Good afternoon folks, my name is Dylan Nesbitt. I am currently a third year college student studying BSc degree in Sports Strength and Conditioning. This is my first ever blog in which I talk about a very common posture type known as kyphosis or kyphotic posture.
What is kyphosis? Kyphosis is a postural syndrome of
the upper back (thoracic spine) and neck. The upper back appears
curved with rounded shoulders, the scapula is protracted and the chin pokes
forward rather than being tucked in.
It is an extremely common dysfunction
and you will probably recognize it in many of the people you see in your day to
day life, particularly people who spend large parts of their day slouching from
sitting or standing for long periods of time e.g. office workers, students,
drivers etc. It is also very common among professional cyclists and baseball catchers who spend very long periods of time hunched over holding their posture. Amateur bodybuilders and gym goers are often seen with kyphotic posture as a result from over developing the pectoralis major, minor and anterior deltoid muscles while neglecting the muscles on their posterior chain.
Postural kyphosis is caused by rounding of the shoulders, which flexes the entire spine, particularly the thoracic spine. The pectoralis major and minor muscles are shortened and tightened while the upper back muscles such as the trapezius, latissimus dorsi and rhomboids are stretched and weakened.
Postural kyphosis is caused by rounding of the shoulders, which flexes the entire spine, particularly the thoracic spine. The pectoralis major and minor muscles are shortened and tightened while the upper back muscles such as the trapezius, latissimus dorsi and rhomboids are stretched and weakened.
In most cases having a kyphotic posture does not entail a large degree of pain, apart from having limited mobility and tightness in the upper back and shoulders. However if it worsens with increased pressure over time it can lead to sciatica,
plantar fasciitis, back and neck pain, temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ),
and headaches.
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Many rehabilitation
"experts" would have you believe that if you strengthen your scapular
retractors/depressors and stretch a little, your kyphotic posture problems
would disappear. This is far from the truth. Instead of focusing on the true
culprit in many cases (e.g. an anterior pelvic tilt), they focus only on the
problem, not the actual cause of the problem. When you have a severe anterior pelvic tilt, the
upper body has a tendency to overcompensate.
While writing an article for T-Nation, Mike Robertson uses a great analogy to describe this. He states "Think about your
spine as an "S" that must be equal on both the top
and bottom. If the bottom half of the S is small and thin, the upper part will
be small and thin as well. This is how a normal spine should look. However, if
the bottom part of the S is very wide, the top part of the S will have to be
very wide as well to compensate and balance out the bottom. Therefore, you can
do all the upper body exercises and stretches you want, but until you solve the
problem at the hips your results will probably always be sub-par.”
When someone exhibits
an anterior pelvic tilt, the hip flexor muscles (psoas and iliacus) are usually
very tight and overactive. This then creates a disruption throughout the lower body and trunk. This overactivity causes an inhibition of the hip extensors,
primarily the glutes. When the glutes become inhibited, the hamstrings and lower back have to take over an increased workload, and they tend to get tight in the
process. One of the remaining issues that needs to be addressed is the core. If
the abdominals strength isn't up to par and the lower back is shortened and
tight, you have an even greater increase in lordosis (arch in the lower back). Well
what can be done? Stretching the hip flexors, hamstrings and lower back, while
working on increasing activation and strength in the abs and glutes. The glutes can be targeted by exercises such as donkey kick back's and resistance band crab walks. Decreasing
an anterior pelvic tilt can go a long way in improving an athlete’s upper body
posture with no direct work for the upper body whatsoever.
Once the lower body is being taken care of we can focus on the upper body. Strength training is
going to be necessary to break the kyphotic cycle. The main area and muscle
groups that should be focused on are the scapular retractors and depressors
(rhomboids and middle/lower trapezius fibers), and the external rotators
(specifically teres minor, infraspinatus, and the posterior deltoid). These
muscle groups don't need an extreme amount of loading to be trained effectively.
They can be activated by doing exercises such as sliding wall angels, IYTW’s,
resisted face pulls, scap pull ups, scap row, reverse pec deck and band pull aparts.
As important as
strengthening the posterior chain is, stretching the antagonist muscles such as
the pecs and the anterior deltoid muscles will have massive benefits in improving
that kyphotic posture. Even though the latissimus dorsi are on the back side of
the body, one of their primary roles is internal rotation, so they must be
stretched as well. The last piece in the puzzle is foam rolling, whether it be with a roller, a hockey ball or barbell. If used correctly they allow myofascial release by eliminating trigger
points within the muscle and thus improving flexibility.
So there you have it folks, a brief insight into what kyphotic posture is, how it is caused and how to treat it. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.
References
So there you have it folks, a brief insight into what kyphotic posture is, how it is caused and how to treat it. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.
References
- Kyphosis. Available: http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/upper-back-neck/kyphosis#top. Last accessed 7th October 2015.
- Mike Robertson. (2003). Heal that Hunchback!. Available: https://www.t-nation.com/training/heal-that-hunchback. Last accessed 7th October 2015.
