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.
The first thing to understand is that your lower trapezius is not an individual muscle, rather it is the lower most section of your trapezius muscle. This is a big reason why it is so hard to isolate and strengthen it as many exercises will prevent it from working correctly as its workload is “stolen” by overworking muscles.
Your trapezius can be broken up into upper, middle and lower trapezius and is a muscle that starts at the base of your neck, goes across the shoulders and extends to the middle of your back as seen in the picture below.
What Is The Function Of The Lower Trapezius?
The other main thing to understand is that your lower traps are not prime movers designed for heavy loads and strength, rather they are more concerned with mobility and stability of the scapula (your shoulder blade). The main role of the lower traps with regard to generating movement, is as the prime mover in scapula depression which in simple language is the lowering of the shoulder blades.
However, it is also an important scapula stabiliser and has a synergistic role in upward rotation of the scapula, which is a necessary shoulder blade movement when raising your arms above your head. If your lower traps are weak then retracting and depressing your scapula won’t be possible.
It is similar to the abdominal stabilizers of the pelvis and spine in that it acts like a “feedforward” muscle prior to the movement of lifting your arm out laterally to contract and hold the scapula steady to counteract the downward rotation pull. It basically neutralizes the scapula at the beginning of the movement before it becomes an important prime mover enabling your shoulder to safely execute a multitude of movements.
If it fails to do this it often leads to the shoulder impingement as seen in the picture below.
This is something I have discussed before in great detail when people use the external rotation exercise for the rotator cuff. If they fail to engage the lower trapezius and scapula correctly before doing the exercise they will fail to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles effectively and cause trigger points and stiffness in the shoulder.
Weak lower trapezius muscles can also increase the risk of scapula dysfunctions and is often considered to be involved with winged scapula and other shoulder postural deviations. Weak upward rotation due to a weak lower traps can potentially contribute to the onset of shoulder pain or injury particularly associated with throwing sports, or activities where the individual is working with their hands at or above shoulder height.
It also must be noted that the lower trapezius role with upward rotation and posterior tilt of the scapula cannot be achieved by this muscle alone as it works in tandem with other muscles, serratus anterior and the upper trapezius to create a “force couple”.
There are 3 key concepts specific to ALL shoulder injuries and dysfunction that must be addressed if you want any chance of succeeding in correcting your problems. These relate to relearning movement patterns that coordinate and sequence ideal and optimal movement mechanics.
These 3 key concepts specific to the shoulder are:
1.Optimal Thoracic extension and mobility
2.Posterior tilt of the scapula
3.Upward rotation of the scapula
This article I will discuss mostly the value of posterior tilt and upward rotation of the scapula as this is where the lower trapezius is most involved.
The video below provides some great visual animations of how the scapula moves and its vital role with shoulder stability.
Before we move on it must be noted that having optimal thoracic mobility is a vital part of this equation for without it your body will have to compensate. The spine is the structure from which all our limbs are supported and the scapula sits on top of the thoracic spine.
When the main structure has problems, the limbs will be put into positions that expose them to potential strain and injury. Mobility of the thoracic spine is needed for the lumbar spine and the shoulder joints to remain stable and be able to avoid injury or compression. Both of these joints are regularly exposed to injury when the thoracic region becomes stiff and rigid.
Thoracic mobility is often an area completely missed during a rehabilitation program for this area often has no pain itself, but it creates it elsewhere. This also explains why I will often use thoracic mobility exercises in combination with lower trapezius and serratus anterior strength exercises for I know they will complement each other perfectly and enable the scapula to move more efficiently.
You can read more about this in the article – How thoracic stiffness creates injuries elsewhere
Getting back to the lower trapezius and serratus anterior force couple you can see a picture below of how these muscles work together to create upward rotation of the scapula.
What all this means is that it can be very difficult to isolate this muscle and strengthen it for it does not work by itself. Also you cannot ignore other factors like tight pecs, tight lats, and a stiff thoracic region that can all contribute to the development of a weak lower trapezius, so you must have a plan for this too. More on this shortly.
