Do you have pain in between your shoulder blades? Do you sit at a computer, drive a car, or work with your arms in front of your for several hours a day? Then you might have a bound up Subscapularis.

What is a Subscapularis? It is a muscle between your scapula (shoulder blade) and your ribs. It is partially responsible for rotating your arm inward.

This is how the Subscapularis causes problems:

If you are rolled inward at the chest and shoulders this can cause a tightening of the chest muscles in the front of the upper body and the Subscapularis. When this happens your upper back and the back of your shoulders become overstretched. Those upper back muscles start to make themselves rigid because the are trying to create stability. This can then cause knots and pain between your shoulder blades, ouch.

When consulting with my Seattle massage clients regarding their shoulder pain, I will often give them stretches for homework. Some of the stretches might incorporate stretching their chest, sides or arms to open up the front of their bodies. This helps to relieve the pulling inward of the chest and shoulders to give those upper back muscles some relief. Coupled with massage this is often helpful for relieving pain between the shoulder blades. I could give them a stretch for the Subscapularis. Unfortunately, due to anatomical structures getting in the way, I have yet to find a stretch for the Subscapularis that is effective. The best way I know to release this tricky little muscle is with massage.

So if you are one of the many with pain between your shoulder blades, ask your therapist if they know a good release for the Subscapularis. Maybe they are already taking care of this. If so, you could be on your way to finally being rid of that nagging pain.

Thank you for reading, PJ Harris, LMP