Upper crossed syndrome describes the characteristic pattern of dysfunctional tone of the musculature of the shoulder girdle/cervicothoracic region of the body.
ASK Dr. Joe – “Ask Me Anything”
I am creating a new blog post feature to my content called Ask Dr. Joe, or perhaps better put, Ask Me Anything*. With Ask Me Anything, you can write to me by email (joseph.e.muscolino@gmail.com) and ask me any question about: …
FREE LMCE video – Manual Therapy for Thoracic Dishing Postural Dysfunction
Thoracic dishing is a postural distortion pattern in which a part of the thoracic spine has a reverse curve of lordosis (extension) instead of the usual kyphosis (flexion). In this free Digital COMT video, Dr. Joe Muscolino explains this condition and how to treat it with manual therapy. Enjoy!
Elongation of the Spine
Elongation of the spine is often spoken of by Pilates instructors. But what exactly is elongation of the spine and how is it achieved biomechanically?
Why and How To Improve Your Posture
Proper posture isn’t just about standing up straight. You also need to monitor your posture while sitting and lying down.
Decreased Ankle Dorsiflexion is Associated with Dynamic Knee Valgus
A proposed biomechanical explanation is that restricted ankle joint dorsiflexion directly results in overpronation of the foot, which causes internal rotation of the lower extremity, which strains the external/abductor musculature, which can then no longer prevent femoral adduction; hence genu valgus.
Thoracic Hyperkyphosis – The Critical Component of Upper Crossed Syndrome
For most of our clients who present with the postural distortion pattern known as upper crossed syndrome, it is important, perhaps absolutely necessary, to include thoracic spinal joint mobilization technique into extension as part of the treatment plan to address the thoracic hyperkyphosis.
Six Causes of Shoulder Impingement Syndrome – Part 1
Shoulder impingement syndrome is a condition in which the distal tendon of the supraspinatus and the subacromial bursa become impinged between the head of the humerus and the acromion process of the scapula. Following are the six major causes of shoulder impingement syndrome.
Text Neck and Neck Pain… and Neck Dysfunction
With any imbalanced posture (postural distortion pattern), including text neck posture, asymmetrical pathomechanical forces are placed into the tissues of the body. These forces have to have an effect. I believe it is impossible to argue that pathomechanics do not lead to dysfunction.
Deep Pressure Massage to the Low Back – Forward Head Posture
The neck and head do not contribute to the generation of pressure, so head and neck posture should be whatever is most comfortable and least stressful. Forward head posture, a common postural distortion imbalance pattern that occurs is caused by a flexion of the head and neck.
Deep Pressure Massage to the Low Back – Use Body Weight
An excellent demonstration of the force that can be generated by using body weight is to lean down onto a bathroom weight scale that is placed on a table that is positioned as various heights. Simply relax and lean into the scale with your body weight and notice the force that you generate.
Does the Condition Text Neck Exist?
That people aged 18-21 in this study have not yet begun to experience pain as a result of text neck posture does not surprise me at all. They are simply still too young to experience what the physical stress of the overuse of text neck posture will eventually do to them.
Manual Therapy Case Study for Upper Crossed Syndrome
The therapist performed a static assessment of the client’s posture and noted the typical upper crossed syndrome with a hyperkyphotic thoracic spine, a hypolordotic lower cervical spine, a hyperlordotic upper cervical spine, protracted head, protracted scapulae, and medially (internally) rotated arms.
Self-Care and Medical Approaches to Upper Crossed Syndrome
When stretching the pectoralis musculature in a doorway, it is helpful to place the hand/forearm against the doorframe at various heights so that different aspects of the pectoralis musculature are preferentially stretched.
How do we Treat Upper Crossed Syndrome with Manual Therapy?
Especially effective for the pectoralis musculature is to use pin and stretch technique. With the client/patient supine and positioned toward the side of the table, pin the musculature with your finger pads as you bring the client/patient’s abducted arm off the side of the table and down into horizontal extension.
Signs, Symptoms, and Assessment of Upper Crossed Syndrome
The first and most obvious sign of upper crossed syndrome (named by Vladimir Janda) is the characteristic postural dysfunction of protracted scapulae, medially (internally) rotated humeri, hyperkyphotic (overly flexed) upper thoracic spine, and a protracted (anteriorly held) head.
What is Muscle Memory? How Does it Control Movement and Posture?
Where does muscle memory for baseline resting tone reside? It resides in the nervous system, the grand master controller of muscular function.
Reading, Writing and Posture
We often blame digital devices for bad posture, but before the advent of computers, typical postures for reading and writing were often far from ideal.
The Price of Smart Phones – Ten Conditions Caused by Smart Phone Use
Following are ten of the most common dysfunctional postural patterns and injuries that may occur with smart phone (cell/mobile phone) use.
Seven Keys to Healthy Neck Posture
Following are the seven most common postural self-care advice tips for the neck that we should give our clients/patients.
Postural Assessment of the Low Back and Pelvis
Good posture is defined as a balanced posture that is symmetrical and does not place excessive stress on the tissues of the body.
Facet Syndrome
Facet syndrome is a condition in which the facet joints of the spine (usually lumbar spine) are overloaded and become irritated, inflamed, and painful.
Neural Plasticity – Learning Posture and Movement Patterns
Neural Plasticity explains how the nervous system learns and patterns our postures and movement patterns, as well as our memories and sensitivity to pain.
What is Muscle Memory?
Muscle memory describes the concept that musculature contracts in patterns for both posture and motion, and these patterns reside in the nervous system.
Postural Assessment of the Neck
Postural assessment: Good posture is balanced and symmetrical & does not place excessive stress on the body. Bad posture is asymmetrical and/or imbalanced.
Tension Headaches
A tension headache is caused by excessive pulling force of tight muscles in the back of the neck that exert tension on their attachments on the head.
Forward Head Posture
Forward head posture is extremely common, especially as we age. It is part of a larger posture dysfunctional pattern known as upper crossed syndrome.
What are the self-care and medical approaches to treating a pathologic disc?
Self care for a herniated disc: avoid postures/activities that increase stress upon the disc and stretching/strengthening the musculature around the disc.
The Thoracic Spine… The Silent Saboteur
There is an old saying that no posture is bad unless you get stuck in it. The problem is that the thoracic spine often does get stuck in bad posture.
Locked Short Muscles – Locked Long Muscles
Two opposing muscle groups, the “facilitated” muscles that are locked short and the “inhibited” muscles that are locked long.
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