T Nation

Imbalance Due to Forward Shoulder

Bodybuilding
#1

hi guys. i’ve been training to correct imbalance on my chest and upper back caused by a forward shoulder posture on my left side.since i don’t have any access to a chiro, i’m workin on fixing it myshelf.i’ve been doing necessary correcting,and shoulder mobilisation exercises for the posture, yet for the left pec i’ve been doing uneliteral work for the past few months which didn’t work a lot,

i guess i have a shortened pectoralis minor, and strecthed upper back muscles on my left side cousing the imbalance also not letting me contract my left pec fully…

i’m thinking of working my left upper back more than right so i can get the antagonist muscles shortened and not doing any chest work except streching my left pec minor for a better contraction and correcting the imbalance. do you think this is the right way to go. i’d be glad if you share your ideas.

#2

I have the exact same problem, had it now for about 4 months. Do you experience any discomfort (no real pain, just an awareness of an imbalance) throughout the day?

It has got to the point where I obsess over everything such as my hand positioning while driving, and brushing my teeth (one side of my mouth with one hand and the other side with the other) to help correct the imbalance.

I’ve asked the question many times and no one seems to know shit about it, the majority of people usually just say ‘switch to dumbbells’.

I must say though since I stopped training due to this it has got better slightly (haven’t trained in 3 months) but it still a problem and still gives me discomfort.

Lately I have been reading the following articles:
Shoulder Savers parts 1, 2 & 3
Push ups, face pulls and shrugs
Cracking the rotator cuff conundrum

I think the answer lies within these I am just trying to memorise them and do what they say.

I also get this gay shit where whenever I yawn or shiver my left pec contracts and tightens like it’s suppose to, yet the right side doesn’t do shit, as if its not part of my body. Same when I go over speed bumps, my left pec moves but my right doesn’t, it’s so fucking annoying!

Hopefully I will find the answer soon within these articles, and over-time with the use of the exercises mentioned the problem will work itself out. Until then I’m still hoping someone manages to find out exactly what to do to fix it.

#3

yes i had awareness of imbalance troughout the day, bu it has gotten better since i’ve been trying so much about muscle mind connection,and streching the hell of my shoulder,uneliteral decline dumb. presses helped a little bit too.yet again i think the way to solve this is to shorten the streched antagonist muscles due to poor shoulder posture by training them and allow more fibers to pec.minor with streching etc.i’m hesitant about how to do it though, working upper back muscles on the lagging side harder than the other one,and not working any chest except doing some streching on the lagging pectoral is my plan righ now, not really sure about if this is good approach, but i cant sit and wait to imbalance to correct itshelf .opened to any suggestions if you guys have any.

#4

Try seated cable rowing for training your back, scroll down to the bottom:

shoulder savers part I

I myself won’t be doing any chest movements other than push ups for a while until I get it sorted out.

Scapula push ups, scapula wall slides and behind the neck band pulldowns will be good also.

The best way to even out one side will just be to do correct movements on each, maintain the correct side until the other side fixes itself/catches up.

On a side note: Today I put my hands behind my head, leaned back and my each segment of my spine cracked, all the way from the lumbar to the cervical region, it was loud, horrible and everyone in my class cringed. But for the next hour I felt very comfortable with my shoulders.

#5

Just saw a physio today and he pointed out that my right scapula is elevated and protruding a lot more than my left, which is causing the discomfort and inhibiting the contraction.

#6

hımm… did he offer any solutions than? any clues how to correct it?

#7

couse it sure feels like my left scapula is elevated…

#8

yea, he just told me to do scapular wall slides and prone cobras. I asked him about going back to the gym and he said only as long as I only trained legs without the use of arms, and the only upper body work I’m allowed to do is seated cable rows.

I asked about prone trap raises and he asked me to try some, I can barely go through the movements without any weight so he told me to just stick with what he said for a week and then after he has seen me again to see how im doing i can try.

#9

also push ups souldn’t do any harm i guess, good luck to you…

#10

Guys,

Do you sleep on your side? I recently realized that sleeping on my right side tweaks my shoulder.

Shot in the dark but it could be your problem too. Think about it, spending 6-8 hours with your body resting on your shoulder while it is rolled forward, could cause some major problems.

Good luck finding a fix.

#11

I think i might have this problem to it seems like my left shoulder rolls forward a little bit more than my right, and i can feel it in my back.

but its just an imbalance i dont know why you would take 3 months off because of an imbalance

#12

I also have this problem. My left shoulder is rolled forward, and I have a small left pec and a much larger right one. Also, my left shoulder has trouble with mobility.

I am trying wall slides and some rotary cuff work, I’ll report back if it improves.

#13

just curious, how big are you guys? i have the same “problem” but im 5’6" 145 lbs and i feel like it will just self correct as i get bigger and stronger.

is this thread just a bunch of skinny guys bitching? or am i wrong?

#14

5’5 200 im not huge but im not a skinny guy either.
Mine seems to go away but then ill notice it again.

#15

I have this too. It really seems to act up right after I play guitar hero lol. It sucks cause I love guitar hero, but sadly I may have to retire.

#16

Hahahah guitar hero. I used to be a lot skinnier than I am now. I also used to have a much more serious problem, which I never solved but gradually got better. My collarbones, used to dislocate.

And by that I mean if I would raise my arms above parallel to the ground, the collarbone part that connects below the neck, would pop out and stay out until I lowered my arm. Luckily now it doesn’t do it as bad, and only occasionally pops out on the shoulders side (eg. when I’m doing pullups while retracting my scapula).

#17

[quote]sippinonlean wrote:
just curious, how big are you guys? i have the same “problem” but im 5’6" 145 lbs and i feel like it will just self correct as i get bigger and stronger.

is this thread just a bunch of skinny guys bitching? or am i wrong?[/quote]

You’re wrong. The problem has got better since I have stopped training, it got worse when I ignored it and tried to push on.

#18

[quote]new2training wrote:
Guys,

Do you sleep on your side? I recently realized that sleeping on my right side tweaks my shoulder.

Shot in the dark but it could be your problem too. Think about it, spending 6-8 hours with your body resting on your shoulder while it is rolled forward, could cause some major problems.

Good luck finding a fix.

[/quote]

Yea I sleep on my side, I am trying to sleep on my back and whenever I wake up in the night I correct myself, it’s got slightly better.

#19

[quote]sippinonlean wrote:
just curious, how big are you guys? i have the same “problem” but im 5’6" 145 lbs and i feel like it will just self correct as i get bigger and stronger.

is this thread just a bunch of skinny guys bitching? or am i wrong?[/quote]

you’re wrong buddy. it gets worse by ignoring waiting to correct itshlef. i know pretty big guys and still very noticible muscle imbalances to to poor shoulder posture. readin some anatomy might give you a clue why it wouldn’t correct itshlef.