Question - Shoulders (shape)

by Franco
(San Diego)

shoulder (back)

I don't really have an injury but I wanted to ask if it's possible to increase shoulder length. I feel as if mine are too short. They droop to some extent and when I look at everyone else their shoulders are much longer than mine.

Answer - From Bart@SII

Franco, thanks for the picture - I probably wouldn't have understood your question without it.

The "drooping" you are referring to is probably caused by a couple different things. First off, your chest muscles - pectoralis major and minor - are most likely very tight. When these muscles are tight, they pull the shoulders forward, causing a rounded appearance. So, instead of your shoulders being more broad, they tend to round forward.

The other thing that will cause your shoulders to appear droopy is if your upper back is restricted. If you have limited extension, this causes your shoulders to round forward as well.

Lots of pec stretching and some foam roll stretching for your back will help with this -and some good upper back exercises like bent over rows or scapular retraction exercises will also help to even them out.

Don't worry though, droopy shoulders are not uncommon, so you shouldn't feel like you are all alone.

Comment back if you have other questions...