fitness · stretching · yoga

Rhomboids, Rhomboids, Rhomboids: Releasing Upper Back Tension

Christine Hennebury

I don’t know if the recent tension in my upper back is from inadequate stretching after my TKD classes, from lifting heavy things as I declutter my basement, or from not paying enough attention to my posture but I do know that I am not enjoying it.

I have done some extra stretching. I have spent a fair bit of time lying on a lacrosse ball. I have draped myself over my foam roller.

Nothing has really helped so far.

A person on their back moving over a foam roller while eating a piece of pizza
Apparently, I needed a slice of pizza to do this correctly. I’ll keep that in mind for next time. Image description: a GIF of a person lying on their back on a bumpy orange foam roller. They are holding a piece of pizza to their mouth and the point of the slice is between their teeth. They are leaning back over the roller so their head gets closer to the floor and then they are lifting their head and shoulders further away from the floor, holding the pizza in their mouth the whole time. White letters in the bottom right show a url – rollga.com and at the top of the image is a hashtag in white letters reading #pizzaroll

Then, this morning, I received a newsletter from Yoga with Joelle announcing her latest video – Yoga for Rhomboid and Upper Back and I realized two things:

1) I’ve stretched but I haven’t done any yoga specifically for my upper back.

2) I had forgotten that those muscles were called the rhomboids.

(Rhomboid is a very fun word, go on and say it a few times in a row.)

My storytelling self knows that knowing something’s true name gives you power over it.

I’m going to do this video a few days in a row and see if name magic holds true for muscles. 😉

A YouTube video from Yoga with Joelle. In the still image she is wearing a grey tank top and burgundy leggings and is doing a seated twisting pose with her right hand behind her, her right leg folded over her extended left leg, and her left elbow resting against her upraised right knee.

PS – After writing this, I remembered that I was working on a similar issue last year. I started out with a plan to give my shoulders some attention and then realized that part of the problem was my chair and my monitor. I guess I need to make upper back attention part of my regular routine.

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Published by Christine Hennebury

I'm a writer/storyteller/director/creativity & lifestory coach with a black belt in ITF Taekwon-do. I read voraciously and I write like my fingers are on fire. I'm the founder and Chair of the Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl and I'm a former president of the St. John's Storytelling Festival. I bake a mean chocolate chip cookie.

2 thoughts on “Rhomboids, Rhomboids, Rhomboids: Releasing Upper Back Tension”

  1. Rhomboid pain is frequently not because they need stretching but because they are weak and over-stretched, coupled with tight pectoral muscles. (Think of the average person’s posture, especially at a keyboard – head forward, shoulders rolled forward and maybe even up around the ears.) Stretching pecs and strengthening rhomboids is often effective. You will often also find painful pressure points in the pectoral muscles.

  2. Pingback: A tiny tweak in my twist is terrific – FIT IS A FEMINIST ISSUE

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