Upper Cross Syndrome
Because muscles work in pairs, we often see the same patterns in different patients. Upper cross syndrome is a term to describe a common pattern of tension and weakness in the upper body.
Posture Basics
Over the years we’ve blamed “tech neck” or “text neck” for postural changes associated with people looking down at a phone. But this is not a new posture: for hundreds of years we’ve worked on things immediately in front of us all day. Prepping vegetables, reading a newspaper, sewing clothes, writing by hand- they’re all the same. But for simplicity, let’s apply this posture to a desk job.
Even if you start off in the “perfect posture”, you’re still prone to fall into a slump in front of your computer. If you spend a lot of time there, you’ll probably find that your shoulders roll forwards. This encourages tension and shortening in the chest muscles. It also stretches the muscles around the upper back as the shoulder blades pull around the ribcage. Your head will probably come forward too, whether that’s you looking down at the screen or your neck drifting into extension to reduce the relative weight of your head. These create another pattern: tension and shortening at the back of the neck, and weakness and stretching in the front. This crossed pattern of tension and weakness gives the syndrome its name.
Avoiding Upper Cross Syndrome
If you’re stuck to your desk for hours at a time, you’re fighting a bit of an uphill battle. But prevention is far from impossible! Ideally you’ll be able to take breaks to move around and do some stretches (your osteopath can offer some specifically for you). If you’re not too engrossed in your work, hopefully you’ll be tuned in enough with your body to feel the discomfort of stillness and to change position a few times every hour. There’s no such thing as a “bad posture”, as long as it’s not held for too long. Sitting on one of your legs, or standing in front of your (normal) desk, or sitting on the sofa for a bit are all fine in moderation. In fact, the combination will probably cause you fewer issues than if you sat bolt upright at your desk for 8 hours at a time.
The one thing that would make the desk posture easier on your body would be to train for it. It might sound silly, but if your neck, chest, and back were strong, and capable of holding a position, they wouldn’t be so easily fatigued. You might be tempted to buy a dodgy support vest that aims to keep your shoulders back and “fix your posture”. It’s much the same idea, except rather than being self sufficient and strong, you’re dependent on this piece of kit. Maybe it has a role in managing acute issues, but strength will always win out in the end.
Osteopathy for Upper Cross
We’ve mentioned that we can prescribe your exercises for the work day. Strengthening exercises are within our remit too, whether you have gym access or just some hand weights at home. We can also help with your ergonomics, so if you feel like there’s something not right with your current set up, let us know and we can give you some tips.
If your symptoms have already begun, we can work to stretch the tight muscles. When joints are held in an suboptimal position for a while, they might develop points of stiffness, this can be especially true where the spine is involved. Some cases respond really well to manipulation (clicking), and others prefer a more slow and steady approach. We’ll work with you to identify the strategy for you at your first appointment.