Importance of scapular health

Scapula health is important to the longevity and resilience of an athlete,  especially in overhead athletes. Almost every sport requires the athlete to use their  arms but without healthy scapulae the chances of injury increase. Overhead athletes  who lack scapular control may be at an increased risk of tearing their ulnar cruciate  ligament (UCL), better known as Tommy John. They may also experience pain in both  their glenohumeral joint and elbow joint due to increased demand on the muscles  surrounding both areas. Learning to control the scapulae will lead to improvements on  the field and a decrease in injuries. To first understand how healthy scapulae can  improve the ability of an athlete, one must first understand how the scapulae work. 

There are six ways that the scapulae (shoulder blades) move. The act of  retraction occurs by squeezing the shoulder blades together towards the spine.  Retraction is controlled by the rhomboid major/minor muscles, the trapezius, and the  latissimus dorsi. Protraction is the opposite of retraction, where the shoulder blades  move away from the spine. This movement is controlled by the pectoralis major/minor  and serratus anterior. Elevation is raising the shoulder blades as if you were to shrug  your shoulders. This motion is controlled by the levator scapulae and the upper trapezius. Depressing the scapula is bringing the shoulder blades down which is  controlled by the latissimus dorsi, serratus anterior, pectorals major/minor muscles,  and the trapezius, but is also aided by gravity naturally depressing the scapulae. The  last two motions are upward rotation controlled by the trapezius and serratus anterior  and downward rotation controlled by the rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, and pectoralis  muscles with the help of gravity. 
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Before an athlete can improve upon their strength in the weight room, they must  first learn to control these specific functions of the scapula. A great way to learn  scapular control is to perform the six motions with added resistance. Resistance  bands, body weight exercises, and light weights are great tools to teach the proper  mechanics of shoulder blades. Exercises like scapula pushups teach protraction and  retraction, chin-ups place the scapulae through all six motions and weighted carries  can help improve the stabilization of the shoulder blades. Performing a proper warmup  can also help improve the function of the scapulae making pushing and pulling  exercises feel more natural and limiting the over-activation muscles. Once an athlete  has mastered scapular control they will start to see an improvement in the weight room  and a carryover to their sport. Eventually, pain will subside and movements will feel  more fluid. 

- Coach Matt Smith