Don’t ignore shaky shoulders, use these scapular stabilization exercises to build the solid shoulders of your dreams. Be sure to alternate the side the mace is on. This seems like very similar exercise due to the movement but this one is going to work your downward anti-rotation and anterior tilt position. Complete 2 to 3 sets of 15 to 20 repetitions. Love the exercises and your demo's. Warmup: Before doing the following exercises, warm up with 5 to 10 minutes of low impact activity, like walking or riding a stationary bicycle. You will be thankful you focused on these basics, as jumping right into weightlifting when you have scapular instability or pain can lead to an injury that will keep you out of the game for much longer than it would take to just get your scapular stability and mobility up to par in the first place. This will also give you some mobility in your pectoral region. It improves the range of motion of their arm, decreases pain in their arm and increases stability in the shoulder. Scapular Shoulder Stabilization Exercises. This strengthens the scapular muscles for improved posture and scapular positioning. Your scapular needs to be prepared for this. It is also one of the most mobile and versatile joints in the body. While the exercises we showed you above your great for scapular stabilization, even doing banded presses will be good for your stabilizer muscles do to the strict form and emphasis on eccentric contraction. However, this is not the only movement that you should think of for scapular stability. Scapula Wall Slides – facing the wall. Incorporate them in your warm-up. This makes sense – for most of us, this feels like a very stable and solid position. A house is only as sturdy as the foundation it rests upon. But then a few times, during key moments in a game, something strange happens. Thoracic extension posture and exercises; Alisha Fey and her research team 3 also noted the important roles played by the serratus anterior, the lower trapezius, and the middle trapezius in producing scapular upward rotation, posterior tilting, and external rotation of the scapula. Scapular instability can lead to poor movement patterns or deficits in muscle strength. It’s important to create this mind-muscle connection so you can keep everything tight during exercises that involve heavy loads or when you swing a bat, throw a punch, etc. The following scapular stability exercises are designed to improve the strength and control of the muscles of the shoulder blade (scapula). This exercise is a regression from the back to the wall … With your feet … Thus, it’s important to plan a fitness regimen correctly, as to give your body the rest it needs. In this move your scapulae are fixed on the bench, meaning they are unable to move naturally. It would be highly advisable to fix your posture problems as a whole, not just your scapular stability. If one side of your scapulae protrude noticeably as you perform this test, it’s likely you have scapular winging and an unstable shoulder support system [7]. Before we jump into the 11 scapular stabilization exercises, let us quickly go over the various types of scapular stabilization movements. Scapular Stabilization Home Exercises | Livestrong.com The scapula is your foundation of support for the shoulder joint and all the movements of your upper extremities. This program helps clients with shoulder injuries and pain. It’s a great tool for building joint stability, especially at the scapular level. Your shoulder requires both mobility and stability to support and stabilize your upper extremities. http://www.fitnesseducationseminars.com Dr. Evan Osar discusses scapular stabilization, exercise for shoulder pain, rotator cuff injuries and more. By nature, you will have to control your movement more during eccentric motions, and in general, you won’t be able to do jerky motion, which means your stabilizers are engaged at all times during an exercise. Watch Video: Click here to watch the Scap Step-up video. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of additional 6-week scapular stabilization training in patients with nonspecific neck pain (NNP). Return to starting position And chances are, you might be at risk for unstable shoulders based on more than one of these factors. You’ve always been pretty naturally flexible, but recently your shoulder has started to feel a little too flexible… it almost feels loose. In terms of mobility, the scapula joint works with three other joints to provide movement for the arm and shoulder. Simply stand in front of a wall, a few feet away. Definitely an important one for all-around shoulder health. Note: Scapular stabilization exercises are especially important for those who have scapular stability issues, those coming off a shoulder injury, and beginners to weightlifting in general. Watch Video: Click here to watch the Shoulder Rotation Robot. For example, take the shoulder flexion required to lift your arm overhead. Strengthens: Serratus Anterior, Teres Major, Infraspinatus, Rhomboid, Trapezius, Be sure to do this exercise on both sides evenly (switch the top and bottom hand). Corrective Exercise Training. The major muscles of the scapular stabilizer include: While those are the main muscles, the scapulothoracic joint (getting scientific) coordinates with 17 muscles in total. With uncoordinated movements at the scapula level, you can end up injuring your elbow, wrist or hand. It's amazing how well some of the exercises target the area; and how testing they are with little or no weight/ resistance. He now dedicates himself to helping active people eliminate pain and improve mobility. This is possibly the most important test for scapular dysfunction. Eric Wong (aka Coach E) is the founder of Precision Movement and has a degree in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo. Return to neutral and repeat with the other arm and leg. Place your palms on the wall at about waist height and press your hands flat. Click here to learn more about Eric. In fact, your scaps have 6 different movements they perform: To be effective, all of these movements have to be paired and correctly timed with the humerus of the upper arm – something called scapulohumeral rhythm. One of the best treatments for your shoulder is exercise. They will help you learn how to engage your scapular retractors correctly for pulling movements and how to activate your serrates anterior and rotator cuff muscles during pressing exercises. Unfortunately, it’s somewhat hard to tell if you are overtraining these muscles, as you use them for every upper body movement that involves your arms. Materials and methods: A total of 30 patients with NNP were randomly allocated to the study.