This is the progression for Upward Facing Plank: Hammock, Crab and the full version of the pose.
If you have an injury, please see a physical therapist to get the all-clear before practicing these exercises. If you are after more detailed instructions for the poses, click on the links as they will take you to my free full, video tutorials. Be careful not to use force or to put yourself in any position that causes you pain. Practice them every day for a few weeks and see how you feel. They can be fairly intense, so ease into them gently. Hold each of them for 3-5 breaths and repeat 2-3 times. You can practice these poses every day, separately or together. 3 POWERFUL POSES FOR RELIEVING PAIN IN BETWEEN THE SHOULDER BLADES When the pain strikes, your instinct is probably to stretch your upper back but this could actually be making things worse. Instead, to address the cause of the pain, you need to open up your chest and the fronts of your shoulders, activate the muscles that support your shoulder blades and increase mobility in the thoracic spine.
Over time, this causes muscle fatigue and strain in the mid back. This over-stretches the muscles that support the shoulder blades-the rhomboids, lower trapezius and posterior rotator cuff muscles. When your upper back and shoulders are rounded forward, your shoulder blades start to pull away from each other. WHAT CAUSES PAIN IN BETWEEN THE SHOULDER BLADES?