Skip to content

5 Amazing Exercises to Reduce Pectus Excavatum

5 Amazing Exercises to Reduce Pectus Excavatum

Exercise is an integral component of living a healthy life and may help alleviate symptoms associated with Pectus Excavatum such as sunken chest appearance and rib flare.

A condition commonly referred to as “funnel chest,” occurs when the sternum sinks inward, creating an concave appearance in the chest. While this condition can occur at any age, boys tend to be more affected.

Arm Sliders for Pectus Excavatum: Strengthening Core and Concealing Appearance

Pectus excavatum, or sunken chest syndrome, is a condition wherein the breastbone juts inward to create an empty chest appearance. More likely to affect boys than girls and typically associated with rapid growth spurts during puberty, it can often be strengthened through exercise to alleviate symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue and chest pain as well as improve posture thereby hiding its appearance. Exercise cannot cure pectus excavatum but may help strengthen core, back and shoulders strengthening exercises which in turn help concealing its appearance! Exercise may also improve posture which further concealing its appearance!

Strengthening the core is integral in treating Pectus Excavatum, and can be accomplished through performing push ups from knees or an exercise ball, crunches and planks as well as yoga sessions designed to open your chest and promote deep breathing.

One of the best exercises for Pectus Excavatum is arm sliders, a modified version of push-up that targets shoulders and core strength. Start by positioning both hands on two sliders while in high plank position ensuring your shoulders are over your elbows and your body forms a straight line from head to ankles. Brace your core before sliding your right foot toward the left shoulder and extending arms for push-ups – once at bottom return back into high plank and repeat.

Chest Pressing is another fantastic upper body exercise that also targets your triceps and shoulders. Begin in push-up position with hands on sliders and shoulders over elbows; lower your forearms down towards the floor until they touch. Next, move back up into plank pose until fingertips touch ground before returning back up again for another round.

Use sliders under your feet to perform exercises like mountain climbers and pike planks for glutes and hamstrings, chest flyes and archer presses that work your shoulders and chest muscles respectively, kneeling slide outs to work your core and obliques, or kneeling slide outs for additional core workouts.

Chest Press Exercises for Toned Chest and Improved Athletic Performance

Chest presses work the pectoral muscles, helping you achieve a toned chest and arm tone. They also strengthen the triceps brachii muscles in your arms which assists with pushing movements like throwing or swinging rackets/clubs during sports that require hand-eye coordination, such as throwing/swinging rackets/clubs etc. Strong chest muscles offer support and power for athletes who swing bats/sticks for sports that involve hand-eye coordination as well as providing balance to other areas such as shoulders/upper backs etc.

Pectus excavatum’s cause remains unclear; however, it seems to result from abnormal cartilage growth between the sternum and ribs, creating an unusual depression or “pouch” in children’s chests; particularly girls. Furthermore, this abnormality may cause their ribs to protrude giving an appearance of potbelly.

While pectus excavatum may not be life-threatening, it can hinder physical activities like running due to limited lung capacity. Furthermore, this condition can have significant psychological ramifications on children and teenagers that result in them feeling self-conscious or socially excluded.

Pectus excavatum is typically diagnosed through physical examination and imaging tests, such as CT scans of the chest that allow doctors to measure the Haller index. An index above 2.5 may require surgery called Nuss procedure.

Surgery to correct pectus excavatum usually improves both chest appearance and structure of ribs and sternum as well as improving pulmonary function, even among those with severe pectus excavatum. However, a small percentage of people may still experience reduced pulmonary reserve or breathlessness during exercise despite surgical correction.

Standing Chest Press on a Cable Machine | Fitness Expertise Solutions Ltd. To perform a standing chest press on a cable machine, place both hands on its handles while standing up straight, keeping your back flat, then slowly lower them to chest height before pushing them away from you in a controlled movement. Exhale when performing this movement to avoid overexertion of your chest muscles – repeat 10-15 reps per set until your strength improves; gradually increase weight as necessary.

Enhance Posture and Neck Health with Proper Chin Tucks

The human neck is comprised of a complex network of muscles that work in concert with the spinal column to enable movement for both head and skeleton. When performed properly, chin tucks help improve posture while relieving tension on neck muscles. They may also strengthen deep neck flexors that prevent unfavorable head postures like “computer neck” or “phone neck.”

To perform a chin tuck, sit or stand up straight against a wall with your back against it and place your thumb in the notch of your neck and index finger in front of your chin, before nodding your head slightly back toward your chest and sliding or retracting your chin towards you. Hold this position for the specified amount of time while relaxing neck muscles as you do so. Alternatively, this exercise can be completed in quadruped position while on hands and knees to reduce downward pressure on vertebrae.

Mistakenly lifting their heads too high or too low during chin tuck procedures is one of the more frequent errors made when trying to perform them themselves, leading to uncomfortable shearing forces in the neck that increase discomfort and worsen pain. Furthermore, excessive rounding of the neck (cervical kyphosis) should also be addressed before engaging the muscles for chin tuck procedures – chiropractic biophysics specialists are equipped to manage such conditions effectively.

Chin Tucks can activate all the neck muscles, including deeper neck flexors. As such, it is crucial that when performing them you bear this in mind. Furthermore, performing movements like mewing helps optimize and strengthen facial muscles as well as enhance overall facial symmetry.

Plan to incorporate five to seven sets of chin tucks into your daily routine – this could mean performing them during breakfast, your commute, or at breaktime at work – into the movement that best serves you and improves posture over time. Regular practice of these movements serves as an easy reminder that good posture should be used during daily activities and can serve to improve it over time.

Safely Maximizing Shoulder Press: Techniques and Considerations for Effective Workouts

Shoulder presses are essential when trying to build large and strong shoulders. As well as being popular gym moves, shoulder presses work your shoulder, tricep, and pectoralis major muscles simultaneously – but as with any exercise it can become dangerous if overusing weight is used or it is performed incorrectly – to prevent injuries there are a few modifications and progressions you can implement so your exercise sessions remain both safe and efficient.

Pectus excavatum, also referred to as sunken chest or funnel chest, is an abnormality of the anterior chest wall that causes an “cave-in” appearance of the sternum and rib cage. This condition may appear at birth or later during puberty, and may be either symmetric or asymmetric in appearance. This condition is most often due to abnormal cartilage growth that connects sternum with ribs.

Pain in the chest and back may result from exercising or breathing hard, while patients can also experience psychological issues including feelings of self-consciousness and shame. They may withdraw from activities like swimming or going places where they might be exposed and may have difficulty developing intimate relationships – especially among children and early adolescents.

Pectus excavatum often resolves on its own, but surgical techniques may also help correct and improve cardiac and pulmonary function. Surgery typically performed under local anesthesia involves repositioning of breastbone and can be undertaken in children as well as adults; for best results it should take place prior to a child reaching puberty so as to allow her to form normal breast shapes with good posture and breathing capabilities.

Repositioning of breastbone deformity can be most successfully addressed in children; however, there are no known restrictions or contraindications to doing it in adulthood as well. With open Ravitch or Nuss repair techniques for pectus excavatum repair in adults using open Ravitch or Nuss repair technique can successfully reverse its deformities leading to improved posture, respiratory and cardiovascular function as well as normal chest appearance. Results often match those seen in children.

Top 5 Chest Exercises for Pectus Excavatum

For more Health and Wellness in-depth information, explore our latest news!