According to a research study published in the Journal of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Sciences in January 2026, 58% of 100 adults going for open-heart surgery demonstrated clinical signs of forward head posture, rounded shoulders, and an upper back curve.
These are all postures that can cause neck and upper back pain!
And this is only one study!
Look around the next time you go out in public and see how many people have this type of posture. It’s scary, and it’s all thanks to technology.
Not sure this is you?
Have someone take a picture of you from the side with a plain wall behind you and see for yourself.
The good news is you can change this and reduce the effect this posture has on your heart!
How does posture and muscle tension impact the heart?
It decreases blood flow, which subsequently decreases oxygen and nutrients, aka ions or “qi.”
When your neck, chest, and shoulders are pulled forward, they compress your lungs and heart.
This reduces your capacity to breathe, which subsequently sends messages to your brain that you need to use your neck muscles to help you breathe.
Then your neck tightens and sends more signals to your brain that you’re bracing for an attack from a bear that is there 24/7.
Cortisol rises and stays elevated because you’re on hyper-alert. Your body gets less oxygen to its tissues because you’re not breathing fully, and you can end up with restless legs, anxiety, and even heart arrhythmias, all because of your posture!
This is a big deal that sneaks up on you over time.
So what can you do?
Release the tension in the muscles on the front side of your neck, chest, anterior shoulder, and sides of the ribs.
At the same time, focus on strengthening the muscles that have been stretched on the back side of your neck and upper back.
For reference, those in the bodywork industry, such as physical therapists and acupuncturists, call this “upper crossed syndrome,” referring to the mismatch in muscle firing, with the muscles on the front side locked in a shortened, weak state while the upper back muscles are locked in an elongated, tight, but weak state.
The goal is to relieve tension in both areas; however, one must focus on releasing, elongating, and stretching the front side of the body while strengthening the upper back and neck.
This is quite contrary to the idea of massaging the heck out of the back and rarely touching the upper chest, the muscles you can access in the armpit, or the anterior neck and jaw, which is commonly done in traditional massage therapy.
I always say you know you have a great massage therapist when they get into your armpits, chest, and work on the front of your neck.
This is why I’m hands-on with my acupuncture and refuse to let people “cook” with their needles in and expect the needles to do all the work.
Your body is incredibly intelligent, yet it needs a little support when it comes to muscle tension.
The good news is you don’t need to have a live-in massage therapist!
I’ve been geeking out with Deanna Hansen, founder of Block Therapy, and we just did a masterclass together demonstrating three techniques to open up the chest and grease the shoulders magically!
The masterclass comes out on YouTube this week.
Till then, I want to invite you to test out these tricks, you likely know but aren’t doing, that I’ve been using to open up my chest and neck.
The Arm-on-the-Wall Stretch
Put your hand above you on the wall and step back with the leg closest to the wall. Lean into the wall and find the angle that gives you a stretch down the entire side of the body closest to the wall. This stretches your lat muscle as well as the subscapularis and helps open up your rib cage.
While you’re in that stretch, take deep belly breaths—in through the nose and out through the mouth—making a sighing or loud exhale sound.
Now take that same arm on the wall and move it directly behind you or up to a 45-degree angle. This stretches your pec, aka chest muscle. You can change positions to get a deeper stretch and target the pec minor as well.
Breathe deeply for one minute on each side.
The Bottom of the Jaw Stretch
Take one finger and, from the bottom angle of the lower jaw on the inside of the jaw, press in and pull your finger forward while opening and closing your mouth. Do one side at a time.
Next, take your thumb and second finger and pinch your earlobe. Pull your ear back and move it in a circular motion, one side at a time, for 30 seconds each.
End by putting your thumbs into your ears just above the ear hole and holding for 60 seconds to reset your nervous system.
Check out this sequence on video HERE.
I’d love to hear what you think.
Stay tuned for more on this subject this week!
Here’s to keeping your heart healthy,
Dr. J
