My shoulder alignment

Hey guys,

I have been playing guitar for 15 years and did a couple 50 hour a week summers of landscaping without paying much attention to posture and stretching and have noticed that my right shoulder seems to be curved forward, much like the hunched over position I'd be in while playing guitar. The past couple months I've been trying to set it back and down with my posture and certain ROM exercises. My back and neck always are cracking and tight, which I seem to always be working on as well.

I was hoping some of you could watch this video of me doing behind the back reaches to give your opinion on how bad this is, or if there are certain things I should be doing to fix this? Some days I feel good and keep training and others I get discouraged and it's all very stressful.

Oh and sorry the video lags a bit.

Standard advice is to check out kit laughlins book and/or youtube channel, and/or to invest in H1 for the shoulder mobility work.

I take it you can't do the hands-clasped-behind-the-back pose?  Where your one arm is overhead and your other comes up from the bottom like in your videos?  I'd suggest working on that.  Use a towel to pull your hands closer together if you can't actually reach.

Bipocni said:

Standard advice is to check out kit laughlins book and/or youtube channel, and/or to invest in H1 for the shoulder mobility work.

 

I take it you can't do the hands-clasped-behind-the-back pose?  Where your one arm is overhead and your other comes up from the bottom like in your videos?  I'd suggest working on that.  Use a towel to pull your hands closer together if you can't actually reach.

Thanks Bipocni. I made the video without the clasping of hands because I wanted to allow more view of my whole back when my right arm is behind it. I can lock the fingers of both hands together when I clasp with my left arm behind my back and lately I've been able to sometimes get my fingers of both hands to touch when I clasp with my right hand behind my back.

I'll check out Kit Laughlin, thanks.

hah, i have the same condition  

 

WOLF_LARSEN said:

My back and neck always are cracking and tight, which I seem to always be working on as well.

Just noticed this.

I used to get a similar thing going on when I started weighted dislocates, which are amazing for your shoulder and I would highly recommend.

Also I think standard advice for someone with a forward shoulder posture is to really up the volume with horizontal pulling exercises.

I'm surprised someone more knowledgeable hasn't chimed in by now.

As far as the back and neck crack those were originally what I was focusing on because they seem so messed up. I went to a chiropractor for months but he seemed only concerned with what "hurt," no parts of my body hurt but it I'm constantly moving my neck and back around trying to get a crack from the discomfort. Then I realized the main thing he did when I first visited him was watched me grasp my hands behind my back and he seemed to diagnose my posture problems from that alone. So I did the same thing and it made me think my right shoulder was the issue, not necessarily my back or neck alone.

I really think what might be hindering my progress is how I sleep at night. This morning I spent an hour stretching, trying to get all the kinks out of my neck/back and shoulders. It always feels like theirs one more crack I need to get and it really drives my crazy sometimes.

I sleep on my side with a pillow between my legs and a rolled up shirt under my neck, it's comfortable but in the morning I always feel like I set myself back and it's a horrible way to start the day.

WOLF_LARSEN said:

...I sleep on my side...

Which side?

I used to think that they way I slept affected my flexibility, but with the right blend of strength and mobility work these things tend to even out.  My one shoulder is perhaps a little tighter than the other (just like my one ankle) but I think that's normal.

WOLF_LARSEN said:

....The past couple months I've been trying to set it back and down with my posture....

Ooh, just noticed this one as well.  You know correct posture comes from thoracic extension, not scapula retraction, right?