ering how much rotational power is needed for running and rope climbing, this spells doom for athletes looking to crush multimodal PRs.
An athlete who has an excessive |
thoracic curve will often complain |
of shoulder impingement, |
tennis |
elbow, |
and |
mid-back |
pains. |
|
|
|
Neck
A forward head carriage is the most common postural deviation seen at the head and neck. The head weighs 8 to 11 pounds. We need to remember that the spine is one piece. If the neck is out of position, the rest of the body either follows it or is taxed excessively to hold it in place. One of the muscles over-worked by a forward head carriage is the levator scapula. A short and overactive levator will pull up and forward on the scapula and make movement of the shoulder dysfunctional.
The sport of fitness is incredibly dynamic and requires explosiveness, coordination, flexibility, and stamina. Often overlooked is the importance of maintaining a center of mass. Having a forward carriage displaces this
center of mass to a forward position. Almost as if a person is constantly falling, the athlete’ s brain will need to recruit additional muscle to maintain alignment and good positioning. This is counter-productive for an athlete who is trying to be faster, stronger, and go longer because muscle gets trained to do a job. A muscle that is easily stimulated can be recruited when it is not needed. This is the concept of synergistic dominance and reciprocal inhibition. Poor alignment for an athlete leads to muscle imbalances and movement impairments. A forward head carriage is an example of this. If we go back to our functional anatomy, we know the levator scapula muscle attaches from the base of the skull to the top of the scapula. A forward head carriage will shorten the levator scapula and the upper trapezius. Proper shoulder function and rib cage positioning will be very difficult to achieve because the lower trapezius will be inhibited and the scapula will be hard to depress.
A forward head carriage is associated with shoulder impingement, neck pains, and headaches.
In most parts of life, becoming great has very little to do with what you already excel at and everything to do with the little parts we hide. Functional training has revolutionized the capacity of the human body. Our“ engines” are stronger, faster, and fitter than in any time throughout history. The only thing that will slow us down is failure to take care of our smallest hidden parts.
About the Author
Jeremy McCann is a pain relief exercise expert, master trainer for The Biomechanics Method and owner of Range of Motion Fitness in Riverside, Calif. In addition to his advanced certifications from The BioMechanics Method, he also holds numerous corrective exercise specialty certifications from some of the industry’ s most prestigious institutions, including the Gray Institute, National Academy of Sports Medicine, PTA Global and FMS.
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June 2016 | METCON
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