-relieving stretch that will help - especially if you do it several times over the course of the day. It may look and sound easy - but years of forward shoulder slumping could make it a real challenge for you.

Stand with your back against a wall. Your feet should be six inches away from the wall, and your butt, upper back, and head should be in contact with the wall throughout the entire exercise.
Stick your hands up over your head. Try to keep your shoulders, elbows, and wrists in contact with the wall.

Keeping your shoulders, elbows, and wrists in contact with the wall, slide your arms down the wall and tuck your elbows into your sides. This will bring your shoulder blades down and together. You should feel a strong contraction in the muscles between your shoulder blades, as well as in your shoulder muscles.

From this position, slowly slide your arms up the wall until they are in the "stick-em-up" position - again, trying to keep everything in contact with the wall.

The goal is to improve your range of motion more every week by improving shoulder mobility and posture control.

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