If you have the most common slumped posture with forward head carriage, then you have likely noticed problems with your shoulders or you will eventually. There may be stiffness, pain, or weakness in the arms. You will be more likely to experience elbow pains too.If you carry your head forward, it strains the neck and irritates the nerves leading from your neck to your shoulders. Irritated nerves tend to cause tightness and weakness in the muscles and eventually pain. This may be something you have suffered from repeatedly or with luck, you simply haven’t noticed it yet.
Either way, the secret is to correct your posture. It will not only help your shoulder problem, but will help your neck and headaches, other arm problems, upper back pain and stiffness as well as make you look stronger and more confident.
If the posture and stiffness trouble has been with you for years, it may take a few trips to your Chiropractor to help free up the mobility of your neck vertebrae and release the irritation to the nerves.There will then be a series of easy exercises that are of utmost importance in getting this problem under control. First, stretch your neck to restore full range of motion, then loosen up your upper back, then strengthen the muscles that hold your neck and upper back in proper posture. The exercises are easy, but need to be done regularly. Stretches can be twice a day, but strengthening should be every hour. This may only take 30 seconds and is mainly pulling your chin down and back (chin-tucks) and pulling your shoulders back. Start out holding for 5 seconds with a short break then repeat. Work up to doing 10 – 15 seconds with a short break then repeat. Do this every hour. Even in bed, before you fall asleep and as soon as you wake up, when you lie on your back, pull your chin and shoulders back. Just push them down into the pillow and your mattress.