Shoulder Series Part 5 – Muscle Release: Posterior Cuff⠀

Another group of muscles that tends to get TIGHT in people with shoulder dysfunction is the POSTERIOR ROTATOR CUFF, which includes infraspinatus and teres minor. These muscles develop substantial tightness, usually because they are too weak to do their job properly. This decrease in muscle flexibility leads to a phenomenon know as GIRD (glenohumeral internal rotation deficit). Ultimately this muscle group needs to be strengthened, however before that can happen we need to release the tightness to restore normal shoulder mobility.

Here we show you a POSTERIOR CUFF RELEASE you can do yourself !

How it’s done:

Grab a small ball (tennis, lacrosse, spikey, massage etc.) > place the ball at the back of the shoulder (just under the long bony ridge of the shoulder blade) > lean onto a solid wall > rest on a tight spot for 30seconds-2minutes⠀

Progressions:

1. moving arm into internal rotation (use other hand to push further) > 2. moving into horizontal flexion > 3. moving into internal rotation from a position of horizontal flexion (use other hand to push further)

⠀ Spend 3-5 minutes working through the tightness each day. ⠀ ⠀ Try this exercise and then test your internal rotation to see the improvement‼️ ⠀ ⠀ Stay tuned for ‘Part 6’ of the shoulder series coming soon!