Scapular problems

Hey, my scapular doesnt seem to retract and depress when im doing pulling exercises to work my back such as dumbbell rows etc instead it does something similar to the guy in this youtube .



I feel the movement on the top of my shoulders instead of my back. I've read that i need to strengthen my lower trapezius but im also finding that difficult as i cant seem to strengthen them. Do you guys know any excercises i could do to resolve this problem?

All answers will be greatly appreciated!

thankyou

We would need to see your scapula movements with the shirt off on video to comment on what may or may not be going on. It could be something like a palsy to the Long thoracic nerve which causes a Winged scapula

Hi there, If you feel as though you have a similar movement pattern to the guy in the video then I will almost guarantee that you are lifting too much weight, not keeping your spine and pelvis in neutral alignment, extending the arms (elbow) way too far behind you body and possibly have shoulder instability issues.

If you lift too heavy, have poor control of your spine, midsection and shoulder stabilisers, extend the arms too far back in an attempt to get a full range of movement then as you progress through the repetitions you will have to compensate and in this case you will start to move into a more flexed position as the latissimus shortens during the row.

As you watch the video you can see the scapula getting pulled up and over as the guy tries to complete the set.

My advice pending any gross loss of scapula control caused by injury, illness (viral infections have a habit of causing palsy's around the scapula) or poor muscle patterning is to start out light and focus on some of the issues I have highlighted above.

Ideally you want to perform the row in a variety of positions...bent over, seated, standing and a hanging pull position but also combined with rotation e.g. lawn mower starts

Good Luck!

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Hi there,
From a postural perspective before you even start the movement, you need to engage your lats first. Then as you begine your movement, imagine you are trying to squeeze a five dollar note in between your shoulder blades. You should always remember not to fully extend (straighten your arms) too. I had problems with getting my shoulder stabilisers to work and had signs of winging on my injured shoulder. From a personal trainers perspective, I totally agree with the above post. I'd also add that before you start the exercise always remember to switch on your tummy first, then engage (like your lats are being drawn downwards) before starting the exercise. I'd start with a seated row and gradually move onto other variations.

cheers for the replys, it seems virtually impossible touse my lats and bring my shoulder blades down from the start, im thinking this may be because of weak external rotators as ive done too much pushing and no back excercises. ive noticed that my palms are facing behind me when i relax which means i have bad posture, is this because of dominant internal rotators.