Feeling tense and hunched over at the end of a full day of patients? Open up your shoulders again by releasing the tightness in your pecs. This not only helps improve your posture, it also opens up the ribcage and allows you to breathe more freely and feel more relaxed.
One simple way is a foam roller pec stretch.
Watch points:
Use 1kg hand weights in each hand (1 kg bags of alginate impression material can also be used in a pinch!), don’t be tempted to go too heavy. We want the Pec muscles to stretch not tear.
Keep the elbows in line with or slightly below shoulder level. We want to keep the shoulders stable during this exercise to allow maximum stretch through the chest.
Don’t pinch the shoulder blades in at the back! This will bring the hands closer to the floor but it will cheat you out of the full benefit of the pec stretch. Let the stretch happen gently and slowly.
