Neck Stretches Continued!
By Taylor Norris RMT at unionwellness.ca
Levator Scapulae stretch Fancy name (thank you Latin) for these important, and often overused, shoulder shrugging muscles! Their main action is to elevate the shoulder blades, giving us the common shrug action. They can become easily overused and shortened with; increased overall stress (my favourite metaphor for this look is ‘wearing your shoulders for earrings’), also time spent in mostly static positions (i.e. repetitive upper body type work or lots of time spent on electronic devices), and even general poor daily and sleep postures can make these hard working muscles all kinds of upset.
To stretch dear Lev. Scap., begin by side-bending your head away from the side you would like to stretch, keeping in mind that your arms are down and relaxed at your sides. Then gently rotate your head so that you are looking down and essentially facing in towards your axilla (a nicer term for arm pit). If you feel you’re ready for a deeper stretch, use the hand that you’re stretching toward to pull your head down a little bit further to gain some over pressure. After the stretch has been held for at least 30 secs, slowly return your head to neutral and if you choose repeat the stretch for the other side.
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