Posture - Upper Crossed Syndrome
Upper Crossed Syndrome is a descriptive postural term coined by Dr. Janda M.D. It is associated with other postural types such as Lower Crossed Syndrome and Layered Syndrome.
While there are many other postural dysfunctions, these are the most common and will be our main focus for postural correction in this blog.
Not sure what postural dysfunction you may have? Read 5 posture Types You Can Change for Good.
In our previous blog “3 Steps to Make Your Posture Great Again”, we discussed the 3-step process for improving your posture. So, if you’ve made it here, then you have probably finished these:
Step 1 – “Understanding Your Postural Type”.
Step 2 – “Changing the Habits that Contribute to Your Postural Type”
Step 3 – “Performing Specific Corrective Exercises for Your Postural Type.”
Here is a link to the 11 best and worst postural correcting braces, tools and exercise equipment.
Please remember fixing your posture won’t happen overnight, but it is imperative to your physical well-being as form always dictates function. The function that I’m referring to is Innate Essential #4 Movement.
What is Upper Crossed Syndrome?
Upper Crossed Syndrome, aka; tech-neck, text-neck, anterior head carriage, anterior head syndrome or forward head posture.
These are all postural types characterized by having the head and neck positioned in front of the body in the sagittal plane. Often, this will also include;
- Head and neck craned forward
- Rounded shoulders
- Slumped forward position
- Rounded upper back
As an added bonus, humps on the upper back and lower neck can develop over time. This is also known as a Dowager’s hump. Yes, your Grandma probably had one, but that doesn’t mean you have to.
All of these postural types are also characterized by chronically short, tight muscles and chronically lengthened weak muscles.
The short and tight muscles with Upper Crossed Syndrome are commonly the pectoral, traps and levator scapulae.
The long, weak muscles are the inhibited rhomboids, deep neck flexors and serratus anterior.
Why is Upper Crossed Syndrome so Common?
It all comes down to your Habits and Routines!
Sitting, Standing, Sleeping and TECHNOLOGY habits!
The majority of these bad habits all revolve around technology. If you think about it, the car, the phone, computers, the television, couches, etc., all create a need to sit in a rounded position.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again.
“Sitting is the new smoking.”
We spend more time than ever sitting, slumped forward working/playing on our phones, computers, tablets, or in our vehicles.
It’s not that sitting is bad per say, but when performed with routine it can be. Even worse, chronically poor posture when sitting adds up to create early degeneration, arthritis, osteoporosis, pain, headaches, neurological dysfunction and more.
5 Common Habits Contributing to Upper Crossed Syndrome
1. Sitting Posture
Sitting for short periods of time isn’t the problem. It’s chronic sitting that creates chronically shortened, tight hip flexors and lower back muscles. Naturally, these muscles are short and tight when sitting. The longer and more often you sit, the shorter and tighter these muscles will remain.
These muscles when short and tight will create a Lower Cross Syndrome type posture that can contribute to an altered center of gravity and increase the likelihood that you will create an Upper Cross Syndrome type of posture.
When a person has both postural dysfunctions, then it is known as Layered Syndrome. This is much harder to fix than having just one or the other.
A person sitting with poor posture dramatically increases the chances that you will have layered syndrome. Poor sitting posture such as rounding your shoulders and upper spine forward, looking down and craning your head forward all directly contribute to Upper Crossed Syndrome.
Think of the driver without their head on the headrest, the administrative assistant leaning forward into their computer or the child staring down into their phone or tablet. These positions that these postures create is not the enemy, the chronicity of the postures is.
So, sit up straight. Put your head back on the headrest or even better, imagine you have a string pulling up from the top of your head elongating your neck. Pull your shoulder blades back (retract) and down towards your back pockets.
Do this throughout the day at 10-20% muscle contraction so that your form remains solid.
2. Standing Posture
Standing, much like sitting, isn’t the problem. Routinely standing with poor posture is. Standing, like sitting, is all about being in control of your habits. Are you allowing for your head and neck to roll forward or are you in an upright erect position? Are you using the string method to when holding your posture?
Often when I teach proper standing posture, I refer to a ballet dancer. In ballet, they will teach you to stand up straight like you have a string at the top of your head pulling you up from your feet.
This helps to elongate the neck upward instead of forward. The pull from the imaginary string also discourages the anterior pelvic tilt seen in lower crossed syndrome.
Try it! It’s hard to have bad posture when you’re practicing this string technique.
3. Sleeping Posture
Sleeping – When one chooses to lay down after hours, days and months of sitting and standing with poor posture, the form is not easily forgotten. The effect of poor, chronic postures will carry over into other positions of posture.
This usually makes the fetal position one of comfort. It mimics your sitting posture enabling the same muscles to remain short and tight and others long and weak.
Stomach sleeping can have similar enabling effects on these short muscles of the back and the long muscles of the abdomen.
Sleeping on the back is the best anatomically correct sleeping position.
Again, its not that the positions are bad for a short period of time. It’s the chronicity in which you use the positions that is bad. I often hit the snooze button and lay on my stomach for a few minutes.
Ideally one would sleep on their back for the majority of the night.
It is imperative that you don’t stack up pillows to watch television or when using your phone in bed. Please avoid falling asleep with your head craned forward under 2 or 3 pillows.
I really only use one and I simply roll the end under to support my neck.
4. Joint Stacking
Joint stacking – In a previous blog post, I related how your standing habits can cause Lower Crossed Syndrome.
The anterior pelvic tilt that is created in this position often changes your center of gravity leading to a need for your Thoracic spine to increase its curvature opposite that of your increased lumbar curvature.
