Pain in the neck and shoulders very often indicates a lack of tone in the muscles of the back, in particular the rhomboid and extensors of the spine: the head and neck seem to hang on the thoracic region and overstretch with their weight the already tired muscles and tendons. Many hours of being in uncomfortable positions related to the specifics of the profession (seamstresses, IT specialists, beauty salon masters and accountants) makes people suffer from an unbearable sensation of discomfort and burning sensation between the shoulder blades, in the neck and numbness in the fingers by the end of the day. These are signals that it's time to take care of your body in order to avoid he alth problems in the future.
Location and ongoing movements
The rhomboids are essentially made up of two parts: the rhomboid minor and the rhomboid major. The small rhomboid originates from the sixth cervical vertebra, then connects to the large rhomboid, which comes from 1-5 thoracic vertebrae, and together they attach to the inner edge of the shoulder blades.
These muscles are located under the trapezius muscle, and thanks to them, the shoulder blades move in and down. Separate them by feelImpossible, and it feels like it too. Therefore, in everyday life they are often considered one rhomboid muscle.
Slouching is the first sign of passive rhomboids
Dropped inward-rotating shoulders, sunken chest and protruding shoulder blades are the hallmarks of an overstretched rhomboid back and shortened pecs, which are antagonistic muscles. A person with a sedentary, sedentary lifestyle has just such a look, and this is a direct path to the occurrence of osteochondrosis of the thoracic spine and problems with the cardiovascular system, which will lead to even greater he alth problems.
The second risk zone is people who tend to complex because of their high growth: they deliberately stoop to visually appear lower and be “like everyone else”, shy girls also act during puberty, when the mammary gland begins to actively grow and increase in size. Due to the chronic contraction of the muscles of the sternum and the constantly tightly stretched rhomboid muscles, a spasm occurs, the body remembers this position as natural, and after five years, even with a strong desire, it can no longer take the normal form given by nature. That's when it's time to go to yoga class and re-teach the body to be free and elastic.
For many who take their first steps in yoga, the concept of “shifting the shoulder blades” or “lowering the shoulder blades down” is completely incomprehensible: the body has forgotten how to do it, and there is only convulsive twitching of the shoulders and body.
How to use the blades?
Tothere was a contraction of the muscles of the interscapular zone, it is necessary to lift the sternum up, synchronously with the movement of the shoulder blades down, simultaneously directing them inward towards each other - this will be the activation of the rhomboid muscles of the back, which will entail awareness of the work of the deep muscles and tendons. Initially, such movements in simultaneous execution will be difficult, especially if a person spends too much time sitting at a table or driving a car - at such moments, the interscapular zone is dormant and gradually overstretches, giving the “green light” to kyphosis.
To help the shoulder blades move, you need to move the shoulder joints back behind the back, thus stretching the pectoral muscles, which will allow the rhomboids to contract further.
Asanas to activate the interscapular zone
The most optimal postures for working out the area of the shoulder blades, shoulder girdle and rhomboid muscles are asanas that involve stretching the antagonist muscles, pectoral in this case, and small intercostal muscles in the front of the chest.
Purvottanasana and its simplified version of Chatus Pada Pitham (table pose), they can also include the half-bridge pose and Prasarita Padatanasana S. All these positions directly and very powerfully affect the thoracic region, while learning to contract the back muscles, in specifically controlling the shoulder blades and shoulder girdle
- Also, twisting works well on the interscapular zone: Parivrita Parshvakonasana, Marichiasana C and Ardho Matsyendrasana. Dueopening the chest, the pectoral muscles are stretched, which relieves excessive tension in the area of the shoulder blades and nearby muscles. And due to the rotation of the thoracic spine, this process becomes deeper and more effective.
- To relieve excessive fatigue from the upper back, shoulder blades and neck, stretching in the prone position is used: the best of them are Lappasanas A, B and C, named after Andrey Lappa, a Ukrainian yogi, who introduced them into active use. All kinds of joint movements of the arms in various amplitudes and directions of movement, as well as neck rotations and wavy movements of the spine, have also proven themselves well.
Note for bodybuilders and workout enthusiasts
It is extremely important for these athletes to pay more attention to stretching the pumped pectoral and rhomboid muscles, because beauty is good, and he alth is much more important, and what is spectacular now, in five years may turn into great difficulties with the spine and clogged muscles, in which blood circulation and proper lymph flow were disturbed.
