But what does having back pain have to do with a tight chest?? As you may be aware, our muscles, joints and skeletal systems are all integrated. Because of this integration when something goes wrong in one area it generally has an affect on other areas. This integration of the musculoskeletal system is one of its greatest assets that your exercise physiologist can exploit to enhance your training and rehabilitation.

“Thoracic Tension” is a term used to describe pain and tension generally concentrated in between and around the shoulder blades. This pain can lead to other problems such as lower back pain and /or neck pain plus increasing the chances of shoulder instability or injury. The cause for this musculoskeletal issue is unknown; it is believed that poor posture in everyday activities such as sitting at a desk for long periods of time with a slumped posture. This slumped posture causes the large chest muscles – pectorals and anterior shoulder muscles (deltoids) to become tight and further exacerbate the poor posture. From this position the shoulder blades are opened up and it increases the likelihood of tighter upper shoulder muscles. However it is not all bad news, the good news is that with a little hard work and vigilance. A few really great exercises and stretches are listed below:

Seated Row:

This is a great exercise because it emphasizes correct posture and helps to open up the chest while strengthening the muscles that get weakened by the poor posture associated with thoracic tension.

1.    On at cable machine, start with seating yourself far enough back that you when lean forward to grasp the handle.
2.    Seat upright, contract your abs (pull your abs towards your spine)
3.    Contract the muscles inbetween your shoulder blades pulling your shoulders back
4.    Pull your elbows to your side; keeping shoulders back.
Start with a weight that you can do 12 reps with correct technique.

Pec Major Stretch:

A fantastic stretch to aid in alleviating this tension, as well as increasing range of motion within the shoulder

1.    Place elbows at shoulder height along either side of the door way.
2.    Lean through the doorway leading with your chest while keeping neutral spine
3.    Hold the stretch for 15 to 20 seconds.
4.    Repeat 3 times.

Myofascial Release:

This stretch is uses a roller to release the tension that may be within those muscles

1.    Place roller underneath you, Lie down with the roller positioned at about mid shoulder blade height.
2.    Stretch your arms overhead and slowly roll over the roller and stopping at areas that you feel are tense.
3.    Hold this for 10 to 15 seconds.

Scapula Squeezes:

This is a great exercise to begin with, this exercise works on at neuromuscular level; it aids in increasing your own awareness of your posture and muscle activation (proprioception a concept that will be covered in future articles).

1.    Start by sitting upright, abs drawn in
2.    Pull your shoulders back slightly
3.    Then imagine that you have a pen in between your shoulder blades squeeze your shoulder blades together and keep the pen there. Contract the muscles in between your shoulder blades to do this.
4.    Do 3 sets of 12 to begin with.

The prevalence of this musculoskeletal issue is currently unknown; however it can be assumed that with the high percentage to the adult population that spends 4 or more hours in front of a screen. It could be assumed that there is a large population that is afflicted. However the good news is that it is manageable and by consulting your exercise physiologist they would be able to prescribe a program that would help manage the symptoms.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 3rd, 2008 at 2:03 pm and is filed under Injury Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.