Hi and welcome to this week's Stretch-of-the-week, which is the infraspinatus and teres minor stretch. The infraspinatus and the teres minor attach the humerous to the scapular and assists in lateral rotation of the humerous. Thus this stretch is designed to improve internal rotation of the humerous. Positioning the stretcher in a prone position prevents them from rolling their shoulder forward, which would give a false impression on the total range of motion the person has through their shoulder.

To do this stretch the stretcher lies prone with their shoulder at 90 degrees also with their elbow at 90 degrees, their arm must be internally rotated as far as possible with their upper arm resting on the table. The partner places one hand over the stretcher's elbow and the other under their wrist. The stretcher begins to slowly attempt to externally rotate their humerous (try pushing their wrist towards the ground). The stretcher then relaxes and inhales deeply whilst their arm remains in the starting position. On the exhale the stretcher contracts the subscapularis to internally rotate their humerous and deepen the infraspinatus stretch.

Always remember that while stretching may be recommended to aid recovery out of injury, you should always be very careful when stretching through rehabilitation.  Your soft tissues are likely to be more vulnerable to re-injury if you stretch too much or too hard during this time.  Always check with your Health Care Professional who is guiding you through your recovery to make sure it is appropriate to start stretching, and please - ALWAYS FOLLOW THE RULES FOR SAFE STRETCHING (blog #50).

Information obtained from McAtee, R. & Charland, J. (1993) Facilitated Stretching
Image from www.myweightlifting.com

Hi, welcome to the subscapularis stretch, the PFN stretch chosen for this week. This stretch can be used to improve external rotation of the humerus without any pain. The stretcher lays down on their back and bends one arm up at right angles from their body as far as possible whilst still being comfortable. This will lengthen the subscapularis to its pain-free end of range. The partner places their hands on the stretches elbow and wrist for supoprt. The stretcher slowly attempts to rotate their humerus internally and therefore contract the subscapularis isometrically (push your wrist towards the ceiling). The stretcher should then relax and inhale deeply. On the exhale the stretcher should attempt to pusht their wrist towards the floor, deepening the stretch.

The subscapularis is located in the rotator cuff of the shoulder and assists in the medial rotation of the humerus. As you can see from the picture above that the subscapularis originates from the subscapularis fossa of the scapular and inserts into the less tubercle of the humerus.

Always remember that while stretching may be recommended to aid recovery out of injury, you should always be very careful when stretching through rehabilitation.  Your soft tissues are likely to be more vulnerable to re-injury if you stretch too much or too hard during this time.  Always check with your Health Care Professional who is guiding you through your recovery to make sure it is appropriate to start stretching, and please - ALWAYS FOLLOW THE RULES FOR SAFE STRETCHING (blog #50).

Information obtained from McAtee, R. & Charland, J. (1993) Facilitated Stretching
Images from www.teachpe.com