Doing Shrugs: How to let your Upper Traps Ruin your Life

Written by  Matthew Sellen

Most of us have felt it, that upper trap tightness and burning that radiates into the shoulder, or into the neck, or causes a headache. So what do you do? You stretch it… obviously! It gives some relief, so… obviously! Sometimes that’s the end of the story. But most of the time, wouldn’t you fucking know it, it comes back! Again and again and again. 

So you go to get some help from a physical therapist. They touch your upper trap. Wouldn’t you know it, It hurts. They test your lower trap strength. Wouldn’t you know it, It’s weak. So what do they have you do? Activate your lower traps and stretch your upper traps… obviously! Sometimes that’s the end of the story. But most of the time, wouldn’t you know it, it comes back! Again and again and again.

What didn’t you or your PT try? Using your upper traps… obviously! Certainly never ever doing shrugs. That would make your entire neck and upper back explode! They’re basically the source of all pain in your back, neck, and shoulders, and need to be inhibited at all costs! They’re terrorists with short range missiles, and we don’t negotiate with terrorists! They’re probably a vestigial organ. Maybe they had a purpose at one time, but now all they do is fuck up your day! So you keep on stretching your upper trap… obviously.

But wait, the upper traps do some cool stuff. Good luck reaching much higher than shoulder level without your upper traps. Good luck holding your phone between your ear and your shoulder while you walk through the parking lot with your keys in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other hand, and a shopping bag over the opposite shoulder… good luck carrying that shopping bag on your shoulder. Good luck shrugging your shoulders to tell someone, “I don’t know” without saying, “I don’t know.” People do cool things with their upper traps all the time… dunk a basketball, raise a pick after a bitchen guitar solo, lift a new baby lion to show to the entire savannah for them to recognize as their future king, dive into a pool, clean, jerk, snatch, and shrug heavy weights. They all must be lying about not having upper trap pain… obviously!

Maybe if you’ve been to physical therapy for any other painful muscle you’ve heard a smart PT say something like, “that muscle that hurts, you’ve gotta use it. Let’s find the right way for you!” You start doing an exercise and, maybe in a day or a week… or shit during that session, that muscle starts to feel WAAAAY better! You didn’t stretch that painful muscle… you engaged it. Or maybe you had a tight muscle and you had a REALLY smart PT say something like, “tight muscles are often weak muscles. You gotta use it!” You start doing an exercise and, maybe in a day or a week… or even during that session, that muscle starts to feel WAAAAY better! You didn’t stretch that tight muscle… you engaged it. Why are the upper traps different? Why are the upper traps one of the only muscles in the body that we rarely engage instead of constantly trying to inhibit them? What makes them special? Nothing. Nothing at all. There’s nothing wrong with stretching, but maybe next time your upper traps hurt… and stretching didn’t do shit… do some shrugs.