How to Relieve Tight Muscles in the Neck and Shoulders

It is not uncommon to hear people talk about their tension and tight muscles in their neck and shoulders. Due to being so common, we should know how to fix this (assuming no medical conditions exist). Several things can lead to tight muscles in the neck and shoulders (upper back pain and dysfunction). These dysfunctions often result in pain, sleep loss, weakness, inability to do daily tasks, and an overall decrease in quality of life. Luckily, it’s easily manageable if you retrain and correct what’s going on in those areas.

Let’s look at what causes tight neck and shoulder muscles, how it affects the quality of life, and how you can help yourself. It usually starts in the thoracic spine and can be a result of poor posture or irritation of the back and shoulder muscles like strain or spasms.

What Does Upper Back Dysfunction Look Like?

Those who have upper back dysfunction usually show any of the following symptoms:
-Mid-back pain
-Shoulder pain
-Neck stiffness
-Headaches
-Pain/numbness/tingling radiating into the arms
-Muscle spasms or knots
-Poor posture
-Shoulder or arm weakness
-Loss of sleep
-Poor performance
-Decreased quality of life

As you can see, it can take you away from your everyday life and make simple tasks seem difficult. Those with these symptoms will usually try their own stretches, change their workouts, take medications, or receive medical treatment, which doesn’t always address the core problem. All of these “solutions” can lead to, in extreme cases, chronic pain, drug dependency, surgery, or depression.

What Causes Upper Back Dysfunction?

Upper back problems can result from lack of education or awareness on correct posture, a sedentary lifestyle, occupational demands, joint stiffness, decreased conditioning, muscle weakness, poor core stability, or poor ergonomic workstations. The problems you should prioritize are poor posture, prior injuries, and poor technique.

Poor Posture

Today’s culture destroys good posture from things such as:
-Hunching at a desk job 5-6 days a week
-Mobile phone use and reading
-Carrying heavy or asymmetrical items
-Using a computer mouse
-Technological convenience (online shopping, food delivery, etc.)

Most people aren’t aware of their body when doing these activities, which puts them in uncomfortable positions for extended periods without a break. This, in turn, strains the muscles and tendons of the upper body. Over time this will cause the muscles and vertebrae to become fixated and restricted, resulting in uncomfortable muscle tension. These simple yet repeated actions are significant contributing factors for upper back problems.

Prior Injuries

Prior injuries can also cause tight muscles in the neck and shoulders. Even injuries 10+ years old can amplify current problems. Upper back discomfort can intensify from untreated trauma to the:
-Vertebrae
-Discs
-Muscles
-Ligaments
-Nerves
-Other soft tissues

Regardless of whether an injury was from a car accident or an athletic sport, the body responds the same way: muscles get strained and vertebrae become restricted, and you wind up with upper back and neck problems.

Poor Technique

This isn’t just during exercise; poor technique can happen during any motion you have to perform each day. This can include lifting kids, getting in and out of a car, putting things away, and any other total body functional movement. Day-to-day activities like these, with even the slightest bit of bad form, can put a strain on the shoulders and neck. Pain from improper movement develops over time based on the continued muscle memory of your upper body.

The Combined Effect of All Three

Interestingly, all three of these tend to go hand in hand. Injuries can happen from poor technique that develops from poor form. Or, in reverse, injuries can cause poor technique and result in regularly bad posture. If you are unaware that you’re moving incorrectly, then you’re at risk for injury.

These factors and others cause us to compensate when we move, leading to excessive movement in areas like the lower neck and shoulders. Further, it causes muscle tension of the rhomboids, scapular stabilizers, rotator cuff and neck musculature. This can snowball into more aggressive injuries like:
-Degeneration
-Arthritis
-Herniated discs
-Spinal misalignments
-Bursitis
-Rotator cuff tears

How to Manage Upper Back Dysfunction

Retraining the body is crucial, so the condition doesn’t worsen. This can reduce nerve tension and joint stress. The goal is to have proper movements ingrained into muscle memory to keep good posture.

Corrective training, in the form of exercise prescription, is important for the recovery process. The exercises here can be part of a daily program. Each exercise has a different level of difficulty and progresses to become more complex.

Can Openers

When there is less flexibility in the upper torso, there will be excessive and destructive movement in the neck, shoulders, and lower back. This adds stress and opens the door to injuries; to help this, start off with the can opener exercise.

To perform can openers:

-Lie on one side on the floor.
-Extend your bottom arm out to the side, resting it on the
ground.
-Bend the top knee and hip to 90 degrees and let the
inside of the knee touch the floor.
-Keep the knee against the floor during the exercise.
-Take your top arm and touch it to your bottom arm.
-Take the top arm and rotate the other direction toward the
opposite side of the body.
-Turn your head and eyes to look where you're going and
the arm is moving.
-Keep the knee touching the floor the entire time as you
repeat the motion
-Breathe naturally.
-Perform 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps every day on each side.

Egyptian Turns

Egyptian Turns help improve flexibility in the cervical spine from sitting and poor posture. The exercise aims to correct excessive and destructive movement in the neck, shoulders and lower back.

To perform Egyptian turns:

-Lie supine on the floor (on your back).
-Have one arm extended out to your side and then bent
upward at 90 degrees.
-Keep the other arm down by the side.
-Squeeze both the raised arm as well as the opposite arm
into the floor.
-Turn head and eyes to the direction of the raised arm.
-Breathe naturally.
-Perform 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps every day on both sides.

Single Leg Glute Bridges

It’s common for people who don’t activate their core and hips enough to compensate and add stress to their upper back. Therefore, you should perform single (double) leg glute bridges.

To perform glute bridges:

-Lie flat on the floor and bend both knees, keeping the feet
on the ground.
-Lift one leg off the floor. (You can begin by using both feet
on the floor if using one leg is too difficult)
-Pressing through foot on the floor, lift hips.
-Don’t squeeze your face, neck, or upper back.
-Use natural and comfortable breathing.
-Perform 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps every day on both sides.

Side Planks

Decreased stability in the lateral core and shoulder girdle can contribute to dysfunction. Therefore, side planks are great to add into your program to relieve tight muscles in the neck and shoulders.

To perform side planks:

-Lie on your side, propping yourself up on one elbow.
-Keep feet flexed.
-Head and eyes look directly forward.
-Keep hips neutral at all times, with a straight line between
your knee and your ear.
-Raise the hips up off the floor.
-Breathe naturally.
-Perform the exercise in a repetitive manner, holding 2-4
seconds and repeat 10 times.
-As endurance builds, hold the upward movement longer
and decrease the repetitions, progress to the next level
(bent knee, straight leg, then elevated top leg).

All exercises will most likely take a few days before you notice a difference. Corrective exercise prescriptions and strength training work hand in hand to realign the body and reduce dysfunction. When the body is misaligned there’s a lack of muscle strength because the muscles don’t contract properly. This leaves you with unequal strength which should be realigned to reduce chances of injury. Combining these exercises in a total program will give you more flexibility, strength, and confidence in your fitness levels.

REFERENCES

1. Ludewig P.M., Cook, T.M. (2000) Alterations in shoulder kinematics and associated muscle activity in people with symptoms of shoulder impingement. Physical Therapy. 80 (3) 276-291

2. Inman, V. T., Saunders, D.M., and Abbott, L.C. (1944). Observations on the Function of the Shoulder Joint. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 26-A, 1-30

3. Reed D, Cathers I, Halaki M, Ginn KA. (2015). Does load influence shoulder muscle recruitment patterns during scapular plane abduction? Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.