One of the most neglected muscles in many strength workouts is the lower trapezius. If you have neck pain or shoulder pain this can be a real problem, as weakness with this muscle greatly contributes to ongoing pain and dysfunction for the important role it plays in providing stability to the scapula and shoulder joint. Most people believe that many of the compound strength exercises will automatically improve its strength and function so they don’t devote any time to strengthening it with specific exercises. I know I used to think this way, and it may be true for someone with no injury or dysfunction in the shoulder, however anyone with postural problems, shoulder, or neck pain these compound exercises may not work very well, if at all. This leads to several questions such as how do you know if you have lower trapezius weakness? And if you do what are the best exercises to target this muscle to restore it back to its full function? In this article, I will discuss how to test and assess your lower trapezius strength and the best ways to improve it back to full capacity.
Why Serratus Anterior Is So Important To The Shoulder But Also Very Difficult To Strengthen
Shoulder pain is one of the most common injuries to people of all ages and it is also one of the most difficult and complicated areas of the body to work with. The shoulder is very unique in that there are so many dynamic movements this joint can complete but this dynamic mobility with extreme ranges of movement leaves the joint vulnerable to imbalances, instability, and injury. When there is a muscular imbalance around the shoulder it can lead to diminished scapula control that result in postural dysfunctions like winging of the scapula and shoulder injuries like shoulder impingement and rotator cuff tears. One of the main muscles responsible for these imbalances is the serratus anterior which is a prime mover of the scapula and along with the lower trapezius plays a critical role in providing normal scapulohumeral rhythm and motion. The biggest problem with the serratus anterior is that many of the best exercises to strengthen this muscle are also the most problematic and painful movement to execute making it very difficult to restore back to full strength. In this article, I will discuss exactly what the serratus anterior’s function is and how you can restore full strength if you have suffered a shoulder injury.
6 Strengthening Exercises To Correct A Winged Scapula
The winged scapula is one of the most common postural faults we see today. And even though we are talking about winged scapula in this article the information and exercises provided will relate to ALL shoulder injuries. The term winged scapula gets its name from its appearance, a wing-like resemblance, due to the medial border of the scapula sticking straight out from the back. As I mentioned at the start this is a postural fault that can greatly affect a person’s ability to lift, pull, and push weighty objects and can cause pain and discomfort with simple daily activities such as taking your shirt off or playing a sport. When pain sets in people resort to the treatment of trigger point massage, stretching, and acupuncture which all may help in some way but the real answer lies in providing stability. Why? The shoulder is such an amazing joint in that it has an incredible amount of mobility and is able to perform some incredibly powerful and dynamic movements like serving in tennis or simply throwing a ball. But this awesome mobility comes at a cost, as the stability of the shoulder can be very easily compromised. And when this happens is when injury and pain takes over. If we lose that stability, we get some extra mobility of the humeral head within the joint, and that begins to pinch some of the structures around it and you eventually end up with common postural problems like the winged scapula that progress to much worse problems such as injuries like a shoulder impingement or rotator cuff tears. In this article, we will provide you with some of the most effective and simple to do stability exercises that you can begin using to improve your posture and get your shoulder movement back, without pain and compensation.