Wisdom Wednesday: Scapular Motion and Control

The shoulder joint is one of the most fascinating joints in the body. I have been intrigued with it for years becuase of it's drastic range of motion and unusual anatomy. Most people think your shoulder is just your glenohumeral joint (the ball and socket joint) but it is so much more than that. You thoracic spine (or your upper back's) range of motion is the foundation for how your shoulder is going to work. If you are an overhead athlete (Volleyball, Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Basketball, Gymnastics, Wrestling, Weightlifting, CrossFit, etc) you need adequate thoracic extension in order for your scapula to work properly. *** Next week's post we will be going over a great way to get some thoracic extension*** Once we have established adequate motion in the thoracic spine we must have an adequate range of motion of the scapula with your bodies ability to stabalize through that entire range of motion. Often times when people lack thoracic mobility or glenohumeral range of motion their scapula moves around too much. I call this a sloppy scapula. I won't get into the specifics today on how exactly that scapula is supposed to function and what degrees it is supposed to tilt for all the ranges of motion your shoulder can accomplish, but rather give you a foundation on how your shoulder blade should be able to move and stabalize through all of your ranges of motion.

Here are just a few examples for you to test out to see just how in control of your scapula you are. If you don not have this type of motion prerequisite you might want to re-think kipping and faster dynamic motions through your shoulder joint. These four positions are idea for athletes that work in all of these range of motions.

The first is a scapular push up or a push up plus from the push up position. *Please note that my right shoulder blade is not functioning properly in these videos. It is a work in progress... which is why I am doing so much work on them!*

The second is from a supine position using rings.

The next is from an inverted position. Make sure you keep your core hollow in this as it is very difficult to lose it and arch your back!

The last uses both scapular depression and retraction (or scapular setting) as well as forward rolls. Note, if you are not able to do these without pain having your feet off the ground, simply put your feet on the ground to off load your body while you work through these progressions.

All of these scapular progressions are idea shoulder warm ups or cool downs before a workout. There is no specific set number, but if you feel your body compensating your set is done.

Good luck on getting those scapulas functional!