Problems Created By A Weak Lower Trapezius
Most of the articles and videos about shoulder pain I have done before have focused more on the serratus anterior for I have often found this to be much weaker and also more difficult to strengthen than lower trapezius as the best exercises for this muscle are often the most painful and problematic to complete. In addition to this its workload is often stolen from the dominating pecs during pushing movements further amplifying the existing problem.
You can read more about this in the article – why serratus anterior is so important to the health of the shoulder
While the serratus anterior is a very big part of any shoulder or neck problem I cannot ignore the value of teaching a person how to position their scapula correctly with lower trapezius focused exercises. This on its own can be very good in the early stages of rehab when it is hard to do much with the shoulder without hurting it.
If your scapula is sitting in anterior tilt or downward rotation even a just little bit too much, then the supraspinatus tendon is going to rubbed and eventually frayed during the movement under the acromion process. And if this happens you are going to be in pain very soon. This is known as a shoulder impingement or rotator cuff tear!
And lastly if there is even a little laxity and anterior shear in the glenohumeral joint, then this will be exacerbated as you externally rotate. NOT good! This is where we see what is known as anterior humeral glide.
The anterior humeral glide is a result of the of scapulohumeral muscle imbalances and is easily observed when a client performs a rowing movement. You can easily see a divot at the rear part of the shoulder and the head of the humerus is pushed forwards.
This is when you see more than one third of the head of humerus sitting forward in the socket. This alters the axis of rotation.
The reasons for this are often due to short and tight posterior rotator cuff muscles infraspinatus and teres minor that will not allow the humeral head to move back into the glenoid fossa causing an anterior shirt. The second reason is muscle inhibition of subscapularis and serratus anterior, from the pecs and lats during the movement of internal rotation.
The last and arguably most important factor is the weakness with lower trapezius in providing the scapula depression.
Now this is where it gets to the point where you people focus on exercises that provide scapula depression and it all goes pear-shaped on them and creates more trouble. This is also why I have avoided discussing this as much as serratus anterior for this part is where people take a little bit of information too far and cause stacks of problems.
The Problem With Focusing Too Much On Scapula Depression
People with some anatomy knowledge and who place a big emphasis on posture are likely to make the mistake of over-doing it when it comes to posterior tilt of the scapula and using lower traps focused exercises. Pulling too hard and too often and basically over-emphasizing exercises to target lower trapezius in the belief that it will make their scapula work more effectively.
Unfortunately this leads to what is known as shoulder depression.
While it is good to focus on improving your posture and using exercises to develop strength with the shoulder retracting muscles you must keep this in good balance. Over doing these exercises or consciously squeezing your scapula together all the time (usually the rhomboids and middle trapezius) can completely disrupt the timing and sequence of how the shoulder needs to move. Even worse is the exercise is if performed poorly it can reinforce the scapula into retraction in a downwardly rotated and anterior tilted position, creating more tightness, impingement, and discomfort.
What often happens in this case is the upper trapezius becomes weak and over-stretched leading to weakness with pushing actions. This in turn leads to weakness with serratus anterior as the best exercises for this muscle involve exercises like push-ups, single cable push etc.
Take a look at the picture below to see what this looks like.
A depressed shoulder is easy to spot as there is virtually no muscle tone in the upper traps and the clavicle will be almost perfectly horizontal. From a front view you should see a slight downward angle of the clavicle in a healthy shoulder. If you do not see this you know that weakness of the upper traps is very likely.
You also will see a weakness with overhead exercises or a tendency to always have neck pain. I find this to be much more prevalent with females, especially those who do not use strength training which is something I have discussed in great detail with regards to neck pain and why I tell people to stop stretching their neck.
It is interesting when you consider the rate of shoulder injuries in males versus females that it is significantly greater in the female population. Females generally present with greater mobility than males which can be a good thing if the joints are controlled, however it can pose huge problems when poor movement is combined with weak muscles.
Now that you understand the lower trapezius function let’s look at how I would go about trying to improve the strength and motor control of this muscle.
