Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/720675
Let's do this kinesthetic exercise: Place one hand on the greater tubercle on top of your humerus. Now depress and protract your scapula (the actions of the pectoralis minor). Can you feel how the head of the humerus went along for the ride? Next, abduct the humerus to at least 90 degrees. Feels yucky, right? When the scapula is protracted WORKING WITH THE PECTORALIS MINOR Let's look at therapeutic interventions to restore the pectoralis minor to a happy, healthy resting length. These include: 1. Deep-tissue/trigger-point work. 2. Assisted pectoralis minor stretch. 3. Self-stretch. 4. Rolling the pectoralis minor with a foam roller. 5. Strength training scapula stabilizers. 1. Deep-Tissue/Trigger-Point Work Since the pectoralis minor is so exquisitely tender on most people, a side-lying position for your client is a good choice for beginning work on this pesky muscle. I suggest laying a warm towel over the ribs for both comfort and increasing blood flow to the area. 82 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k s e p t e m b e r / o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6 Humerus abducted and internally rotated and depressed, the glenohumeral joint internally rotates and the greater tubercle moves anteriorly. That yucky feeling is the greater tubercle colliding with the acromion process. Repeated fender benders between the greater tubercle and the acromion process can result in impingement syndrome, impaired rotator cuff function, and disturbances up the kinetic chain to the neck and down the kinetic chain to the elbows, wrists, and hands. One of my clients is a hairdresser who had chronic elbow and wrist pain for years. In addition to treating the plethora of trigger points in the flexors and extensors of her wrist and elbows, I treated her massively locked- short pectoralis minor, rotator cuff, and serratus anterior to restore scapular mobility and weight/energy transfer throughout her upper body. She's been pain-free for several months. If I had just concentrated on her elbows and wrists, the results would have been temporary. Supraspinatus Compression point