The infraspinatus and teres minor may not always get the spotlight, but they’re the unsung heroes of the rotator cuff!

These two little muscles do an amazing job keeping your shoulder stable. In fact, they’re the only external rotators of the shoulder joint, which means they work extra hard to balance out the stronger internal rotators like the pec major, lats, teres major, anterior deltoid, and subscapularis.

When working with these muscles, a great technique to try is called "goading." This just means using strokes from the outside (lateral) to the inside (medial) to help them shorten and become more contractible.

PS- Instead of creating more strength in the internal rotators encourage your clients to do some simple exercises which strengthen the posterior thoracic and scapular stabilizers

Subscap can be a tricky muscle to palpate and is an essential skill to have in treating shoulders. Watch the video and learn a fool-proof way of finding it!

Judy is a warm and generous 69 year old quilter who is coming to me for neck and shoulder issues. During the intake she told me she works with a personal trainer once a week. “That’s terrific!” I said. I’m always happy when people are committed to their self-care. I ASSUMED that her trainer had her doing scapulae stabilization exercises.

During our first session I discovered while trying to work with her subscap and serratus anterior that her scapula was so protracted and anteriorly tilted that I could barely palpate either muscle.

After our session I asked her some detailed questions about what exercises she was doing with her personal trainer. I showed her about five examples of scapulae stabilization exercises. “No, she doesn’t have me doing anything like that.” Judy said. “Ah, never assume!,” I thought to myself.

Below are some issues that arise when the scapulae are glued to the thorax:

• The scapulae are not able to glide on the thorax putting too much pressure on the shoulde
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