How long has it been since you truly stretched your hands towards the sky? It's not just a simple movement. It's also a test of shoulder health. In fact, this simple act of stretching your hands to the sky involves a super important bone at the back of our shoulders, the scapula. The scapula can perform up to 10 different movements. Including protraction, retraction, elevation, depression, anterior tilt, posterior tilt, internal rotation, external rotation, upward rotation and downward rotation. And to lift your hands to the sky, primarily involves upward rotation, external rotation, posterior tilt, and protraction of these four functions. The shoulder can be considered the king of mobility. We can walk all over the world on our feet, and our greatest advantage is the ability to use our hands freely and without restriction. Although the structure of the human body is very intricate, we have to admit that sometimes this design is not perfect. For the scapula, especially the actions of upward rotation, external rotation, and posterior tilt are the most prone to problems. If the muscles around the scapula, humerus, and clavicle can't coordinate the movements of the scapula perfectly, to accomplish these three major actions, the shoulder is prone to issues like snapping, pain, and impingement, among others. In this video, I will let you know why a healthy scapula gradually loses these three major movements, and how to use the simplest relaxation and stretching exercises to regain these three actions, and restore shoulder health. Before we officially get into the three major movements, I want to first give you a bit of basic knowledge about the scapula. The scapula is triangular in shape, with three main points. The top point is called the superior angle, the bottom point is the inferior angle, and the lateral point is known as the acromion. From these three points, we look at the three major movements, Upward rotation of the scapula occurs when the superior angle rotates downwards. while the inferior angle and the acromion rotate upwards. External rotation of the scapula refers to the acromion rotating backwards, Posterior tilting of the scapula is the superior angle moving backwards, while the inferior angle moves forward. I suggest that as you learn these movements, you can write them down and move along, so your body can more easily help you remember these parts and their movements. Next, what I want to discuss with you is why the scapula especially tends to lose the ability to upwardly rotate, to posteriorly tilt, and to externally rotate. Actually, this is closely related to our daily activities. Let's delve into the reasons First, let's consider why the scapula loses the ability to upwardly rotate. It's because modern lifestyles have led to a drastic reduction in daily shoulder joint movement, and usually, it involves repetitive patterns of living or entertainment activities. Such as spending long hours on the computer, driving or looking at our phones. These lifestyle habits cause the scapula to stay in a downwardly rotated position for long periods. If our arms don't raise above 90 degrees for a long time, the scapula tends to get fixed in that downward rotation, thereby losing the ability to rotate upwards. Next, let's take a look at why the scapula loses its ability to externally rotate. Like when we place our hands on the desk, the arms naturally fall into internal rotation. The internally rotated arms move upward, leading the scapula to also internally rotate. This causes the inner edge of the scapula to easily have a flipping up force. Furthermore, in our daily life, we hardly perform movements like push-ups or the quadruped position, which are types of movements that require using our hands to support our body. This weakens the serratus anterior muscle that is responsible for bearing weight. Once the serratus anterior becomes weak, and the arms are frequently internally rotated, the inner edge of the scapula cannot remain firmly against the rib cage. And this is what leads to the winged scapula posture. Once a winged scapula occurs, the problems with the shoulder can become significant. For example, even a simple movement like raising the hand can be affected because the scapula cannot slide snugly against the rib cage. This can lead to symptoms of shoulder impingement. Finally, let's look at the reasons for the loss of posterior tilt in the scapula. When the hands are extended forward, the muscles in the front like the pectoralis minor, pectoralis major, biceps brachii, coracobrachialis, etc., tend to become tense. This causes the humerus to be pulled forward. This, in turn, leads to the scapula also tilting forward. Ordinarily, the scapular position for most people is highly likely to be in a forward tilt. Coupled with the lack of training for the posterior muscles, there is also a tendency to neglect stretching and relaxing the anterior muscles. The scapula easily gets stuck in a forward-tilted position, losing the ability to tilt backward during arm