Gamers suffering from upper crossed syndrome? Try these exercises

While you may be using the best equipment, like a gaming wireless mouse, Injuries can still greatly damper your development, and affect your performance negatively. Due to the nature of gaming, professional gamers often find themselves susceptible to the common pains in certain muscles. This condition is known as the Upper Crossed Syndrome, which can be described by a predictable pattern of dysfunctional muscles that can cause certain postural changes in an individual. Read on to find out about what Upper Crossed Syndrome entails, and how you can reduce the likelihood of experiencing this syndrome!

Upper Crossed Syndrome (USC)

USC cannot be taken lightly, as increasingly more people find themselves suffering from this condition. Its name is derived from the crossing pattern near the neck, where underactive and weaker muscles cross with the overactive and tighter muscles. Muscles located in the upper back, in particular, the levator scapula and upper trapezius, can get extremely strained and tight from over-activity. Meanwhile, the pectoralis major and minor muscles located in the chest area get tight and shortened. While these muscles get increasingly more overactive and tight, this causes a simultaneous weakening of the opposing muscles which are less utilized. These weaker muscles refer to those at the front area of the neck, the cervical flexor muscles, as well as the rhomboids and lower trapezius muscles in the upper back.

Causes of USC

A healthy and normal body posture looks at having your ears aligned with the shoulders and the hips when you’re standing upright. In this position, the neck muscles support approximately ten pounds. However, when your head and shoulder begin to drift frontwards when you’re in poor positions, there is more weight added onto the muscles at the back of the neck, and while these muscles take more and more of the brunt, the muscles at the front of your neck get weaker and weaker. This only marks the beginning of USC. For the upper neck, upper trap, and chest muscles to become tighter, their opposing muscles will have to relax, and this is what causes them to be underused and as a result, weakened.

Overall, one’s posture is the main culprit for getting UCS. This is hard to avoid though, as the day-to-day activities of the average working adult and student no doubt promote the development of this condition; Think sitting at the desk all day and slouching at home to eat and play video games. Even if there are a few hours of physical activities involved, those few hours don’t do much to combat the many more hours of poor body posture.

Several of the most common activities which promote USC include driving, the use of a computer, watching the television, using the phone, reading, and riding a bike. It must however be noted that USC doesn’t just develop for those that live sedentary and inactive lifestyles, as it is prevalent even among athletes, especially those involved in sports like swimming, and weightlifting.

Why Gamers Should Be Watchful of USC

Evidently, professional gamers are especially prone to developing USC due to their lifestyle, which involves long hours in chairs on the daily. While gamers can be more proactive in ensuring that they maintain a proper posture, there is likely still a lack of required muscle strength and the endurance to do so over hours.

Also, the competitive gaming sport is obviously not all about ensuring proper posture and health, so it’s likely that gamers aren’t going to be in the right frame of mind to maintain good posture at all times. As a result, many professional gamers end up suffering from injuries that result from bad posture over an extended period of time.

Symptoms From USC

Some of the most common symptoms from USC include having a hunched upper back, rounded shoulders, experiencing headaches, and pain in the shoulder, upper back, neck, and jaw. Other symptoms include lower back pain, wrist and hand pain, difficulty in sitting for extended periods of time, numbness and tingling in the upper arm, and fatigue.

If you’re en route to becoming a professional gamer, watch out for these symptoms from USC which can pose as an obstacle that hinders your performance and health.

How to Combat USC

Reversing USC is a change that cannot occur overnight. It takes consistent exercise that is appropriate to combat the syndrome. Work towards strengthening the weakened muscles and relaxing the tightened ones by trying out one of the examples below!

1. Front Neck

Neck training is essential for competitive gamers. Start off with isometric exercises, which is when a muscle or joint is not in movement as there are no eccentric and concentric contractions. Do this by lying flat on the ground, tucking your chin to the chest while keeping your head on the floor, and lifting it very slightly. Then, push your tongue against the roof of your mouth and hold it there, while engaging and feeling the muscles at the front of your neck.

2. Pec Stretch and Release

Stretch your pecs by doing the “doorway stretch”, which you can easily imitate by watching relevant videos. Do remember not to hyperextend the lower back, as this can instead cause wear and tear on the lower back which does not aid in the stretching at all.

3. Lower Traps

Just like neck training, isometric exercises are recommended as this helps bring your lower traps back to an active and healthy normal. Try raising your arms upwards on the ground in a ‘Y’ shape, with your thumbs pointed upwards and arms above your head. Focus on your lower traps and hold on for as long as you can.

4. Rhomboids

Put your arms straight out and pull back your shoulder blades, all while ensuring that your arms are kept straight! After pulling back, finish the movement with your hands going just below and beside your chin. This strengthens and activates the lower traps, rhomboids, as well as the rear deltoids.

Conclusion

Injuries are the biggest no-no for all types of athletes, no matter the sport you play. For all you competitive gamers and athletes out there, reverse or prevent USC from hindering your performance by putting in the due effort to remain injury-free!