Spinal Flexibility
Hey y’all
This is another article on posture and cycling. This time we are going to talk about simple ways to improve your spinal flexibility which will help with reducing neck pain and Rotator Cuff irritation. I would be glad to show anyone who is interested on how a slumped or Kyphotic posture puts extra strain on these areas using the teaching skeletons in my Gym.
I like to break it down into 2 sections:
1. Improve the Spinal Flexibility so that you can actually attain good posture.
2. Improve strength of muscles that support the area so that you can maintain the posture.
Section 1- Improving the Flexibility or reducing the Kyphotic posture.
I like to use simple swim noodles or foam rollers. They are cheap, safe and easy to use. We use them in two different directions to help open up the thoracic area (see photos). Once you have some flexibility in upper spine it is much easier to reposition your head/neck while riding, because now you can distribute the total range of motion over a wider area. Also, it will allow your shoulder blades to move from hunched forward position and take lots of strain off of the Rotator Cuff muscle group.
Section 2- Improve strength of muscles to maintain good posture.
Here we focus on the upper spine and shoulder blade muscles for 2 reasons:
1. Keep the program simple and therefore more likely to happen.
2. Most of your neck muscles attach to your shoulder blades, so we can “kill 2 birds with 1 stone” so to speak. Apologies to any offended Bird watchers.
We use these exercises with our posture program as they will both improve shoulder blade positioning and help your neck maintain proper positioning.
