How To Reverse Rounded Shoulders (2020 Complete Update)

If you have landed on this page, it is probably because you are wondering how to reverse rounded shoulders. Don’t worry, you do not have to check another web page as I will be explaining in full simple exercises to reverse rounded shoulders.

But first, let us consider the questions what are rounded shoulders? What do rounded shoulders look like? Then, we shall consider how to reverse rounded shoulders.

What Is Rounded Shoulders?

The term rounded shoulders is used to describe a shoulder position that has been moved forward, away from the ideal alignment of the body.

Rounded shoulders, sometimes called “mom posture”, are part of poor posture and can get worse if left untreated.

If you work in a job that requires an extended sitting position, your shoulders have probably been rounded forward at some point. This is particularly the case for office workers and truck drivers.

There are a few simple exercises to reverse rounded shoulders and relieve the stress caused by slouching.

What Do Rounded Shoulders Look Like?

Before we go into how to reverse rounded shoulders, we need to know what they look like if someone has it. Below is an easy description of how rounded shoulders look like.

If you have rounded shoulders, your shoulders appear to be positioned further than normal. People who have rounded shoulders usually have a forward head position and an increased slouching of the shoulders known as thoracic kyphosis.

This causes enormous stress on the neck and shoulders, which can lead to a reduction in the range of motion of the shoulder, as well as neck pain, shoulder pain, shoulder blade pain, headaches, sleeping troubles. , numbness and/or loss of function.

Causes Of Rounded Shoulders

Rounded shoulders occur when the shoulders are not properly aligned with the spine. This can lead to posture-related problems, such as back pain.

Posture is an example of how a person’s habits can affect their physical body. Conditions such as the text neck and rounded shoulders are some of the most common poor posture starts.

Any activity that causes the body to look down and forward for long periods can contribute to slouching shoulders.

These positions disrupt the normal function of the neck, back and shoulder muscles. It is these muscles that control how the body maintains its posture throughout the day.

Daily tasks that can help round the shoulders include:

• Using a smartphone or tablet
• Using a computer or laptop
• Sitting for long periods
• Driving a vehicle
• Bending over several times
• Carrying heavy objects all-day

The risks of rounded shoulders include the negative impact they can have on health and appearance.

By inadvertently training the body to tilt forward over time, the muscles interpret this fallen position as the body’s natural state. This can be very harmful to the body if left untreated.

Increased stress on the shoulder joints can cause pain around the neck and upper back.

It is best to correct the rounded shoulders by adjusting the posture as soon as possible.

Diagnosis Of Rounded Shoulders

For you to know how to reverse rounded shoulders, there is a need to know how to diagnose it.

Chiropractors and physiotherapists can guide a person through certain tests to see if their shoulders are rounded.

The doctor can first look at the rest position of a standing person. A person with slouching shoulders may appear to bend down, even when asked to stand erect. Their hands are likely to face behind them with their thumbs pointing toward each other.

Correct standing posture will see the hands facing the body with the thumbs forward. It is a simple test, but it will give doctors a good indication of a person’s daily posture.

Doctors can use a variety of other tests to help diagnose rounded shoulders and poor posture in order to recommend the best treatments.

It is always advisable to work directly with an expert professional to treat rounded shoulders.

Continue reading How to reverse rounded shoulders

You May Also Like

What is Lateral Pelvic Tilt?

How to Reverse Rounded Shoulders

Now that we have seen what rounded shoulders is, what it looks like, it’s cause and diagnosis, we should look at exercises to reverse rounded shoulders. Please, it is recommended that you do this exercise for two to three weeks to feel their full effect.

Over time, check how your body is responding and adjust your frequency accordingly.

Exercises To Reverse Rounded Shoulders

1. Releases

Tense muscles lock the shoulders in the forward position. It is important to release these muscles first to allow the shoulders to reposition themselves properly.

Target muscles to release in the chest are the Pec major, Pec Minor, and the Subclavius while the target side muscles to be released are the Latissimus Dorsi and the Serrato anterior.

