The Answer
Stretch your pectoral muscles. These are the muscles in your upper chest.
The Exercise
Stand in the frame of a door so that the frame of the door is side by side with you.
Lift your arm out to your side such that it is at a right angle with yout body. Brace your elbow and forearm against the frame of the door. Turn your upper body away from your raised arm just until you feel a stretch and hold.
If you cannot feel a stretch, raise your forearm higher, increasing the angle at the elbow. Keep raising your arm just until you feel the stretch and hold.
The Stretch
You should feel the stretch in your upper chest and the front of your shoulder.
The Duration
Hold for 30 seconds.
The Repetitions
Repeat 3 times on each arm.
But… Why?
This exercise is particularly important for swimmers, bodybuilders, people sit for long periods, and people who a lot of physical labor.
The Area
Doing this simple exercise everyday will increase the flexibility in your upper chest and improve the posture in your shoulder.
The Relief
This exercise will help to relieve pain in your upper arm, upper back, upper chest and neck.
The Injuries
The injuries which would be helped by this stretch include:
The Relaxation
All of the exercises in this program are designed to facilitate stress relief, relaxation and meditation if desired. Take this you-time to allow yourself to unwind while taking long, slow deep breaths throughout the exercise.
The Program
This exercise is part of my daily thirty minute Flexibility & Posture program. Its a balanced, light program which I have designed on the back of successfully prescribing exercises for thousands of patients so far.
You will be able to access the full program here on November 25th 2019.
Sean Flynn Physiotherapy 