Learn about Upper Cross Syndrome
What is an upper cross syndrome?
The upper cross syndrome is a muscle imbalance, characterized by a group of muscles being too tight and another group of muscles being too weak.
What are the characteristics of upper cross syndrome?
- elevated & rounded shoulder
- forwarded head
- winging scapula
- neck with an excessive inward curvature
- upper back with an excessive outward curvature
What does each of the affected muscles do?
Group of tight muscles
Bend neck, rotate the neck
Elevates shoulder blade and side-bend the neck.
Brings the arm across the midline of the body; rotates upper arm inward, and bend the arm at the shoulder joint.
Stabilizes the shoulder when the shoulder blade is fixed; helps to elevate the ribs
Elevates shoulder; and extend our neck
Extends neck, and rotates head
Group if tight muscles
Retracts shoulder
Depresses shoulder blade
Draws shoulder blades against thorax to protract shoulders
Bends neck
Most of the muscle’s name might not be unfamiliar to you. But in other words, the disorder is telling you the posture is not right!
So what will happen if I have poor posture?
It may lead to:
- Neck or shoulder joint inflammation
- Headache
- Chest tight
- Muscle strain during manual lifting
Who is the high-risk group for upper crossed syndrome?
- Drivers
- Laundry workers
- Office workers
- Professional cyclists
- Craftsmen
- Cake decorator
- Graphic Designers
- Dentists
- Massagers
How to fix an upper cross syndrome?
Whether you have upper cross syndrome or not, all of us should practice the following:
- Take frequent short break when using laptop or reading
- Keep our posture upright by pulling back shoulder
- Check your eyesight, in case you find difficult in reading your screen
- Adjust your working table height so that you won’t hunch
- Improve your working strategy. Things like learning the shortcut key input when you need to handle large amount of data.
- Apply heating pads over your neck or shoulder to relieve tension