Personal Trainer Vancouver tips - Muscle imbalance: Part 1 Overpowering trapezius muscles

Personal Trainer Vancouver tips – Muscle imbalance: Part 1 Overpowering trapezius muscles

Personal Trainer Vancouver tips – Muscle Imbalance: Part 1 Overpowering trapezius muscles. Everybody has muscles groups that are weaker and some that are stronger. These muscles develop based on the way you move inside and outside the gym. Over time these imbalances will put strain on the joints and surrounding muscle tissues leading to injury. There are usually simple modifications that can be made to alleviate these issues.
One of the most common imbalance that I encounter in both active and inactive populations is over activation of the trapezius muscle. This muscle group is involved in scapular elevations and retraction. The trapezius (trap) is commonly overdeveloped in active populations due to the aesthetic value of the muscles and improper form that allows for heavier lifts.
Consequence of imbalance: Weak midback muscles can lead to shoulder/upper spinal injuries. The tight muscles put pressures on the joints in an improper way leading to assorted joint pain/mobility issues over time. When the trap is chronically tight and the romboids are underdeveloped it can leads to a change in the scapular angle which changes the function of the surrounding joints.
Rehab: Returning these muscle groups to balance is fairly straight forward but difficult to put into practice. Most importantly the traps must be relaxed during exercise to allow the contraction of the mid-back muscles. This is extremely difficult for people who have to break patterns that have been ingrained for many years. Seated rows, rear flies and mid-back shrugs are great ways to start returning the balance.