Most people have jobs that cause them to be in a constant state of shoulder internal rotation, the shoulders pulled forward and the thumbs pointing in and downward. Think about what you do for the majority of your work day and think about how your shoulders are and see if those thumbs are pointing to each other. If you work a job that requires sitting at a desk, using a computer, driving a lot: a mechanic, a masonry  laborer, a barber, a teacher, a surgeon, the list could go on for awhile. You also see this phenomenon in kids today. They are texting, on the computer, or playing video games with their shoulders rolled forward. This can even go for all of us overgrown teenagers!
     The biggest problem is not only the positioning of our upper torso, but that we do it on an every day basis. It's the repetition that kills us. One of the amazing abilities of the human body is adaptation. The body goes through several phases before it adapts to a new movement pattern, a strengthening aspect, etc. The problem is that once our bodies adapt and if we keep doing the same movement, or stay in a constant bio mechanical state, we venture into what is known as overuse. Overuse is the culprit of many of your nagging and aching pains in your shoulders, upper back area, and even down into elbows and wrists. We can fight this by simply un-doing what we've done all day.
     If our jobs cause us to be in constant shoulder internal rotation the body adapts by causing anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder) and chest muscles to become tight. Along with tightness in the chest comes weakness in the upper back and neck area.  Because of this we lose shoulder mobility. All of this combined is what needs to be addressed through mobility exercises--proper range of motion exercises that will address mobility and flexibility, along with strengthening the upper back (scapulae) region.
     We need to address this by using exercises that will cause the shoulder to externally rotate, thumbs away from the body and/or an overhead pulling motion. Here is a video of 3 exercises that we use with our clients to help them prevent pain or become pain free. Doing a few sets of these exercises along with other methods that we use will help un-do what you've done all day! These are great starter exercises: start by doing 3 rounds of 5 reps each, and work your way up to 10 reps over a few weeks.
      This is just one installment of many to come teaching you how to correct your posture and detailing ways to help you become pain free through exercise and science. I will be talking more about the shoulders and also how to un-do our hips from sitting for long periods of time.