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The Best Shoulder Stretch You Should Do Every Day

5/30/2013

14 Comments

 
Picture
Muscles that attach to the scapula: Left side of the pic you can see trapezius, deltoid. Right side of the pic you can see rhomboids, levator scapula, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, teres major and serratus anterior.
Picture
Muscles that attach to the scapula: Pectoralis minor, bicep, subscularis, serratus anterior, teres major.
Movement of the arm requires joint mobility and muscular stability. Moving the arm requires appropriate muscle facilitation and mobility in the shoulder joint, the scapulo-thoracic joint (which is not a "true" joint, more of a physiological joint), the acromioclavicular joint (AC) and the sternoclavicular joint (this is the only joint connecting the arm to the axial skeleton).
Take a look at the pics on the left. There are a lot of muscles that can affect the movement of the arm, the scapula, the shoulder, and the clavicle. So... basically what I am pointing out here is that optimal muscle function of the shoulder girdle is key to a healthy pain free shoulder joint, neck and arm.  
Muscle, bone and connective tissue adapt to how we use them.  And typically during a day our arms are positioned out in front of the body: computing, driving, pushing a stroller/walker/cart. This positioning, along with all of our other daily habits of grasping, clenching and tensing can lead to shortened muscles, winged shoulder blades and internal rotation of the shoulder joint which can lead to impingement and eventual rotator cuff tendonitis/tear.

Hand Behind the Back Stretch

scapular winging
Before we get to the stretch, observe the position of your shoulder blades when your arms are down by your side.  Notice the medial edge and the lower angle.  Do they wing away from your back like mine?  Ideally the scapulae should be positioned equidistant from each other with no visual boney edges.  Winging of the scapulae is an indication of muscle imbalance.

Picture
Just for fun, see how you need to move your scapulae so you don't see your boney edges poking away from your thorax.  In this pic you can see that I had to move my blades forward and elevated a little.  Once the blades are in the ideal position you can really see some of the culprits driving this imbalance:  can you say tight pectorals anyone?

Hand behind the back stretch
Now for the stretch.  Bring the hand behind the back.  Make sure to keep your elbow straight down from your shoulder (notice how this makes me wing even more.  More than likely this will happen with you too).  Begin to bend the elbow as if to reach for your opposite shoulder blade.  Notice your elbow, did it start to go out wide?  If it did, you went too far.  Bring your arm back down so you can comfortably hold in position in a gentle stretch.  Believe me, this can be intense, don't let it. Hold for up to a minute.

Hand behind the back with shoulder blades wide
Now, let's refine the stretch.  You will need to have a mirror for this so you can see the position of your shoulder blade.
Bring your hand behind your back.  Move your scapula (usually forward and up) so that you do not see winging anymore.  Make sure to watch your elbow.  In this pic you can see that my elbow moved outward a little bit, and is not straight down from my shoulder.  The requirement or alignment marker for this stretch is to keep the elbow in line with the shoulder.  To correct that, I would need to lower my hand so the stretch isn't so intense.  Notice in the pic that the lower angle is still lifted away a little bit.  But because of my tension, I wasn't able to get completely flush with my thorax without moving my elbow.

Picture
Here is side view of me bringing the arm behind the back.
Picture
Here I am moving my shoulder blade forward so the shoulder blade doesn't wing.
Picture
This is what it looks like from the front. You can see how tight my pecs are. And I am smiling because I used to not be able to do this and now I can! Yeah!
Susan McLaughlin is a physical therapist who specializes in the management of pelvic floor and orthopedic dysfunctions. She is the owner of ALIGN integration|movement in Salt Lake City, UT.  Helpful tips and other self care strategies can be found at www.alignintegrationandmovement.com.
14 Comments
lyn chrisitan link
5/31/2013 12:41:30 pm

I needed this reminder. I will put this exercise back into my morning Res. EX routine.

