Sebastian Brosche · 14 min · 1,148 words
Previously titled: Video 3 – Upper Back Rehab Program
Welcome back. This is day three of our upper back rehab program. So today we're going to use the band and the roller, same as yesterday, and we're going to start where we finished off day two. So we're going to start with a foam roller and we're just going to go over this upper back mobilization again.
Again, starting with the roller in the middle of the back. Just going back as far as I can comfortably each time, using my feet to roll myself down. And then doing the same thing again. So I'm going to work my way slowly I keep my neck in a reasonably straight line with the upper back.
I want to keep that nice smooth curve. I'm not letting the head drop back. And at the top here, I want to make the most of that movement I've got. It's a smaller movement.
I'm taking the arms back, pushing the elbows back as far as I can to get as much movement out of those top few joints as I can. Okay. Put the roller off to one side. I'm going to go to front.
Hands at the temples and we're going to go into those dorsal raises. So once again, if you're struggling with this, it's okay to put the hands down. Just give yourself a little bit of an assist. But if you can, just going to lift up again, trying to get as much movement as you can in the upper back.
The lower back will also get involved, of course. I want to make sure I'm keeping my neck reasonably straight as well. I don't want to be looking up like this. And then coming up into push-up position.
I'm here. Just going to go into a front plank. I'm just going to roll onto my side, hand to the ceiling, back to the front and then onto the other side. If you want to make this harder, you can add a light weight in each hand.
And then we're going to go back to the dorsal raise again. That some people with some kinds of back pain, that can be an aggravating movement. So if that applies to you, then either do a much easier version by supporting yourself with your hands or it's okay to leave that one out. So again, a little bit of discomfort is normal to be expected, but pain is not.
So if it feels like it's aggravating it, back off. And rest there. Just going to grab your band. Again, have the band attached to something that is not going to come away from the wall.
So as we did on day one, I'm just going to let the shoulder go back into a stretch. Like I said, I could change the angle of this shoulder. Different people will find that stretch in a slightly different place, but I want to feel that pull just down the front of the shoulder there. Slightly put the stretch on and then I'm just going to pull forward.
Hold that. And then relax. And let it stretch a little bit further. We're going to go one more time.
Push forward so I can gaze at the muscle. Hold that. Take a deep breath in. And breathe out.
And relax. Let the stretch go on. And relax. Switch sides.
Do the same thing on the other side. Again, just walk forward to the point where I can just about feel it. And push forwards into it. Deep breath in.
Breathe out. And relax. And one more time. Push forwards into it.
Again, just engage in these muscles. And then breathe out and relax. And relax. I'm just going to take the band.
This time again, palms up. So this is a stronger band. It's fine to go back to the weaker band if that's working better for you. And just go back to those pull-aparts.
And as I do this, I concentrate on pulling my shoulder blades together and down at the back. If I'm struggling with that, I can always go to a half thickness. So a single thickness of the band there, that's fine. Or as I said, it's always good to have a selection of bands that you can choose from so you can find the right one at any point in time.
So to finish day three, I want to look at mobilizing the top of the upper back. So this area here can often become quite stiff and restricted. And putting a bit of extra effort into getting these joints moving can really pay off. So to do this, I'm going to link my hands behind my neck.
So the idea is I want to fix the neck in place. I'm not going to get the movement coming from the neck. I'm going to get the movement coming from just below where my hands are now. Okay.
I'm going to trace a line up and down with my elbows. So as my elbows go down, I want to feel that area bending forward. And then I'm going to go up and down. And again, there will be movement in other places.
There will be movement through the rest of the upper back and even into the lower back. But I'm concentrating on getting as much movement as I can just those couple of inches below where my hands are. So when I start to get a feel for that, just going up and down, I can also start drawing some circles a few times one way. So we're not just flexing and extending anymore.
We're going making the movement a bit more complicated. I could trace figures of eight. I can even try and write the alphabet with my elbows there. I'm going to go back to up and down.
And then I'm going to keep my hands in the same place. This time, take the elbows out to the side. And now what I'm going to do is just leaning the elbows one side to the other. I'm trying to imagine tracing a smooth curve with my upper back and into the neck.
So pushing one elbow up, one elbow down. And then just take the arms off and then I just do some neck circles just to finish off with. Left to right and then looking left, looking right. The neck and the upper back are obviously very closely related.
If there's problems in one, it will tend to lead to problems with the other. So we want to make sure that both are moving well and also that the neck and the upper back are moving well. So I'm going to go back to the top of the neck and the upper back. And we'll see you back here tomorrow and we'll continue with day four.
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