Your shoulders and your upper back are kind of a unit. If one is tight, it will affect the other. It’s important to maintain mobility through the shoulders and t spine or it will alter the way the rest of your body works.
This simple stretch will help open your shoulders and restore mobility to your thoracic spine. You just need something to put your hands on like a chair.
There are a few things you need to keep in mind while you do this stretch, but the biggest one is to make sure you don’t let your ribs tilt up as your arms go over your head. If you do you’re just hyper extending your lower back instead of opening your shoulders.
If you’re doing this as a passive stretch, make sure you hold the stretch long enough for adaptation to happen. You need to hold the stretch for at least 90 seconds. You can also apply a little pressure with your hands to the chair, or whatever you’re using, to make the stretch even more effective.
To do this as an active stretch, apply pressure to the object with your hands at the start of the stretch and maintain that tension as you hip hinge back. Keep the tension as your arms go over your head and hold the position for a couple seconds before resetting to the starting position. Do 6-12 reps for a good active stretch set!
