Shoulder Blade Posture and Shoulder Pain

Your Shoulder blades play a crucial role in the movement of your shoulder.

If the muscles that support the shoulder blades are too weak or too tight, then normal movement of the shoulder joint cannot occur and over time, this leads to shoulder pain.

The muscles that stabilise the shoulder blades onto the rib cage are the rhomboids, traps, seratus anterior and levator scapula. These are the exact same muscles that are affected by sitting with poor posture.

Your physiotherapist can measure the angles around movements around your shoulder blades to determine if they could be the cause of shoulder pain.

Here are 3 exercises that can be hepful in rehabilitating shoulder blade weakness.

1. 

Lie prone with a towel or pillow under the forehead.

Extend arms out the the sid.

Pinch shoulder blades togethe.

Slowly raise arms up and down.

Reapeat 3 sets of 10 in positions A-E above.

2. 

Lying on your back

Reach your affected arm straight up in the air

Extend the arm from the shoulder by protacting (bringing forward) the shoulder blade

Repeat 3 sets of 20

3. 

Lying prone with a towel under the forehead

Bring your arm up and the the side as shown with the elbow bent

Lift your elbow off the ground by rotating your arm outwards

Repeat 3 sets of 10 with 3 second holds