Stretch The Pec Minor First
One of the most important things to understand with correcting muscle imbalance is the role of muscle inhibition. When attempting to strengthen lower trapezius or serratus anterior you must consider the effect that pec minor will have if it is overly active and tight.
Muscles are not designed to work the same.
There are Phasic muscles that are primarily concerned with providing movement and there are Tonic muscles more concerned with posture and stabilization. Dr Vladimir Janda was the first to establish this in his book “Assessment & Treatment of Muscle Imbalance” he explains great detail how tonic system muscles are prone to tightness or shortness, and the phasic system muscles are prone to weakness or inhibition.
In the chart below you will see the lower trapezius and serratus anterior fall into the phasic muscles side and their opposing muscles of pec minor and upper trapezius in the tonic muscle side.
This means that if you want to strengthen the lower trapezius or serratus anterior you have to try and shut down the overworking muscles first. The best way to do that is with stretching and mobility work prior for the tonic muscles followed up with a corrective strength exercise for the phasic muscles.
The pec minor dominates over the small stabilizers and pulls the shoulder into internal rotation and consequently disrupts the timing and placement of the scapula. In addition to this, the thoracic region is one where we see people adopt a hunched posture (known as kyphosis) and just like the pec dominance leaving this unattended will make it near impossible to complete the following exercises effectively.
Watch the video below to see examples of how to improve pec flexibility.
Wall Slides Exercise For Lower Trapezius Strengthening
The secret to restoring scapula function is to teach movement mechanics that force the right muscles to the right job at the right time. Of all the exercises to use for scapula control, the wall slides would be my favourite. This is the purpose of the wall slides exercise and it does an amazing job of restoring these muscles during an overhead movement.
The body-weight version in the video below focuses more on the lower trapezius and the foam roller version focuses more on the serratus anterior. In both exercises these two muscles are working together just the slight variation of the arm position and the pushing effect of the roller emphasize one more than the other.
The two downsides of this exercise is that it is hard to learn and secondly it is not enough to generate enough strength so you will need other exercises to finish the job. However in the beginning it is perfect to use for even if you get it wrong you will not aggravate anything or create more pain. A great way to learn scapula control and improve basic stability in preparation for strengthening.
Lower Trapezius Isolated Strength Test
This is one of those exercises that looks really easy when you watch someone do it but find out that it is really difficult to do, especially if you have weakness or injury in the shoulder region. Because it is very hard to cheat on this exercise I regularly use it as a test for it reveals the weakness immediately.
This is the same arm position used in the wall slides but the horizontal loading places a massive amount of stress into the lower trapezius to posterior tilt and provide upward rotation of the scapula.
Lateral Raise To The Ear
Many people who seek help from a physical therapist will often be prescribed exercises referred to as Ws, Ts, and Ys. These exercises place a big emphasis on the scapula retractors with lower trapezius being one of them. While they can help to some extent they can be a bit too aggressive to use and also once again ignore the role that the serratus anterior has to play for it cannot be activated in these type of movements.
The other problem I have often found is that they try to strengthen the muscle in a concentric phase (lifting phase) when it is usually the eccentric phase (lowering phase) where all the problems arise. This is where you will see someone with good form with the dumbbell in the lifted stage but when they lower the dumbbell they lose stability and control of the scapula moving into an anterior tilted position often with winging present.
This means that concentric exercises will have little effect on changing the motor control problem of lowering the arm. That is why I will often prefer the wall slides to these exercises and also cable pulls for they are much easier to implement the eccentric phase.
You can see examples of this exercise in the video below from the 5:45 mark.
Romanian Deadlift
Normally the deadlift is used primarily for strengthening the posterior muscles of the hip and improving lumbar spine stability but it does have a role to play with the thoracic spine and scapula sitting in posterior tilt.
I would avoid using too heavy a load with this exercise or trying to excessively squeeze the rhomboids and traps together at the top as it will create problems with upward rotation later. Instead I try to engage the latissimus dorsi and aspire to stand in great posture at the top of the lift. Once again this can be a great way to learn how to set the scapula in correct position for the more difficult strengthening exercises to come.
