Chest

Chest Muscles

Pectoralis muscles connect your rib cage/chest with the bones of the upper arm humerus and shoulder collarbone. This allows you to move your shoulder joint in four ways as well as attaching your arm to your body

Some people can experience a tight chest and keep trying to stretch it out to get relief. However this may be due to posture and an upper back/shoulder or neck stiffness or issue. Your back also connects to your rib cage and plays a big part in the position of your chest and ribs, which can cause tightening in your pecs.

Pectoralis Major

The Pectoralis Major/ Pec as suggested in the name major is the biggest of the chest muscles. It attaches from the upper arm, shoulder, to the sternum/ front of the rib cage.

Pectoralis Minor

The Pectoralis Minor, although small, plays a big part in shoulder movement and can be tight in a lot of people contributing to shoulder injuries. It attaches from a small part of the shoulder blade and onto the front of your rib cage.

Because your back, neck and shoulder muscles are also joined to your ribcage, if you have stiffness in this area from poor posture or injury, this can cause a change in the position of your rib cage and puts extra strain on your pec muscles as they work hard to compensate and overloads the pec muscles. Most of us work on computers, or in work that has you bending over or slouching for long periods of time. This causes your muscles to tighten through your chest and we should be doing dynamic stretches and strength work weekly to keep the body in check and free from pain or injury.

Posture

When you are standing up, gently pull your shoulders back and down. Unknowingly through the day due to stress, pressure and posture we hunch our shoulders and round our backs, which can cause issues if not addressed. Chest muscle tightness rarely exists with good postural habits, so keep checking in with yourself through the day, it will eventually be second nature and you won’t have to remind yourself.