Wall-Standing Postural Exercise

activatethoracic

A video demonstration is coming soon. Follow the step-by-step instructions below.

How to do it

Stand with back against a wall, heels about 3 inches from the wall.
Place hands up beside the head with elbows touching the wall.
Correct feet and knees if needed, then tilt the pelvis to flatten the low back against the wall by pulling up and in with the lower abdominal muscles.
Keeping the arms in contact with the wall, move the arms slowly to a diagonally overhead position.

Form cues

Keep elbows and arms touching the wall throughout
Low back stays flat against the wall - do not arch

Dosage

Daily; slow controlled arm slides, several reps

Muscles worked

pectoralis minor — anatomical illustration — pectoralis minorAnatomical illustration derived from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, licensed under CC BY-SA.

lower trapezius — anatomical illustration — lower trapeziusAnatomical illustration derived from BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, licensed under CC BY-SA.

lower abdominals — anatomical illustration — lower abdominalsAnatomical illustration from Z-Anatomy (derived from BodyParts3D), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Stretches: pectoralis minor, intercostals

Strengthens: lower trapezius, middle trapezius, lower abdominals

Target muscles

Pectoralis Minor Intercostals Lower Trapezius Middle Trapezius Lower Abdominals

Helps with

Forward Head Posture Rounded Shoulders Chin-Up / Chin-Down (Cervical Tilt)

Wall-Sitting Postural Exercise Craniocervical Flexion (Deep Neck Flexor Activation)Isometric Cervical Retraction Formation of the Short Foot Corrected Standing Posture & Balance Progression (SMT Static Phase)Chin Tuck (Head & Neck Retraction)

Reference: Kendall, Muscles Testing & Function 5th ed p.116