The techniques to Release these muscles

• Locate the target areas.
• Place a massage ball directly under these muscles.
• Apply an appropriate amount of body weight to the ball.
• Make a regular circular motion over these areas.
• DO NOT hold your breath.
• Release the pressure in the event of tension.
• Make sure you cover all the muscles.
• Continue for a duration: 1-2 minutes

Continue reading How to reverse rounded shoulders

You May Also Like

How to correct Lateral Pelvic Tilt

2. Improve Shoulder Extension

If you do not have full shoulder extension, the shoulder blade will be in the forward position.

i) Stretch the front of the shoulder

Directions:

• Sit in a chair.
• Place both hands on the sides of the chair.
• Pull your shoulders back and lean them backward. (Lock this position throughout the section!)
• Keep your elbows pointed backward.
• Slowly sink your body back. Your elbows should start to bend. (DO NOT let these shoulders lean forward!)
• Continue till you feel a stretch in front of your shoulders.
• Hold the position for 30 seconds.

ii) Practice pure extension

Directions:

• Pull your shoulders back and lean them back.
• Lock this position throughout the exercise.
• Without allowing the scapula to tilt forward, bring the arm as far back as possible.
• Hold the position for 5 seconds.
• Repeat 30 times.

3. Stretches

Still wondering how to reverse rounded shoulders? Go for stretching exercises.

There are several stretching exercises to reverse rounded shoulders.

i) Chest Stretch

Directions:

• Place both hands on the door frame.
• Pull your shoulders back. and open your chest.
• Thrust forward
• Do not bend your lower back
• Make sure you feel a stretch in the chest area.
• Hold the position for 30 seconds.

ii) Side Stretch

Directions:

• Stand with your legs slightly wider than your hips.
• Touch your right hand on the side of your head and guide your head to the left until you feel a stretch on your waist and right shoulder.
• Pause for a second and slowly return to the starting position.
• Switch sides to end a repetition.
• Repeat for 10-15 repetitions and do 3 sets.

iii) Upper Trapezius

Directions:

• Drag your shoulders back and down.
• Tilt your head to one side.
• Using your hand, push your head further toward the tilt.
• Make sure that you feel a stretch on the side of the neck.
• Hold the position for 30 seconds.
• Repeat on the other side.

Continue reading How to reverse rounded shoulders

You May Also Like

8 Lateral Pelvic Tilt Exercises

4. Improve the Internal Rotation of the Shoulder

If you want to know how to reverse rounded shoulders, then, you must of necessity improve the internal rotation of the shoulder.

If you lack internal rotation of the shoulder, your shoulder can compensate by moving upward and forward in certain arm positions.

Do the following to improve the internal rotation of the shoulder.

i) Stretch the Back of the Shoulder

Directions:

• During this stretch, make sure to keep your shoulders back.
• Place your arm on your body on the opposite shoulder.
• Pull your arm further out of the body.
• Don’t stop till you feel a stretch behind the shoulder area.
• Hold the position for 30 seconds.

ii) Internal Rotation

Directions:

• Place both hands behind your back.
• Hold your hand/wrist.
• Raise your elbows towards the back.
• Gently pull your shoulder blades so they will come together.
• Hold the position for 30 seconds.

5. Control Your Shoulder Blade

To know how to reverse rounded shoulders, it is good to know how to control your shoulder blade.

It is essential to know how to retract the scapula and the posterior tilt.

These movements of the scapula will help place the shoulder in a more neutral position.

You will need to know how to perform these movements correctly before continuing with the strengthening exercises.

i) Scapula Retraction

Directions:

• Keep shoulders broad and long.
• Perform a scapular retraction, that is, bringing your shoulder blades together.
• Continue till you feel the contraction between the shoulder blades.
• Hold the position for 30 seconds.
• Repeat 3 times.

ii) Scapula Posterior Tilt

Directions:

• Keep shoulders broad and long.
• Perform a posterior scapular tilt. That is, rotating the shoulder blade backward.
• Visualize the base of your shoulder blade drilling into your ribs.
• Continue until you feel the muscles contract at the base of the scapula.
• Hold the position for 30 seconds.
• Repeat 3 times.

6. Strengthening Exercises

Your knowledge of how to reverse rounded shoulders should be comprehensive. Therefore, it is necessary to know all there is to know about exercises to reverse rounded shoulders.

Once you have completed all of the above exercises, your shoulders should be much more flexible.

Having flexibility in the shoulder simply allows them to be in a better position.