elevation. Here I would like to share with you a chart from the Body Pain Relief Handbook. If you are interested, you can pause the video now, and take a look at the chart to see how many items you can check off. After carefully reviewing the movements in the chart, you might be surprised to find that these seemingly simple actions may not have been performed by you for years. But don't worry, you can pause now to move a little, and then come back to continue watching. If the body doesn't perform certain movements for a long time, the connection between the brain and the muscles will weaken. You could also say that we gradually forget how to coordinate our bodies. It's like with a pianist, if they don't practice for a long time, the sensitivity of their fingers on the keys will certainly decline. This kind of dullness, if it happens around the shoulder, on the small movements of the small muscles, It's like the screws in the scapula haven't been tightened, and if left unattended, after the scapula becomes skewed, it starts to cause various shoulder problems. Talking up to this point, we now understand the three major movements that the scapula often lacks. Next, we will step by step tighten these small muscles, starting with the upward rotation movement of the scapula. This requires the serratus anterior muscle There is also the synergistic effect of the upper and lower trapezius muscles The two muscles, the serratus anterior and the lower trapezius, It is the area around the scapula that is most easily weakened. Only when these two muscles lift the hand Can provide good strength Only then can we successfully complete the upward rotation Next comes the external rotation action Mainly responsible for the serratus anterior muscle Its role is to stabilize the scapula when raising the hand Make sure it fits snugly against the rib wall Current reduced serratus muscle function The scapula is prone to excessive internal rotation Winged scapula We can strengthen the serratus anterior muscle through weight-bearing training at last The scapula retroversion involves the clavicle and humerus maintain these three bones The backward tilt chain action is the key This requires maintaining the elasticity of the forward leaning muscles For example, pectoralis minor, coracobrachialis, etc. and through external rotation of the humerus To familiarize yourself with the scapula There is also the backward tilting action of the clavicle Next Not only will I teach you how to relax these muscles Also share how to train scapula movements Keep your shoulders healthy Relax the pectoralis minor muscle First find the location of the pectoralis minor muscle When locating the pectoralis minor muscle You can press the heel of your palms on your chest Middle finger points to shoulder The position of the palm is the position of the pectoralis minor muscle Lie on your stomach and press the ball against your pectoralis minor Move your body left and right to the place where you feel sore pressurize Pain Index 10 points out of 10 Just 5-6 points After 12 presses on one point Change to next point You can also press at the same time While raising your hands towards the top of your head, lay down Repeat 12 times Repeat the same action at another point Do 3 sets a day coracobrachialis muscle relaxation Start by grabbing the biceps Push your biceps outward Press down further This location is the location of the coracobrachialis muscle Move up and down Find the sore spots Pain Index 10 points out of 10 Just 5-6 points 12 presses on one point Change to another point You can also press and hold the sore point raise the whole hand put down 12 times Do 3 sets a day Subclavian muscle relaxation First find the clavicle The middle position of the clavicle It's the subclavian muscle After pressing, press slightly just below the collarbone. You can press the position of the subclavian muscle Find the sore spots 12 presses on one point Change to the next point You can also press and hold to pin shrug shoulder pressure Allow the subclavius muscle to lengthen and shorten our collarbone It’s easy to get stuck in a more shrugging position At this time, the towering collarbone Will affect the operation of scapulohumeral rhythm And when the hand is raised to the highest point, shoulder pain problem At this time, you can press this position more Give the collarbone a chance to move Biceps Relaxation Find a higher surface Or just lie down on the ground Turn your thumb down Aim at the floor Place the roller on your upper arm This place is the biceps A wide range of Find the sore spots on your biceps Press deeply and left and right for 12 times Press the farthest end to the elbow Press the closest end to the shoulder You can also divide your hand into three equal parts After pressing everything, switch to the other side Deltoid muscle relaxation The deltoid muscle is divided into front, middle and back around the shoulders To press the deltoid muscles, you can find a wall get a ball Lying on the wall with body tilted Place the ball in