Reply
Reina Forsythe
6/1/2013 06:13:08 am

Should I feel a stretch in my pectoral muscle? I feel it mostly in the deltoid. I have a really bad case of winging, I think it is worse since having a baby and carrying him around all day. I am going to try this out and see if it helps, any other suggestions? ;)

Reply
Susan
6/4/2013 12:41:29 am

Reina,
Yeah you will feel the stretch in the deltoid. The rhomboid pushup is a good movement to do to improve scapular stability. Here is a link to the exercise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQP-WcdBnFo

Thanks for checking in, Susan

Reply
Erin
9/15/2013 11:28:27 pm

Even though I've read Katy's blog for years and own some of her classes and DVDs, I find your explanations and all the photos to be SO helpful. Thank you!

I definitely have a LOT of winging, even though I've been doing this stretch fairly regularly over the past six months. What can I do to stretch the pectorals? Or is it more a need to strengthen the muscles on the back so they re-balance?

Reply
Susan
9/15/2013 11:51:58 pm

Erin,
Thank you for reading the blog! Winging of the shoulder blade has many factors.... pec minor and the serratus anterior muscles get the blame for the imbalance, but it is how the entire shoulder girdle interacts. Here are some more suggestions for you. I really like to do a release to the pectoralis minor muscle. I explain how to in this blog;
http://www.alignintegrationandmovement.com/1/post/2012/11/pain-in-the-shoulder-blade.html
I also have another post about scapular stability these movements will engage the entire shoulder girdle:
http://www.alignintegrationandmovement.com/1/post/2012/10/scapular-freedom.html

Hope this helps. Susan

Reply
Ellen
4/11/2014 02:17:04 am

Could this stretch be done lying on the back with the arm pinned under?

Reply
Susan
4/11/2014 11:51:12 pm

Ellen,
I don't recommend forcing the arm back and holding it down. If you can't bring it back and want to pull it with the other arm, I don't recommend that either. You want to stay within your tissue boundaries. Thanks for your question.

Susan

Reply
Lily
5/21/2014 07:14:54 am

I have crazy wings (like I might start flapping away any second). I wanted to echo Erin's previous comment and say that your images really break down RE really well - thank you so much. This stretch is very difficult for me to do with a "flat" scapula and I'm hoping that I can make some progress by doing these exercises.

Reply
Susan
5/21/2014 09:02:42 am

Lily,
Thank you for your comment. I am glad that the blog is helpful. I would love to hear about your progress! Susan

Reply
Gary
1/19/2015 02:47:23 pm

Would this imbalance lead to shoulder "popping" like its coming out of the joint a bit? In addition, the pain I had originally was in the back shoulder area, but now is on the side more?? Its moving. Strange...

Reply
Susan
1/20/2015 01:42:42 am

Gary,

Yes. Popping can occur when the tissues don't glide easily over each other. It is normal for the sensations to change location.... sounds like you are moving it nicely.

Susan

Reply
tam
7/3/2015 10:47:50 pm

I think some kind of massage or massage ball is great for the shoulder area. A lot of knots form there.

Reply
Colleen link
10/9/2016 01:21:07 pm

Question: I saw this on Katy's blog too-- or in one of her snacks.... For me-- when I do this with compensation for the winging I feel barely any stretch at all-- a TINY bit in my deltoid. I don't feel like much is happening. What I am I missing? (I have a hard time using this in my teaching because I'm not sure that I have it correctly.-- whereas when I do a typical yoga version of this stretch with the winging allowed, I feel a much better stretch in my deltoid).

Thanks so much! I agree with the above commenters-- your photos and videos are super helpful!

Reply
drsanjaydesai.com link
4/8/2021 04:42:25 am

Shoulder joint stiffness is one of the major concerns that so many people are tackling in their day-to-day lives. Shoulder stretches can help relieve muscle tension, pain, and tightness in the neck and shoulders.It also helps to increase mobility.Thank you for this informative read. Keep sharing more!

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