Hello. This is Jeong Moon-gyun, the manager. The weather has cooled down a lot, and the basketball season has finally begun. Aren’t you curled up watching a basketball game at home in the cold weather? When the temperature is lower, the body becomes more and more stiff, and more people than before complain of various pains and discomfort. At times like these, getting up from your seat and starting with stretching can be the first step to preventing all pain by slowly warming up your body.
In this issue, we will introduce you to stiffness or pain around the shoulder or neck. If you look at the monitor for a long time or maintain one posture, you may tap your stiff neck or shoulder with your hand or move it around. Stretching is often required.
Feeling this stiffness and pain is a problem with a muscle called trapezius. If this stiffness and pain lasts for a long time, it can cause pain not only in the neck and shoulders, but also in other parts. It may lead to a headache or numbness around the ears or jaw. Referred pain may occur.Trapezoidal in shape as a whole, the trapezius is a muscle that is widely attached across the neck and shoulders. It starts from the occiput and is attached to the 12th thoracic vertebra, and connects to the clavicle and scapula laterally. Also, according to anatomical location and function, it is divided into upper, middle, and lower fibers.

Then, what is the reason why the upper trapezius muscle keeps getting together and hardened? The most likely cause is that the upper trapezius muscle is not resting enough. First, with the increase in smartphone and computer usage, people are raising their arms more or lifting their shoulders more. In the case of those who frequently engage in sporting activities, other muscles around the shoulder may not be able to do their job. At this time, the upper trapezius muscles use excessive force and cause problems.
Also, when lifting the shoulder, the scapula must rotate upward. That way, you can form natural movements without pain. The upper trapezius, serratus anterior, and lower trapezius create this movement. But when the serratus anterior or lower traps are weak, the upper traps have to do their job. Overload may occur.Poor posture is also a problem. As the neck falls forward and a bent back occurs, the tension in the upper trapezius increases. In this regard, people with chronic pain in the neck and shoulders were given strengthening training for the middle trapezius, lower trapezius, and serratus anterior muscles, and there were several studies showing that pain decreased and muscle strength improved.

Then, to solve the pain and stiffness of the upper trapezius, what kind of exercise should we do first? You need to start with exercises that make the thoracic spine movable. The reason is that, as mentioned earlier, the trapezius muscle is attached to the occipital bone, thoracic vertebrae, and scapula. After all, if you take a bad posture, the thoracic spine and scapula lose their mobility and become stiff, and the surrounding muscles such as the middle trapezius, lower trapezius, and serratus anterior muscle that are attached there continue to weaken and cannot do their job. The upper trapezius muscle becomes overloaded.
Then, I would like to introduce an exercise that makes the stiff thoracic vertebrae flexible, strengthens the middle trapezius muscle-lower trapezius muscle, and finally an exercise that can strengthen the upper trapezius muscle. I’ll start with exercises that you can follow relatively easily.First, it is an exercise in which you lean back from a lying position with a foam roller behind your back. It is an exercise that makes the mobility of the stiffened spinal joints. Exhale as much as possible and hold for 10 seconds or more, then slowly roll up your body and rest. It starts at the top of the back and proceeds to just above the waist, but it takes a little longer for stiff or sore areas. At this time, if you give a lot of strength due to severe pain or discomfort, the muscles are rather tense, so it is most important to conduct it slowly with comfortable breathing.

This exercise is often referred to as the ‘Cat-Camel Pose’. The picture on the left in the picture is called ‘Cat Pose’, and the picture on the right is called ‘Camel Pose’. In the cat pose, tilt your head and back as if pushing your chest forward to create mobility in your thoracic spine. At this time, it is important not to overextend only the waist, and more than anything, it is important to proceed with comfortable breathing without giving too much strength.
Camel Pose is a motion that makes the pelvis and waist round, creating mobility in the lumbar spine (lower back). The pelvis, not the back, should be rolled up and the motion should be performed as if pushing the lower back upward, so that the feeling of stretching in the lower back is sufficiently felt. Be careful not to push your back and put too much pressure on your shoulders.After making the thoracic spine mobile, we proceed with exercises to strengthen the middle and lower trapezius muscles. Lie on your stomach with your thumbs pointing up, then raise your arms over your head. Then bring both shoulder blades together and raise both arms up. At this time, rather than raising the arms excessively, focus more on the action of bringing the two wing bones together. It is most important to be careful not to overshrug your shoulders and overuse your upper trapezius muscles. So, if the movements are too difficult at first, it can be a good idea to work through them one arm at a time. Also, there should be no excessive use of the neck or waist. Be careful not to lift both your neck and back.

It is an exercise that relieves the muscles and fascia of the back and lower back that are stiff. Assume a posture with the back of the head, back, waist and buttocks all against the wall. After taking the posture, pull the chin so that it does not lift and hold it.
After the whole body is completely attached, spread both arms out to the side of the body. Place everything from your elbows to your hands against the wall to breathe comfortably. Those with stiff back muscles and fascia may feel stiff in the back or lower back with this posture alone. However, for those who do not feel uncomfortable with this posture, slowly lift it above your head while keeping both arms attached. Raise the body only to the line where it does not float off the wall, and hold for 10 seconds with breathing at the maximum height. Then lower both arms.
For this action, the repeated motion of lifting and lowering the arms upwards is not important, but it is important to hold the arms in a raised position. Be careful not to use excessive strength on your shoulders to lift your arms excessively, and it is best to do it in a comfortable position so that your muscles are not tense.스포츠토토

A question may arise, ‘My muscles are sore and tight, why do I strengthen my muscles instead?’ However, just because the upper trapezius muscle is constantly used does not mean that the muscle strength is strong, rather, the weak areas are used a lot, so it hardens and sticks together. If you have relieved the work on the upper trapezius by strengthening the middle and lower trapezius muscles, it is important to finish with an exercise that strengthens the upper trapezius muscle itself.
After putting both arms comfortably down, shrug both shoulders to exercise the upper trapezius muscles. At this time, it is best to proceed while looking in the mirror so that both shoulders can be raised at the same speed and height without using only one shoulder. At first, proceed with your bare body, and when increasing the intensity, you can effectively strengthen your strength by using small tools such as bands or dumbbells according to your individual ability.

In this issue, we introduced neck and shoulder pain that everyone has experienced at least once. The exercises introduced in this issue are basic exercises for the neck and shoulders. These exercises not only relieve the pain and discomfort that occurs when the upper trapezius muscles are tight and stiff, but are also clearly helpful for other diseases related to the neck and shoulders. I hope you continue to do it.
All exercises require a warm-up first. After warming up, do stretching and strengthening exercises. Since this order is very important, it would be a good idea to try the exercises presented in this issue in order. And even if there is no pain or discomfort, it would be nice to proceed with the exercises in order, starting with releasing the stiff body with a foam roller. I hope you will be healthy enough to prevent pain by exercising step by step from the beginning!