front of your shoulders Let the ball sink into your body This point is the location of the anterior deltoid muscle 12 presses on one point Change to next point The middle deltoid muscle can turn the side of the body toward the wall sink the ball into the body Press with body weight 12 presses on one point Change to the next point The rear deltoid muscles can raise the hand 90 degrees Press the ball into the junction of your upper arm and torso Press deeply against the wall After deep pressure, turn the body back and forth 12 presses on one point Change to next point serratus anterior training The main action of the serratus anterior is to push the scapula forward. And rotate upwards Start with four-legged kneeling position Wrists below shoulders Hip joint above knee Best to induce serratus anterior muscle location Between the shoulder joint and the torso angle between 90 and 150 degrees Find a yoga block or a higher platform Focus on your shoulder blades make a pushing motion The password you give yourself can be Imagine your body is a little further off the ground But don’t appear to be hunching while pushing Then bring your body closer to the ground From 90 degrees to 120 degrees Practice to 150 degrees Just choose one angle at a time to train One up and one down count once It’s easy to shrug your shoulders when pushing You can deliberately externally rotate the humerus This will prevent you from shrugging your shoulders too much. Repeat 12 times, changing sides. Do 3 sets a day If you want to know more complete serratus anterior training You may consider referring to this video of winged scapula. Humeral external rotation and scapula posterior tilt training After training the segmented movements We increase the difficulty combine actions Kneeling on all fours, wrists under shoulders Hip joint above knee Elbow slightly bent Don't over-extend The phalange of the second finger is firmly against the floor external rotation of humerus armpit clamp At this time you will feel your armpits are tight is normal Push floor Let your body lift a little off the floor But don’t turn your thoracic spine into a curvature Just use your shoulder blades for the entire movement. Push to the bottom and let your knees lift off the floor Keep your knees slightly bent and open Use the force of pushing with your hands to push the hip joint back and upward Push up to the ceiling Try to keep your elbows at the same angle throughout the entire process Don't over-extend Push to the end, hold for 5 seconds and then come back slowly The strength of the scapula push must be maintained throughout the process. Repeat 8 times Do 3 sets a day Lower trapezius training Start lower trapezius training by standing on the wall One step away If you want to train the right side then put your hand first in the left pocket To train the left hand, start from the right pocket After preparing the posture Raise your hand diagonally upward During lifting Put your upper arm on one side Slowly make the movement of inserting into the body Point your thumb backwards Until your hand touches the wall Then try pushing the wall for 10 seconds The body does not move Pushing the wall While trying to insert the upper arm into the body You will feel a little soreness in the middle of your shoulder blades It’s just that the lower trapezius muscles are trained. Repeat 12 times Do 3 sets a day You may arch your waist when doing this action At this time, you need to expand the intra-abdominal pressure 360 degrees to stabilize the core If you don’t know what intra-abdominal pressure is, 360 degree expansion Core stabilizing movements You can refer to this video From today’s video we learn Maintain musculoskeletal health Achieving balance is key balance here It doesn't mean the balance of standing on one leg. It's a balance between forward and reverse actions When these two actions tend to balance represent The muscle strength that controls these movements will also be balanced The chance of joint problems will be greatly reduced Well, this is also the most basic principle of the musculoskeletal system. The end of the video I would like to highly recommend this body pain relief manual to you. Author's disclaimer at the top I'll tell you clearly The first person responsible for your health care It should and can only be you The content in the book is very similar to my thoughts They all emphasize that people nowadays are not active enough There is also limited understanding of the body leading to various health problems The healthiest way to take care of your shoulders Just in daily life Do more hand-raising and stretching movements Whether it’s walking up the stairs or when you wake up in the morning You can add some extra hands to go up Simple actions in the future In this way, in silence Keep your shoulder joint healthy That’s all the content of this video If these health concepts are helpful to you Can you help me share it with those who need it? This will be of great help to us all Then we'll see you in the next video. Goodbye.
