DISCLAIMER: The following article is not to be taken as medical advice. I am not a doctor, but you should consult your physician before starting or changing your exercise program.

The picture above shows a postural condition called Kyphosis. You’ll find that a great number of volleyball and baseball players exhibit this posture because of the nature of the sport. The arm swing required for hitting or throwing can easily lead to over-developed pecs and UNDER-developed back muscles.

The consequences

If you’ve ever strained your rotator cuff, Kyphosis may be to blame. Kyphosis causes your shoulder joint to rest in an unstable position. When you impact the ball at the top of your swing, your scapula/shoulder blade should be in a neutral position (back and down). However with Kyphotic posture, your scapula rotates forward and opens the shoulder joint (gleno-humeral joint more specifically). This shuts down your tiny stabilizing shoulder muscles and leaves them vulnerable to strain or injury.

A hunched upper back also means your vertical reach in compromised. In a sport like volleyball, your vertical reach could make or break you on the court. Low contact point on the ball leads to less power and fewer choices when hitting around the block. Less vertical reach means you put up a smaller block to other hitters and your value as a defender goes down. Don’t let muscular imbalance cost you your performance.

Biomechanics/muscular explanation/nerdy stuff

Think of your neck and upper back as split up into 4 quadrants where 1 muscular group is assigned to each quadrant. Your pecs are one of the main movers in the hitting/throwing movement. Your back muscles between your shoulder blades actually inhibit the forward motion necessary to hit, thus they are stretched out and weakened over time. Strong, tight pecs and weak, loose back muscles cause your shoulders to roll forward which rounds your upper back. This causes your posterior neck muscles to tighten up and your anterior neck muscles to be loose and weak.

What to do about it

Pec stretch

https://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/chest-stretch-on-stability-ball

Pay attention to the way this stretch opens up your chest and encourages “thoracic extension”. You can do this on a Swiss ball of through a doorway. Hold the stretch for 30-60 seconds once or twice a day. Play with different arm placements and degrees of body rotation until you feel the stretch appropriately. Remember this will be different for everyone.

Band Pulls

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/band-pull-apart

The main point of this exercise is to strengthen your back muscles. Engaging your back muscles will provide the support needed to improve your posture. Go through this motion slowly, it will be most beneficial to teaching your muscles to slow down your arm as it goes through a dynamic motion like hitting. Engage your shoulder muscles and prevent excessive relaxing during this exercise. You’re teaching your shoulder joint to stay together under stress.

Neck stretches

If you have trouble with your upper back posture or if you experience shoulder pain, you likely have some tension in your neck. Here is of the most popular neck stretches used in physical therapy: http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/levator-scapulae-stretch. Find out which of these reveal a tight muscle in your neck and stretch that muscle 1-2 times a day.

If you experience Kyphosis, the above exercises done regularly will boost your athletic performance by giving you more options as a hitter, and they will help prevent rotator cuff injuries which are a death sentence to any volleyball player.

Until next time,

Mehdi