Integrative Works

People complain of pain along the inside of their shoulder blade when reaching high above the head. They also get pain while reaching to the back seat of the car or adjusting clothing behind the back.  Often, they have usually adapted their movements to avoid taking that arm too far back. To avoid the pain, they will insert that arm first into a coat. They will avoid having to tuck in their shirt by putting the pants on over the shirt. They will fasten the bra in front, turn it around, and then carefully insert the painful arm under the strap first.

These same movements, which involve the infraspinatus muscle, may produce shoulder pain, as described in this post. Those shoulder pain patterns are more likely to bother people when sleeping on the shoulder than reaching overhead.

The tests to see if this muscle is the problem involve those movements. The first one involves placing the forearm across the low back. The second one involves reaching around the back of your head to place your palm on your opposite ear. Restriction and pain in either of those activities indicate a problem. A few other muscles, especially the coracobrachialis, may create pain and restriction in these movements. In that case, the pain pattern will be different.

You can activate this pain pattern in several ways.

Strain

This trigger point usually involves a severe or sudden jerk of the shoulder. A dog that jerks on the leash is a common irritant, especially when it jerks the arm across the body. In other words, it would be more likely if the dog in this photo was running toward the grass, twisting her shoulder across her chest. People may also overstretch this muscle when they fall forward, landing with the arm in front of them.

Falling back while holding onto a bar also strains this muscle. Again, when the arm crosses the body, it is more likely to activate this trigger point.

Sleeping position

Another common cause is that you sleep on that shoulder at night. Although, that is usually associated with this pattern in the shoulder joint.

Blunt Trauma

A blow to the back of the shoulder can strain the joint, overstretch the tendon and activate this trigger point as well. Research says this might happen when someone is caught off guard while standing on a moving bus or train. One case fell and landed on his shoulder.

Once its activated, activities that reach behind the body intensify the condition. Many clients have complained about reaching to the back seat to deal with a child or get a bag out of the floorboard. Reaching back to the end table by the bed, fastening a bra, or tucking in a shirt are also common irritants.

Musculoskeletal Anatomy

About these Illustrations…

This post on anatomy contains standard information about the origin, insertion, function, and innervation of muscles. It also includes information on functional considerations and anomalies.

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Anatomy posts have a grid of all related posts. This includes posts on pain patterns, self-care, therapy notes, NMT protocols, cranial techniques, and cases.