Arlington Athletics

Dr. David Middaugh of El Paso Manual Physical Therapy Clinic explains 16 points involving shoulder and scapular rotation mechanics that help an individual understand how to prevent damage and pain in the shoulder joint (SOURCE: YouTube@@epmanualphysicaltherapy). Dr. David Middaugh, PT, DPT provides sixteen points to consider to help the healthy mechanics of the shoulder joint and scapular rotation. The two points of many important points that stand out are ... 1) the importance of upper trapezius muscle strength for the power to upwardly rotate the scapula (shoulder blade) to lift the shoulder joint to contribute to the full 180-degree motion of lifting the arm, and  2) the importance of the consideration of rhomboid muscles, which can possibly over-dominate the balance equation of scapular mechanics and inhibit the lift of the shoulder joint. Dr. David Middaugh explains that the involvement of 180 degrees of typical range of motion of the arm from side to overhead is provided by...

Working to avoid excessive motion (off-axis) in the shoulder joint by activating the infraspinatus and teres minor muscle to keep an instant center in the joint. Efforts to develop "boulder shoulders" can damage the rotator cuff -- especially the supraspinatus muscle. The rotator cuff muscles help keep the humerus (upper arm bone) in the the proper place in the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint).  Actions controlling the humerus include abduction (raising the arm), adduction (lowering the arm, think lat pulldown), horizontal adduction (think bench press, chest pulley flys), extension (think close-grip lat pulldown or straight arm triceps pressdown), flexion (think front raise), horizontal abduction (think posterior deltoid machine),  external rotation (see video), and internal rotation (deduce opposite of external rotation in video). There are three groups of muscles that provide healthy, pain free, and functional motion of the arms and shoulder when the force tensio...