Shoulder blades, or scapulas, often don’t get the attention they deserve. You might recall your mom reminding you to stand up straight, lift your chest, raise your chin, and pull your shoulders back. That action of squeezing your shoulder blades together was your scapulas at work.
Since then, those muscles have likely been underutilized. Daily habits like sitting for long periods, leaning forward, and hunching your back weaken these muscles, leading to a loss of control over the movement of your shoulder blades.
When these muscles are weak or under-engaged, you’re at a higher risk of straining your shoulders. The scapula plays a crucial role in shoulder health, being integral to shoulder movement. It’s suspended between the upper arm and clavicle, without direct attachment to the torso, making its stability essential for preventing shoulder issues.
To maintain scapular health, it’s vital to ensure your shoulder blades move through their full range of motion. Several key muscles connect to the scapula, including the deltoid, trapezius, biceps, pectoralis minor, serratus, rhomboids, and the rotator cuff. For proper shoulder stability, you must engage your shoulders in diverse ways.
Standard pushing exercises like the bench press or push-up aren’t sufficient. Achieving proper scapular stability requires a variety of pulling, pushing, and rotational movements. Most importantly, you need to work on scapular retraction, protraction, elevation, and depression.
In addition to strength training, stretching the muscles around the joint is essential. To ensure proper mobility, aim for full flexion and extension of your shoulders.
If your shoulders are currently weak or difficult to control, acknowledge your limitations and make improving your shoulder strength and scapular control your top priority. Doing so will pave the way for a lifetime of healthy shoulders. While it requires consistent effort to maintain shoulder health, the benefits are well worth it.