Massage therapists on the Gold Coast who perform remedial massage, sports massage and deep tissue massage often have to handle this hard-to-access muscle called subscapularis.

The subscapularis muscle is quite a large triangular muscle which can be found in the subscapular fossa and the lesser tubercle of the humerus. It also stretches across to the front part of the shoulder joint.

The structure of this muscle is quite complex combining a series of fibers that arise from different parts in the area. The muscle is formed from the medial two thirds and from the lower two thirds of the axillary border groove of the scapula.

Some fibers may also come from the tendinous laminae which go through the muscle, being attached to the edges of the bone structure. Other fibers can come from the aponeurosis which helps separate the muscle itself from the teres major and parts of the triceps brachii.

The fibers of the subscapularis move laterally and after uniting into a tendon join the lesser tubercle of the humerus as well as part of the shoulder joint capsule. A rather large bursa separates the neck of the scapula from the subscapularis tendon. A bursa also separates it from the serratus anterior. The lower and upper subscapular nerves as well as parts of the posterior cord of the brachial plexus provide the subscapularis with sufficient innervation.

The subscapularis muscle is the most powerful muscle of the rotator cuff. It helps the head of the humerus perform a medial internal rotation. In case the arm is placed in a raised position, the subscapularis helps draw the humerus both forward and downward. One of the main roles the subscapularis muscle has is that it prevents the displacement of the head of the humerus offering significant protection to the entire shoulder joint.

The subscapularis muscle is also one of the common parts of the body to overwork or injure as there can be quite significant repercussions in terms of temporary flexibility and movement loss as well as pain. The best way to identify an overworked subscapularis muscle is losing the ability to lift your arm or a frozen shoulder. This is a common condition for certain athletes such as gymnasts or rock climbers. This problem is also quite common for people who overdo their chest workout.

Trigger points can also be present in the subscapularis muscle. They can either produce pain directly in the muscle causing your whole rotator cuff or even shoulder to tense up or they can affect other parts of the body as well.

One of the most often affected parts of the body where subscapularis related pain can be felt is the shoulder blade as well as the back of the shoulder, directly above the armpit. In some severe cases, pain can even radiate down your arm and go as far as your elbow or even wrists.

The reason why overworking your chest can lead to subscapularis pain is that every chest exercise requires an inward rotation of the shoulder. While these movements stress the chest muscles, the same movements stress the subscapularis as well and can lead to overworking or even pain. The subscapularis also has to do extra “work” and stabilize your shoulder for all your complex exercises, particularly for intensive workout sessions.

Another reason for a sore or outright painful subscapularis is bad posture. Bad posture often leads to a rounded back and a crouched chest. This in turn leads to a position where the shoulders are constantly rotated inwardly. As a consequence of this shoulder position, the subscapularis muscle is kept in a shortened position tightening up and causing pain and discomfort.

Another way you can harm your subscapularis muscle is through traumas. One common trauma is slipping on the stairs while keeping your hand on the rail. This sudden movement causes the subscapularis to make an abduction movement, the opposite of its main role which is to make an adduction movement.

The simultaneous stretching and contracting of the muscle can often enough be too much to handle, particularly if your fall is quite severe or if you are overweight. It rarely leads to a tear in the muscle but can make the subscapularis muscle feel overstressed and painful.

When the subscapularis muscle is tender or painful some movements may be impaired. For example, raising your arm at an angle higher than 45° can be quite hard. Another impaired movement is reaching to your other shoulder or extending your arms outwardly. The reason your moves are restricted is that the tension in the muscle is high and would be even higher if it were elongated.

If you want to feel your muscle or check it for any possible trigger points or even tears you can do so by feeling with one arm into the opposite armpit and rotating your shoulder inwardly.

At Pain Relief Massage Clinic on the Gold Coast, we’ve found that Subscapularis muscle problem mimics symptoms of true frozen shoulder. True frozen shoulder is diagnosed as adhesive capsulitis and you would not be able to raise your arm if you suffered from this. When our clinic receives clients who claim that they suffer from frozen shoulder, our remedial massage therapist must distinguish subscapularis shortening from adhesive capsulitis by simple assessments and tests.

Assessing active flexion and active rotation will tell us the degree of immobility. Passive flexion and rotation, and palpation of subscapularis will be also performed. It’s hard to treat this muscle and it’s almost inaccessible. Clients tend to resist by tightening their muscles due to tenderness or tickling sensation or both.

If the cause of what a client calls frozen shoulder is found to be just subscapularis muscle shortening, simply loosening the muscle with remedial massage therapy may be enough to get rid of the symptom altogether. As this muscle is one of the deep tissue muscles, skilled techniques of deep tissue massage or sports massage is required.

If you would like us to check your subscapularis muscle or frozen shoulder symptom by means of remedial massage on the Gold Coast, click and visit www.remedialmassage-goldcoast.com.au.

Pain Relief Massage Clinic
192 Brisbane Road, Arundel Gold Coast QLD 4214 Australia
Phone: (07) 5537 7886