My favorite: The Deltoid

Today i have decided to post about my one of my most favorite muscle. This muscle has been my favorite ever since i took my first anatomy class in high school, and it has stuck with me all these years. That muscle is the deltoid. The deltoid muscle covers the upper part of the shoulder joint and attaches on to the middle of the upper arm bone or the humerus. It's a big muscle and does many functions, so many that it is actually classified into 3 sections, anterior, middle, and posterior.

The delts are the heavy lifter of the shoulder, it is responsible for most of the abduction of the shoulder and helps to prevent dislocation of the shoulder when we carry heavy loads. Like when i carry my groceries to the house from the car in only one trip, and also helps hold those grocery bags away from the body enough so they don't hit my thighs when i walk.

The anterior fibers of the delts are responsible for moving the arm upwards and to the front of the body, also, they medially rotate the arm.

The middle fibers abduct the arm, meaning they move the arm out to the side, like you are forming an T with your body.

And lastly, the posterior fibers extend the shoulder, moving the arm down and behind you and also, outward rotation of the arm.

Without the deltoid muscles our shoulders would be in big trouble, that's why it's so important to keep your delts functioning correctly in conjunction with the smaller muscles of the shoulder.

Pec Minor

This next anatomy post i'm going to tackle is a big one. It's a muscle that i see causing shoulder, back, and neck problems on a daily basis. It's a tiny muscle but this little guy knows how to throw its weight around.

I'm going to talk about pectoralis minor. Pec minor is a thin, flat muscle found under the pectoralis major. It attaches to ribs 3, 4 and 5 on the front of both sides of the rib cage and goes up to the coracoid process of the scapula.

Pec minor is responsible and helpful in movement and stabilization of the scapula and shoulder. It's a downward rotator of the scapula as well as an internal rotator of the humerus.

A lot of times shoulders that are slumped forward, or what we hear called "poor posture" are caused by a shortened and overworking pec minors.
When i hear people say "i just have bad posture, i always have." I cringe a little. There is a reason for your "bad posture" and sometime pec minor may be a culprit!

Let's release those nastly little pec minors and strengthen some other opposing muscles that aren't working correctly, and allow your body to naturally relax back to where it should be!

SCM

So last week i got a suggestion on what muscle i should research next. This muscle has been a little bit of a challenge for me so i have been putting it off. Today I have decided to suck it up a tackle the thing. It's the Sternocleidomastoid muscle. Say that 10 times fast, or just make it easier on yourself and call it the SCM. The SCM, i have found, both being used too much, as well as not pulling it's weight and both ways causes a great amount of pain in the neck, head, and shoulders.

The SCM are front neck muscles. They are the big muscles that pop out when you turn your head to the opposite side. The SCM attaches on the clavicle and the sternum and then goes up and attaches on the mastoid process of the skull right behind the ear. If you watch an ab work out video, these muscles are often sticking out VERY noticeably. That tells me that the neck and abdominals are very closely related and sometimes if you do too much ab work when your abs are not strong enough, you will use your neck to compensate.

The SCM's flex the neck as well as rotates the head to the opposite side. The SCM is a breathing helper as well.

I have found these very important muscles causing so much trouble and even headaches at times! Keep this muscle in mind if you are having pain because it's very possible that it could be a contributor! Have a wonderful, sunny weekend folks!

Scalenes

I feel like the universes threw this muscle into my lap this week. In my work i will have weeks where all of my clients have problems with the same area. this week for me it's the scalene muscles. I have had some pretty good results this week, but i also realized that i don't know theses muscles as well as i would like to. The scalenes are relatively small muscles, and they aren't common place where people think their pain is coming from, however they are sneaky and can cause numerous problems.

There are three pairs of these muscles and they are along the sides of the neck. these muscles attach on the vertebrae from numbers 2 to 7 and come down and attach onto the first and second ribs.

The function of these muscles are to bend the neck to the side, like you were bringing your eye brow to the shoulder on the same side. They also assist with breathing and elevating the first and second ribs.

In chest breathers, the scalenes can become over working and tight because they are doing too much work. I find that people who are under a lot of stress will breathe primarily into their chest and it in turn causes pain in the neck.

Another important thing about the scalene muscles is they are surrounded and intertwined with many nerves and arteries. The most noteworthy is the brachial plexus which passes through the middle and anterior scalenes. If the scalenes become tight and put extra pressure onto the brachial plexus, numbness, tingling, pain, and loss of strength can result in the arms and hands.

If you are having trouble with your neck, shoulders, arms or hands, your scalenes may be playing a role in the dysfunction!

Stay healthy and enjoy the sunshine today!

The Unstretchables

The Unstetchables

This is a pretty cool article on muscles that are literally impossible to stretch. It seems to me like my industry is OBSESSED with stretching. I get clients on a daily basis whos chiro, PT, MD, Personal trainer, or other MT have told them to stretch their IT band. THIS kills me!!! I respectfully tell them my personal experience and try not to bash their other health care provider. But guys- The IT band CANNOT be stretched! Even if it could, the connective tissue that the IT band is made of is so tough there is no way to lengthen that.

As far as foam rolling, you are probably just punishing the musculature underneath the actual IT band. Find out WHY your muscles are tight. They are just trying to keep you upright and moving.

Gait Cycle

Here's a gait video i found helpful. I really liked how this guy explains it.

Crawling Like a Boss

I'm going to start implementing crawling into my daily routine. I would like to eventually learn how to include crawling and gait patterns into my sessions with clients. Starting with the basics. :)
Have a great day!