Utility Shoulder

Reduced Shoulder Pain and Injury Prevention With New Push Up Variations

This article will show personal trainers, sports coaches and fitness enthusiasts about a common shoulder flaw and discuss creative exercise to improve the it using new push up variations. 

Common Shoulder Flaw – Scapular Winging

Scapular winging can be much more complicated than other common shoulder faults. Therefore it may be beyond the scope of even the most experienced trainer or coach to deal with. However, there are some cases in which a few simple, well-designed corrective exercises are all you need. 

In order for you to understand how to successfully deal with a winged scapula, you must first understand what it is your dealing with.

What is a “Winged Scapula?”

A winged scapula is a shoulder condition in which the scapula (shoulder blade) sticks out at the back, particularly when performing pushing exercises like the push up.

Common symptoms of a winged scapula 

- Pain and limited shoulder elevation. 

- Difficulty in lifting weights. 

- Pressure on the scapular from a chair when sitting. 

A winged scapula can be caused by 1 of 2 reasons;

1. Damage to the long thoracic nerve of the shoulder 

If the long thoracic nerve is damaged or bruised it can cause paralysis of the Serratus Anterior. Damage to the nerve can be caused by a contusion or blunt trauma of the shoulder, traction of the neck and can also sometimes follow a severe illness.

In this case, I would highly recommend consulting a skilled orthopedic professional before engaging in any exercise or sporting activities. 

2. General weakness in the Serratus Anterior muscle. 

In this case, the winging scapula can be improved with some specialized exercises designed to build strength in the weak Serratus Anterior muscle. 

There are a few corrective exercises discussed below

Important note: If you’re dealing with a winging scapula and are unsure of its causative source, I recommend playing it safe and get an evaluation from a skilled professional. 

As they say “it’s better to be safe than sorry”.

Corrective Exercises

There are three exercises we use to help correct and prevent scapular winging through strengthening the Serratus Anterior muscle. 

During all three movements, careful attention should be paid to scapulohumeral rhythm and symmetry. 

Also, effort should be made to maintain a stable pelvis and neck. 

Each of these exercises achieve essentially the same thing, however, it’s important to utilize a variety of methods in order to find what is best for the specific situation or individual

Hand Walks 

Arm shuffle 

Push up Plus 

<a href=" http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/everything_pushups&cr=">Click here</a> to view videos of the above exercises

Once you have completed a standard style push up, add the “plus motion” by protracting (move shoulder blades apart) your scapula as much as possible without changing your spinal alignment. This can be difficult for some people to dis-associate their scapula from the rest of their body. 

When performing the push up plus, we like the hands to be no wider than the shoulders, sometime I will even keep the hands together (thumbs touching). This allows for increased ROM and increased demand on the Serratus muscle.

Each of the above exercises should be performed for time frames of 20sec – 1 min.

Injury Prevention

In conclusion I would like to mention that even if you don’t have a flaw such as scapular winging. It important to add push up exercises like the ones shown above into your training as injury prevention. In addition, these movements can add variety and fun to almost any training program.

About the Author

The director of Performance University, Nick Tumminello is a highly sought after coach and educator in the field of human performance enhancement. He is the developer of the Core Bar™ and has authored numerous best selling DVD’s which can be purchased at www.PerformanceU.net .
Nick also serves as the Strength & Conditioning Coach for Team Ground Control MMA. Nick lives in Baltimore MD where he regularly trains his athletes.

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