Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › Shoulder › Scapula winging&Weird shoulder problems

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    • 01/28/2015 at 2:54 pm #71254
      AvatarRyan Neuwirt
      Participant
      Hello to everyone on this community. I will try to be short and precise.

      1. In the summer from past year probably because strength training with inadequate focus on structural balance i developed scapula snapping syndrome (only when put my hand on hip and move my shoulder back i feel this painful snapping).

      2. Also have a problem with winging scapula, especially when i retract and depress it. I was doing push ups plus a lot and feel much improvement in terms of Range of motion but winging is still there.

      3. Also since summer when i depress scapula i felt tingling in my left upper/midd shoulder??

      Some pictures:
      Standing scapula positon:
      Scapula retracion 
      Retraction with depression (tingling in left shoulder)
      In this pose i also feel discofort/restriction in my left shoulder (red square)
      Thanks for any help in advance guys, i will respond for any necessary information. 🙂
    • 01/28/2015 at 3:31 pm #75723
      AvatarNathan Richer
      Participant

      i think you need to watch this:

      you may want to check out some of his videos in his YT channel for the shoulder ones to help train yourself back: 
      crossover symmetry is also good, but you have to watch out – they also want you to squeeze the shoulder blades together at the end of each movement which i think is bad according to the new ways of thinking. but you can do the exercises and just stop short of squeezing the shoulder blades together.
      getting with a good coach who can cue proper movement of typical exercises would also be a good idea.
      scapula problems can also be related to improper posture esp at the t-spine. so finding someone to help with posture would be good. a lot of the pics you show could indicate you are curving the t-spine towards the front. you will need to work on putting the proper curve there – usually it is the result of pushing your chest out (like a stereotypical military man!)
    • 01/29/2015 at 7:49 am #75724
      AvatarRyan Neuwirt
      Participant
      Thank you for answer. If you thought by the t-spine rounding back (without curve) than you are probably right.
      I discover that i need to improve my upper to middle back mobility, when i sit on chair i habitually sit with round back.
      But lack of back mobility also come with chest suck in and my shoulder round a little bit forward because of weak rear delts and really strong front of it.

      But what really interested my is my scapula good positioned or not? And how to discover what muscle is dysfunctional so my scapula wing out?
    • 01/29/2015 at 10:47 am #75725
      AvatarNathan Richer
      Participant

      regarding rounding of spine, i actually meant that it was rounding in the other direction, meaning you are pushing your chest out towards the front making the normal curve disappear.  i cannot tell in the pics whether this is happening, but it is common to see this problem also in causing winged scapula.

      fixing this by yourself is very hard. it is nearly impossible to see behind you when you are doing movements. i have tried mirrors and videocameras on myself and they are ok but still hard.  and it gets harder still if you have your t-spine curved in the wrong direction when your torso is upright. 
      generally the scapula should move along the scapular “plane” which is not a flat plane but the plane created by the curve of your ribcage. it is possible to feel that and some of the exercises in that youtube channel can help with that. but you may need to find a professional to help you with this. i took a Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization class which dealt with this – you may be able to find someone near you here: http://www.rehabps.com. 
      as for which muscle is dysfunctional – i would encourage you not to think of which muscle is dysfunctional because the focus is how to encourage the proper motor control of all the muscles of the scapula to fire properly and in the right sequence.  if you put the scapula in the right place and have someone teach how it should move, then everything will work correctly. trying to strengthen this or that muscle is not a good way to approach this problem.
    • 01/31/2015 at 3:05 pm #75735
      AvatarKatie Hemphill
      Participant

      Hey Realmadrid5 (if that IS your real name),

      The reason you are feeling tingling when you depress is most likely because you are compressing the brachial plexus (the network of nerves that run through your neck/shoulder area that supply your upper limbs with sweet, sweet nervous innervation). Nerves don’t like to be compressed.
      Excessive depression of the shoulder does this. In the pictures you posted for depression your shoulders are WAY down south! It’s important to have the capacity to depress your scapulae, but trying to cue them down and back all the time is a bit problematic.
      This is sort of like how the “knees out” cue doesn’t mean shove your knees way out over your feet, but rather that your knees shouldn’t buckle inwards. Similarly, you shouldn’t suck your shoulders down to your feet, but they shouldn’t live up by your ears either.
    • 01/31/2015 at 3:08 pm #75736
      AvatarKatie Hemphill
      Participant

      I would also suggest you troll through the mwod or Supple Leopard to determine whether you’re missing any key ranges of motion (other than the thoracic spine mobility you mentioned) in the upper body. I would pay partciular interest to shoulder internal and external rotation.

      I have a feeling you could probably stand to open up through the pecs a bit. Get a lacrosse ball or whatever up in there and release some tension in front and you might find your shoulders sit a little prettier.
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