Watch the video below to see how I use a band to help engage the lats during the movement.
Single Cable Pull
While all rowing or pulling movements will activate the lower trapezius to some degree I have found the single cable pull to be the most effective. This is mainly due to the angle I use that favours the activation of lower trapezius and the fact it forces the thoracic spine to rotate. Many of the dual arm exercises can force more tightness in the upper back further restricting scapula movement with upward rotation.
Most cable exercises are excellent to use in the beginning in achieving both posterior tilt and upward rotation for they avoid compression of joints and they are much easier to work with. Whereas dumbbells and barbells create compression in joints by working against gravity in a vertical axis. Cable exercises can be easily manipulated to find the most favorable angle of resistance to assist activation of various muscles and posture.
The single cable pull is a perfect example of this as seen below.
Push-ups
Now this is not an exercise for the lower trapezius at all and is a very effective for serratus anterior. However, as I have mentioned several times in this article the weakness of serratus anterior is often significantly greater and the fact that these muscles work together as a force couple it makes perfect sense to spend time activating it. If you have weakness with one you are very likely to have weakness with the other.
Before attempting to use overhead movements which is the last phase it is critical you have optimal stability with horizontal pushing movements first. Of all the exercises to use for serratus anterior the push-up is one of the best. Just make sure you stretch the pec minor afterwards to ensure it does not stiffen up and inhibit the lower trapezius and serratus anterior again.
Overhead Movements
Once you have improved overall strength with specific isolated and integrated exercises where the lower trapezius is the main focus, you need to switch your attention to exercises where it is more the synergistic partner to other muscles. This is often where problems can resurface for it may not work together with the other muscles effectively and the best examples of this are when the arms are lifted overhead.
This is the most difficult phase to go through but if you can get it right it will hold all of your corrections in place. There are many exercises I might use to do this and you can see a video below of several examples in order of easiest to hardest.
Do You Need More Help?
To help you out with a more detailed program using this process I created a detailed shoulder pain report that provides you with all the tests and exercises I might use in a step by step format so you can finally get rid of your problems for good.
To see more about what is included in this detailed report click here or on the image below.
Summary
There is no doubting the importance of the lower trapezius to the stability of the scapula and shoulder so having exercises in your toolkit to ensure it works effectively is critical, especially if you are currently dealing with a shoulder or neck injury. Make sure you release any stiffness in the pec minor and also the latissimus dorsi before trying to strengthen the lower traps as your attempts may backfire on you due to muscle inhibition.
Keep your weights light and spend time with the wall slides drills before gradually progressing to the single cable pull and deadlift exercises.
Lastly, do not forget to strengthen serratus anterior in line with these exercises and eventually develop the overhead movements where these muscles must work together perfectly to maintain stability of the shoulder. There is no one size fits all exercise that will strengthen this muscle so you need to use a variety of these to ensure it works effectively. This is a bit like the problem with strengthening glutes with the hip joint in that you need a few exercises to hit the muscle on different angles and positions to ensure it functions correctly.
It may take some time to get this right which is why it is important to remain patient and keep the intensity low in the beginning.
About The Author
Nick Jack is owner of No Regrets Personal Training and has over 20 years’ experience as a qualified Personal Trainer, Level 2 Rehabilitation trainer, CHEK practitioner, and Level 2 Sports conditioning Coach. Based in Melbourne Australia he specializes in providing solutions to injury and health problems for people of all ages using the latest methods of assessing movement and corrective exercise.
References
Scapula Injuries in Sporting Athletes – By Sports Injury Bulletin
Muscle testing & function – By Kendall, McCreary, Provance, Rogers, Romani
How To Fix Your Neck Pain & Headaches – By Rick Olderman
Assessment & Treatment Of Muscle Imbalances – By Dr Vladimir Janda
Movement – By Gray Cook
Corrective Exercise Solutions For The Hip & Shoulder – by Evan Osar