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