You will need to strengthen your muscles to keep your shoulders in good posture.

i) Elbow Flares

Directions:

• Place both hands (elbows forward) on the sides of the head.
• Move your elbow towards the back.
• Retract the scapula and tilt back while pulling your elbows back.
• Feel the contraction between the shoulder blades.
• Hold the position for 5 seconds.
• Repeat 20 times.

ii) Wall Press and Squeeze

Directions:

• Place both hands on a wall in front of you.
• Lean firmly on your hands.
• Retract the scapula and perform the posterior tilt.
• Raise your hands from the wall without moving your torso.
• Try to feel the muscle contraction between the shoulder blades.
• Hold the position for 30 seconds.
• Repeat 5 times.

iii) Prone Arm Circles

Directions:

• Support your chest on a stool. Keep your torso parallel to the ground.
• Put your hands sideways
• Perform the scapula retraction and the posterior tilt throughout the exercise.
• Draw small circles backward with your hands.
• Continue for 30 to 60 seconds.
• Repeat 3 times.

Continue reading How to reverse rounded shoulders

You May Also Like

Can you sleep with a Knee brace on?

iv) Prone Angel

Directions:

• Support your chest on a stool. Keep your torso parallel to the ground.
• Put your arms in the W starting position.
• Perform and maintain the scapula retraction and the posterior inclination throughout the exercise.
• Change to the position of the arms above the head.
• Keep your hands higher than your elbows.
• Repeat 10 times.

v) Wall Angel

Directions

• Stand with your back to the wall.
• Keep your back and arms pulled back to stay in contact with the wall at all times.
• Put your arms in the W starting position.
• Change to the position of the arms above the head.
• Remember to retract the scapula and posterior tilt in all movements.
• Repeat 10 times.

7. Strengthen your Chest Muscles

Once you’ve reached a more neutral shoulder position, the next step is to eccentrically strengthen the muscles in your chest.

Eccentric training is where you strengthen the muscle as it lengthens. This will help stretch the chest muscles more.

The Eccentric push up

Take a push position against a door frame.

• Support your weight on your hands.
• Keep your shoulders back throughout the exercise.
• Slowly lower your chest against the wall while bending your elbows.
• Do not allow your elbows to flare outward.
• Try to go as deep as possible to feel a deep stretch in the muscles of your chest.
• Repeat 10 times.

As you are making progress;

• Deepen the movement.
• Perform the eccentric push up on the floor.
• Try doing it in a bench press or using a dumbbell chest press.

8. Tape your Posture

Taping the shoulder in the right position will help you remember to maintain good posture.

Directions:

• Perform the scapula retraction and the posterior tilt.
• Bring your shoulder blades together.
• Tilt the shoulder blade backward.
• Place the tape from the collarbone and pull down to the middle of the thoracic spine.
• Be sure to apply firm downward pressure when applying the tape.
• Do both sides.
• Depending on the irritability of your skin, you can leave the tape up to 2 days.

9. Use a back brace

Wearing a brace to keep your shoulders from tilting forward can be helpful in these initial stages of fixing your posture. But do not depend on it.

Below are some of the best back braces you can use to correct your rounded shoulders.

Continue reading How to reverse rounded shoulders

You May Also Like

Can You Sleep with a back brace on?

10. What is the correct shoulder position?

It’s a quick and easy way to get your shoulders back to a more neutral position.

If you ever forget where your shoulder should be, do the following:

Directions:

• Extend your hand and stretch your hands as far as possible to the opposite sides.
• Retraction: slightly bring your arms back.
• Make sure you feel a gentle contraction between the shoulder blades.
• Back tilt: rotate your palms as far as possible so that your thumbs are almost pointing towards the ground.
• Take note of the position of your shoulder. Hold this position! And gently lower your arms to the side.
• Think: “Broad and long shoulders.”
• Do not squeeze your shoulders too far back.

11. Other areas to consider

To completely repair your rounded shoulders, it is highly recommended to also treat the following postural deviations:

i) Hunch Back

A thoracic (upper back) spine that leans forward will force the shoulders to become rounded.

ii) Forward Head posture

A head forward pose is where the position of the head is in front of the midline of the torso.

If the head is forward, the shoulders are probably also rounded forward.

Best Braces to Reverse Rounded Shoulders

1. Stand Up Str8 Posture Corrector

View the full product description here.

2. SOMAZ Adjustable Posture Corrector

Click here to view product description and purchase.

3. ORTONYX Full Back Support Brace with Removable Dorso-Lumbar Pad

To view the full description of the product and to purchase, click here.

Conclusion

For you who want to know how to reverse rounded shoulders, I hope this article helped you understand and know the right exercises to reverse rounded shoulders. Go ahead and carry out these exercises to help you reverse your rounded shoulders.

Always consult your physiotherapist to help you whenever you run into difficulty.

Also, go through this website for more amazing articles that will help you maintain a good posture and keep a straight posture.