This offset of curvatures then tends to push the head forward to center out gravity at the top end and down below the knees are often hyperextended into a locked-out position to compensate.
You will generally also have more weight on the ball of the foot because of this. This often leads to tight calves and thus plantar fasciitis.
This is similar to the frontal plane joint stacking concept I described in the previous blog post about Lower Crossed Syndrome. The type described above is more of a sagittal plane joint stacking.
Of course, joint stacking can also be done in sitting postures such as leaning onto the center console when driving. This type of postural behavior can apply to almost any postural position, just use your imagination.
5. Technology
Technology – It’s not that technology causes the problems, but with the use of some technologies we have needed to change our ergonomics.
Think about this.
Before the chair, one would have sat on the ground or possibly higher up on an object like a rock. So, with the invention of the chair comes the invention of chair ergonomics.
Which sitting ergonomic is better? Sitting on the ground or in a chair? How about using the toilet or squatting down?
Some of our best research on the subject so far, is that our ancestors had it right. Keeping active legs and using a squat or as some have termed it, a third world squat is best for physical health.
In our modern advanced age, you are seeing new inventions geared towards our primitive health while still keeping up with our society’s status quo.
New ideas like the Squatty Potty that allows for a better postural position when on the toilet.
The Veridesk, which allows for you to stand instead of sit and still punch in those numbers on your keyboard.
Possibly the worst of the tech-neck inventions I have seen are the lazy neck phone holders or posture braces.
Instead, just pull your elbows close to your rib cage and hold your phone up with your own muscles. If you’re getting tired, then take a break from your phone. I promise you won’t die.
Why is Upper Crossed Syndrome so Bad?
Chronic abnormal anatomical postures lead to abnormal biomechanics.
These altered biomechanics create early wear and tear on the body. This can lead to early degeneration, pain and even worse, neurological dysfunction.
These neuropathies lead to poor sensory function, motor control and end-organ control. This is what many Chiropractors refer to as Subluxations.
What can we do about Upper Crossed Syndrome?
- Spatial awareness habits – Pay attention to your posture habits. Link to Posture.
- Corrective Exercises – There are hundreds. I’ve listed 9 below for you to start.
- Chiropractic – Helps restore joint mobility (flexibility) and neuromuscular control.
- Massage – Relaxes tight muscles and releases trigger points.
- Change your routines – Try using some other alternatives to our modern ways of life. Things like the Squatty Potty or the Veridesk.
9 Exercises for Upper Crossed Syndrome
Click on the highlighted links in green for videos or see images below.
- Bilateral Doorway Pec stretch – Stand in a doorway or corner. Place elbows on the doorway at the height of your shoulders. Do a lunge through the doorway while holding your core tight. Hold for 30-60s.
- Head Retraction (Chin Tuck) – Start by looking forward sitting or standing. Slowly move your chin back and slightly down so your ears are in line with your shoulders and you feel a stretch in the back of your neck. Hold for 5s at 10 reps
- Cervical Extension – Place a towel or band behind your neck. Pull down towards the hips. Extend the neck tilting the head backward and bringing your chin up towards the sky. Hold for 2-3s 10-15 reps.
- Brugger upper posture stretch – sit at the edge of your chair, hold your head high with good posture. Open your legs outward until your feet rest slightly to your sides. Let your arms relax to your sides. Begin by opening the hand (splaying) as wide as possible and continue by turning your thumbs externally away from your body until you feel it in your elbow. Hold for 15-30s.
- Back Rows with band – Stand both feet on band hip width apart, holding handles in front of thighs with palms facing in. Keep your knees bent and abs tight as you flex forward slightly at the hips. Pull handles to hip bones squeezing through the middle of your back. Release slowly. Hold 1-2s 10-15 reps.
- Plank plus scapular retraction – Assume the plank position on the elbows. Allow your chest to drop towards the floor and your scapula to retract towards each other. Next move the chest upwards protracting the scapula away from each other. Hold for 2-3s 10-15 reps.
- Back flys with band – Grab the band by the handles and stand back so that the tension in the band rises. Extend and lift the arms straight in front of you. Your arms should be straight and parallel to the floor. Feet shoulder width apart. Move your arms to the sides and back retracting your scapula. Keep your arms extended and parallel to the floor through the motion. 2-3s hold with 10 reps
- Shoulder external rotation with band – Place band the same height as your elbow. Stand with your left side to the band a couple of feet away. Grasp the end of the band with your right hand, and keep your elbow pressed firmly to your side. Your elbow should be flexed to 90 degrees with your hand reaching across the front of your torso. Rotate your arm in a backhand motion, keeping your elbow in place. Hold 2-3s, 10 reps.
- Standing posterior pelvic tilt while elongating the neck – Very Important – Perform a posterior pelvic tilt while standing. Hold pelvic tilt by squeezing the glutes and kegels. Hold tension at 10-20% throughout the day to strengthen the endurance of the core muscles. You should be able to talk, belly breath, walk and perform any major motion under this tension. Finish this off by imagining a string that is pulling you up by the top of your head all the way through the bottom of your feet.
One Adjustment Action Step
- Read 3 Steps to Make Your Posture Great Again!
- Change your bad habits by creating spatial awareness routines.
- Add specific exercises for your body type and imbalances.
- Try using other alternatives with your tech-time.
- Add in therapies like Chiropractic or Massage to encourage change.
Happy Monday and stay tuned for our next postural blog post on postural types. I know, this is kind of “the cart before the horse type situation.” Are you Upper Crossed, Lower Crossed or both? Read 5 Posture Types You Can Change for Good.
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Any topics you would like to be discussed in the future? Contact us.
–Nick the DC
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