The Exercises Dental Clinicians Should Avoid (and What to Do Instead)

As dental clinicians, we spend hours every day leaning over patients. This posture often leads to muscle imbalances—especially upper crossed syndrome, where the upper traps and chest muscles become tight while the mid and lower traps weaken. If you’ve ever felt tension in your neck, shoulders, or upper back, this imbalance might be at play.

That’s why it’s important to be selective with the exercises we choose (see end for video link). While resistance training is essential for overall health—helping us maintain bone density, prevent osteoporosis, and combat age-related muscle loss—not every movement is beneficial when imbalances exist.

Exercises to Avoid (For Now)

If you already struggle with tight upper traps and chest muscles, adding more load to those areas can make things worse. It’s best to avoid:

• Overhead presses

• Lateral raises

• Upright rows

• Chest presses

These moves heavily recruit the muscles that are already overworked from our time in the operatory.

What to Focus On Instead

The key is to first relax the overactive muscles and strengthen the ones that are underused.

Strategies include:

• Stretching tight chest and shoulder muscles

• Foam rolling for mobility

• Massage gun work to reduce tension

• Strengthening the mid and lower traps with a variety of rows (resistance bands or weights both work great!)

By restoring balance, you’ll not only reduce pain but also create a stronger foundation for long-term strength training.

The Big Picture

I’m not a physical therapist or personal trainer, but I’ve learned a lot through working with a corrective exercise specialist. Once these imbalances are corrected, you can safely reintroduce overhead and chest-focused exercises without risk of compounding the problem.

The bottom line? Resistance training is non-negotiable for our health as we age—but as dental clinicians, we need to be mindful about how we train. Addressing muscle imbalances first will help us prevent injury, reduce daily discomfort, and stay strong in both our careers and our lives outside the operatory.

👇Watch my YouTube Short here for a quick breakdown of these tips.