Overuse/underuse muscle patterning of pec minor

hi there,

I'm thought i'd try asking this question here and get some ideas on how to treat my injury. I have an unstable shoulder and have been doing rehab for the last 8 months. I have been working on stabilising the scapula and the rotator cuff muscles and have just started to move on to working the larger muscle groups like the Lats.

Whilst rehab is going well I have noticed that my pecs especially pec minor is very very tight and the lats don't seem to work that well. My question is if there is tightness in the pecs and weakness in the lats can this make someone more susceptible to partial dislocations/disclocations. And if so, in noting that I have an unstable shoulder how would you try to release the tight pecs? My physio is of the view that if he gives me stretches I may stretch the capsule too much.

Advice and help is much appreciated.

Angie

hi

how do you know pecs minor to short/tight ?

what instability uve got?

thanks Yaro

My sports doc has said that I have very tight pec minor muscles and if you palpate it, they are very tight.

Not sure what type of instability. No one can tell me. I think that it is due to poor muscle patterning which has resulted in instability.

Ms Queen
What is the evidence that you have an unstable shoulder?, have you had a dislocation event ?
Were you to reply that the 'evidence' , is pain in your shoulder , then my reply would be that this is not evidence of instability.
My interest is sparked by your description suggesting altered patterns of recruitment of pectoral and lat dorsi muscles, with your attention drawn to their apparent failure to perform.
By and large muscles don't misfire or have performance deficits unless they are involved in the following.
Inhibition associated with a disclocation sequelae.
Inhibition ( palsy )moderated by brain and/or peripheral neuropathy.
Inhibition associated with a temporary inflammatory event of facet joint(s ) and their adjacent nerve roots .
The third in my list is the most common and is eminently fixable , provided the therapist is clued into the prospect of spinal joint hypomobility and it's common thread of nerve irritation/altered recruitment/pain.
Were you to suffer at the effect not of a post dislocation event, but of lower cervical/upper thoracic spinal joint protective behaviour, then no amount of exercise would restore you to a pain free state. This seems likely given you have had 8 months of exercise in an attempt to restore normal recruitment and "stability ".
Protective responses in the upper spine are a common and potentially long term phenomenon, which may give rise to the experiences of pain, weakness and altered sensations in your upper limb and shoulder. If your therapist was not skilled in the differential diagnosis and treatments for the above mentioned scenario , you could suffer for far longer than necessary.
I would seek the opinion of a trained and skillfull Physiotherapist, other than the one currently treating you, who is willing to explore the prospect of referred events. Good luck .

hi Salsa

could you describe whole history of your condition, please.

thanks

Hi there,

Well it's difficult to explain. I have had mixed diagnoses from a shoulder impingement to biceps tendonitis but the one thing that people can agree on is that I have an unstable shoulder and possibly a SLAP tear. It's difficult because I injured my shoulder first abut 2 years ago and then 6 months after that I injured it again and so since then I have been trying to rehabilitate it since.

The reason why I asked the question about the over use of the pec muscles and under use of the lats is because I have noticed along with my sports doctor that pec major and minor are very very tight and my lats are rarely activated when I do certain movements. For example when I do push ups, I feel in more in the pecs that I do in the lats. I am just interested if anyone has seen a case where the pecs have been over used and the lats have been under used and has led a person to become more susceptible to injury.

I hope this helps.
Angie

hi
what exercises do you do to activate your lats?
thanks
i agree with Ginger aq cervical and thoracic spine should be assessed and presence of trigger points
thanks