hey everybody it's Doctor Jo and Mr. Bear, and today I'm going to show you my top
10 stretches and exercises for a winged scapula. so let's get started.
Bear, Bear look. oh it's you. so before I get started, one of my favorite
parts about my viewers is sometimes they like to send me things. so one of my
viewers, Jaap Lemstra, sent me some portraits of the puppies! look how cute
that is. Mr. bear, you are handsome, you are handsome. so let's get started
about the winged scapula. so a winged scapula, or scapula winging, is basically
when the scapula, or your shoulder blade, is not sitting on the rib cage like it's
supposed to. and it's usually due from some weakness or instability because
there's over 20 muscles that attach to that scapula. and the most common one
that's weak is the serratus anterior. and so what happens is usually our shoulder
blade sits nicely on the rib cage and rolls up and down, but the serratus
anterior comes in like this to keep it down like this. but when it's weak it
wings out, so it's no longer sitting nice on that rib cage, and then it ends up
being unstable. so really what you want to do is get all those muscles, the main
muscles around the scapula, stretched out and strengthened because remember
stretching something out doesn't mean making it weak, it means it makes it
function properly. so sometimes people think you shouldn't stretch, but you
really should stretch it because that helps get that muscle moving how it's
supposed to again. so the first one is going to be a rhomboid stretch. the
rhomboids are the ones that are inside of the spine, so it pulls those scapula
or the shoulder blades in towards the spine. so a great way to stretch that out
is to get into a long sit position. you don't have to if this is a hard position
to get in to, you can just sit in a chair or the edge of your bed and do it, but
this will get you a little bit better stretch. so then you're just going to
take your hands out in front of you, clasp them together, and then what you
want to do is you're gonna punch forward, tuck in your
chin, and kind of arch your back out behind you. so this is going to be punch,
tuck, and then kind of arch that back out. so since this is a stretch, you're going
to hold it for a full 30 seconds. really just kind of getting that stretch back
in there. and then after you do that 30 seconds take a little break, and do that
three times. so then the next one is going to be the
levator scapulae stretch, or levator scapulae, and so what that does is that
elevates the levator, elevates that shoulder blade. and a lot of times that
one has a lot to do with the shoulder blade not functioning properly. so you
really want to get a stretch out. you want to make sure those muscle fibers
are where they're supposed to be, and they're not knotted up causing some
instability or some imbalances in those muscles. so the way to stretch your
levator scapulae muscle is if I'm stretching my right side, I'm going to
take my right hand and I'm just gonna place it kind of up. and my hand's gonna
be back on my shoulder blade, and my elbow is gonna be up towards the ceiling.
now some people can't do this. this might be a little uncomfortable. you don't have
to do this, this just helps push that scapula down to give you a better
stretch. some people just raise their arm, which is fine. you can do that as well. I
just like to do it this way, but again if this is too uncomfortable for your
shoulder, then you don't have to do this. this is just gonna give you that extra
stretch. then you're gonna take your other hand and place it behind your head.
so it's not on the side but it's actually behind your head, and then
you're gonna pull your head down at an angle towards your knees. so this one's a
little bit tough for people sometimes, but you want to imagine you're taking
your nose down towards your opposite knee. so it's at an angle. it's not to the
side, it's not down in front of you, but it's at that angle. so bringing this up,
hand behind the head, pulling down, getting that stretch, and you should feel
it right through there. that levator goes all the way up into the neck at that
c-spine and then attaches down to that shoulder blade, so it has a lot to do. so
again, thirty seconds holding that stretch, do
it three times. I always recommend, especially in the neck area, to stretch
both sides. if you don't have time, that's okay, just do one side, but
I would definitely do both sides. so then the next one is going to be a lat
stretch. and yes the lats are attached to your scapula, it's just a little piece at
the bottom down at the apex, but it is attached, and it really makes a
difference in the function of that shoulder blade. so a pretty good stretch
for the lat is, kind of coming down into a prayer
stretch or a Child's Pose. this is one that I really like to get this stretch.
and you can kind of stretch in an angle if you really want to get one specific
side. so now that you're facing this way if I wanted to stretch my left side I'm
going to kind of get into that child's pose position. if this is too tough on
your knees, you can actually start up in this position and put your hands out
first, and come back. so you don't have to go all the way down to your bottom, but I
kind of like being on my knees. but again, if this is not comfortable for you don't
do it. you don't have to do it on the floor, you can do it on your bed or on a
couch, but when you come down, you're gonna come down slightly at an angle to
get that lat stretch side. so instead of just coming down into a regular child's
pose or prayer stretch, but you can, I'm gonna come over at an angle. and I should
be feeling that stretch all along through there. so kind of getting that
stretch. if you have something that you can grab on to like if you're on a table
or something, you can grab the edge of like a therapy table, and get that
stretch. so again 30 seconds. if you have time to do both, you want to do three on
each side. so then the next one is going to be a subscapularis stretch. and this
is part of your rotator cuff muscles. this is the one that sits underneath. so
again it's kind of there where that rib cage is, and so a pretty neat way to
stretch it is you can either use a cane. you can use a PVC pipe. you can use a
broomstick. you can even you do this against a doorway, but sometimes this one
works a little bit better because you can get an extra stretch in there. so
what you want to do is you want to take the stick, or the PVC pipe, and you're
going to kind of place your elbow under on this side. so I actually want to put
it behind my elbow where I don't see it. then I'm just going to grab kind of here
on the top of the pipe or something. so you see it's a little bit of an awkward
position, but you do want to get that little bit of bend in your
wrist too. and then all you're gonna do is turn it back this way. now again this
is going to be pretty uncomfortable, especially if you have some issues going
on, so it might be a little bit too much. some people kind of roll their hand and
do it ,and then pull back. so you can do that way as well if you don't have the
stick or the pipe. but it's that rotation going backwards to get that stretch. so
since this one might be a little bit uncomfortable, you can start with twenty
to thirty seconds, but you still want to get in that twenty to thirty second hold
for that stretch to get a full stretch doing three times. and again, this one
goes a little bit into the shoulder, so you don't have to do both sides, but I
would just to keep everything nice and balanced. so then the next one is going
to be pec stretches. really mainly for your PEC minor, and again the pecs they
come up this way, which is part of that shoulder blade, and they attach to the
tip of that shoulder blade there. so again all these muscles that you might
not think we're attached to the shoulder are really important with the shoulder,
and can contribute to that winged scapula.
