“Freeing Up” The Scapula & Thoracic Spine

Skeletal-CollapsedThis workshop deepens your understanding of how a “stuck scapula” restricts the thoracic spine.

When a person slouches into a Downward Collapsed “Stooped” Posture, muscles attaching anterior to the frontal plane shorten, pulling the ribcage down and forward, narrowing the space between the ribcage and pelvis (the waist).

Therefore, let’s assume muscles attaching posterior of the frontal plane will lengthen (even though at the same time becoming increasingly “tight”).

The reality is, the back muscles are then continually recruited to counter-act the over-shortened anterior (abdominal) muscles and downward collapsing of the anterior torso.

The farther the upper torso pulls down and projects forward, the more electrically charged (hypertonic) the back muscles become to prevent the torso from collapsing forward and down.

Regardless in which body plane, when muscular imbalances are revealed, joint restrictions and pain are often present. To what degree pain and restriction occurs depends on many factors; just one being, how long has the condition existed?

Short muscles can be painful, but more often than not, chronic pain settles in chronically lengthened yet also “tensed up” muscles. A muscle can be over-lengthened yet even tighter than it’s over-shortened antagonist. Pain is a signal that the posterior torso muscles are in neuromuscular exhaustion, fatigued and apparently “weak.” It’s a signal, warning the body it needs to adjust or realign, meaning, to sit or stand up straight, yet without further engaging already overly tense back muscles.

Sitting and standing straight returns the gravitational line to normal, bisecting the bones and not stressing the muscles. The trick is, how do we relax & lengthen our way to postural balance, rather than tensing certain muscles to “hold” ourselves in allegedly better posture with excess muscle tension?

The anterior torso muscles — Abdominals, Serratus Anterior, Pectoralis Major, Pectoralis Minor — produce a continuous kinetic musculo-fascial chain connecting the pelvis with ribcage, and the ribcage with scapula, clavicle and arm. Prolonged sitting with inadequate lumbar support shortens this musculo-fascial chain causing back extensors, scapula retractors and upper respiratory muscles to “tense up.”

One must learn how to “free up” the scapula to relieve restrictions of the thoracic spine.

There will be No Pain involved during this workshop. …
No Pain = More Gain