Traps & T Spine Mobility

Had a friend of mine reach out and ask about stretches for his upper back and traps. Needless to say, I got a little excited and long winded. Here’s what I sent him:

Incorporating Stretching into Your Health Routine

So! I’m glad to hear you’re incorporating stretching into your health routine. It’s good to try and stay loose. But! I’d also say to elevate it a level and think of it more as mobility and less than “stretching.”

Basically, that means not only do you stretch the muscles, you also “work” them in that new end range of motion.

Sounds fancy, right? That’s half the job. What I’m saying is you should try to stretch the muscle lightly and then exercise it a bit to rewire the neuromuscular ability in it. Better control means less injuries.

Upper Trap Stretch

So a good stretch for your traps is this:

1. Stand tall with your arms at your side.
2. Place one arm behind your back (usually the back of my hand is roughly around my tailbone).
3. Tilt your head away from the arm behind your back (so if my right hand is behind me, I tilt my head to the left).
4. Use the hand that’s not behind your back to GENTLY pull your head slightly more to the side (don’t force anything, mobility is a bit like yoga, we’re not trying to stretch extreme here, just a nice light stretch).
5. Now turn your chin UPWARDS towards the ceiling like you’re trying to look upwards (again, don’t force anything, just let it be).
6. Count to 30.
7. Repeat for the other side.

I learned that in PT for some upper back tightness issues. Stretches the upper traps and neck muscles.

Mobilizing the Upper Back: Dumbbell Pullover

An exercise I would recommend for mobilizing this area is a Dumbbell Pullover. Emily and I use this exercise a lot to loosen up our T Spine (thoracic spine – midback essentially) because it can get so tight from phones, games, computers, etc.

Idk if you know it so here’s a quick explanation:

1. Lay perpendicular on a flat bench with the base of your skull at the edge of the bench (not head hanging off, the neck shouldn’t be doing any crazy work to hold your head up).
2. Starting with the DB on your chest, hold it up and down (perpendicular to the floor, not parallel to the floor), arms out straight.
3. Keeping the arms straight, let the DB extend back and down (you should feel a stretch in your lats and lower chest / rib cage).
4. Keep extending until your biceps are by your ears.
5. “Pull” it back up over your chest (it’s important to not let the elbows bend too much because then it becomes a tricep exercise and not a lat / T Spine exercise).

START VERY VERY VERY LIGHT since you’ve dealt with upper back / spine issues in the past. Even I just use 20 lbs to do this because it’s a stretch exercise for me, not a strength exercise. Not every single exercise needs to be balls to the wall as heavy as possible.

I’d say do 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 15 with that. 10 to 15 lbs and listen to your body.

Stretching the Biceps and Chest

The last suggestion I’d make for that area is to stretch your biceps and chest muscles. This one is pretty straightforward. You can google chest doorway stretches to see some of those.

Here’s also a video about stretching your shoulders and lats to help that area too:

Understanding Upstream and Downstream Mobility

When you’re thinking stretching / mobility you also have to think upstream and downstream of the area. The reason being is if I’m tight in my chest, it pulls the shoulders around and forward and puts the traps and mid back in a bad position. So I may be feeling weirdness in my mid back but it’s originating in my chest, get what I’m saying?

Routine Summary

This should all be a good place to start. I’d also say get a foam roller and foam roll your upper back a lot. Just a nice massage to pump blood through the area and help it all relax. The best order for all this is:

1. Foam Roll Upper Back
2. DB Pullovers
3. Chest Stretch & Biceps Stretch
4. Shoulder Doorway Stretches & Lat Stretches
5. Upper Trap Stretches
6. Finish it all up with some very light band pull aparts

It seems like a lot but it’s not something you have to do all the time. 2 x a week should be good in your regular routine!

Want to go further on your way to get rid of your back pain ?