so some easy ways to stretch the PEC if you don't have maybe like a doorway, you
can do a doorway and just put your hand on the edge of the doorway. so if my
doorway was right here I'd put my hand here and then just walk kind of through
the doorway to get that stretch. so you can do it that way, that's a nice stretch
so there's usually doorways everywhere. but if you don't have that option, you
can take your hands, clasp them behind you. and so this time you're gonna push
down and away, and then you're gonna just kind of push your chest up. pop your
chest out a little bit, so I'm pushing out and away, and then I'm pushing out
this way. so you can do this standing. you don't have to do it sitting. it might
even be a little bit easier to do standing because then you can push a
little bit more, but you should feel that stretch right in through here. so again
this is a full thirty second stretch. you really want to get it nice and stretched
out and make sure you're getting everything loose and flexible and moving
correctly in that shoulder. so either way for those PEC stretches,
in the doorway or behind your back. so then the next,
the last ones we're gonna go into some strengthening. and again I really feel
like the serratus anterior is the really the one you want to work because that's
usually the one that causes that winging, that coming away, that shoulder blade is
coming away from that rib cage. so a really easy, really efficient way to
start working the serratus anterior muscle is you're gonna kind of, first you
can start off at just a 90 degree with your hands out in front of you. if you're,
if you've never done this before, this one's a little bit tough because you
really have to keep your elbows locked out. sometimes people think because it's
a punch you're punching, but you're really moving the whole shoulder complex.
I like to do them together you don't have to, you can do one at a time, but I'm
not punching my hands I'm moving the whole shoulder complex forward. so
ideally to really get in that good scapular plane, instead of just doing the
90 which you can start off doing, you want to really bring your arms up to
about a hundred and twenty to a hundred and forty degree angle. so you're really
almost like you're punching up towards the corner in the ceiling. so I'm
bringing everything up, and I'm coming back down. and if you can see here, I'm
moving everything for that's a protraction motion, and that's what that
serratus anterior does. so just punch forward and slowly come back. if you've
never done this before you, might just want to start with five or ten a couple
sets, several times a day. you can work your way up to 20-25, and if that's easy,
then you can go on to the next ones. so then the next one is going to be kind of
what I call a modified push up plus. if you know what a push up plus is ,you're
actually in the push up position. sometimes again that's a little too hard
for people to start off with, so I like to do it kind of more in a Quadraped
push up Plus. and so basically what it is is once you get into that push-up
position, or that quadruped position, then you're plussing you're going up even
further. so I like to kind of start down in that prayer stretch or that Child's
Pose, that's the motion you want to kind of start off in here. and then you're
going to come up kind of almost that push
in a Quadraped, and then do a plus. almost like a cat, the cat stretch, but
you're doing it in a fluid motion. you're not stretching as you go. so then you're
coming back down going to that stretch, pushing up, push up, and then push up into
that plus, and then come back down. and so I'm kind of doing it in pieces so you
can see it, but you really want to do it in a fluid motion. that's the best way to
get it done. so again, if you haven't worked on these muscles before just
start off with five or ten, couple sets, and then do this a couple times a day. so
then you're gonna go into doing some resistive band work. and so this is
really good. I really like resistive bands because it gets both motions with
resistance. if you're just doing weights, you can, but then you're not getting that
kind of eccentric work coming back. so the next one is a bear hug. and so it's
kind of just like it sounds. you're gonna put the band around you, and again you
can do these in standing or sitting in a chair, you don't have to do them on the
floor. but you want to do just like what a bear hug sounds like. you're gonna come
out and around like you're going in to give somebody a hug, and then come back
out in. so it's not out and then straight back, you have to come back out or you're
gonna bump into the person you're hugging. so really come out, push forward,
and then come back in and squeeze those shoulder blades in. so out, push forward,
squeeze those shoulder blades in. so again start off with the lightest
resistance band depending on what brand it is it might be a different color,
usually with the thera-band brand it starts off with yellow and then red it's
the next one. I'd always start off with the lightest one even if it feels easy.
just wait and see how your body reacts the next day. and then so the last one is
the serratus punches with a resistive band. so again if you're just starting
off with a resistive band the first time, you can start off in that 90 degree
angle and just punch forward and come back. but ideally you want to work your
way up to an angle because that's what really gets that plane gets those
serratus muscles working. so you're punching,
really reaching almost like you're trying to grab the ceiling up there, or
the corner of the ceiling, and then come back down. but see my elbows stay almost
completely straight the whole time, or straight if you can keep them straight a
little bend is okay, but you're not doing the movement at the elbow, you're doing
the movement at the shoulder complex. so there you have it. Those were my
top ten stretches and exercises for a winged scapula. and yeah, you loved that
portrait don't you. so if you'd like to help support my channel, make sure and
click on the link up there, and don't forget to subscribe by clicking down
there. and remember be safe, have fun, and I hope you feel better soon.