How To Fix A Winged Scapula & Shoulder Blade (the actual root cause)

0:00 What Really Causes Scapular Winging?
1:58 Step 1 For Fixing Scapular Winging
2:14 Tests For Scapular Winging
4:09 Exercise #1
6:18 Exercise #2
8:20 Step 2 For Fixing Scapular Winging
9:20 Exercise #3

[jtrace]

I’m beyond blessed. I own a handheld device that I remotely connect to my tv to watch Conor educate me for free while I do my stretch routine after a long day at work. With a/c and a roof over my head. Thank you so much Conor. I owe you my life.

[rukeyser]

I want to send this to the PT who refused to work with me. I was 73 and had been living with something i had no name for until a surgeon explained and prescribed PT - for intense nerve pain on my left, and winged right scapula.

My shoulder had taken over a decade to get as bad as it was. I was acutely aware of it early on when i took yoga 4 times a week for 3 years - the "cow" strech pushed the front of my shoulder forward, etc. When i raised my straight arms above my head, my right arm practucally touch my ear - much less space between shoulder and neck.

You know all this, but all i knew was that I'd had what they told me was a frozen shoulder in my early - very active & fit & working with weights - 60s. Back then, a completely disinterested PT told me once i was pain free & regained range of motion, we were done.

For years i thought my shoulder was still "frozen" - i didnt even know my "shoulder bone" was called "scapula."

It was the seeing-stars nerve pain on the left that finally made me see a sports-med surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic. He's the one who wrote "winged scapula" on my PT referral.
By the time of my PT appt, i had looked it up and found pictures

The PT there didnt even look at how my shoulder moved, and when i showed him on-line pictures that looked exactly like me from the back - of one shoulder collapsed down, armpit squashed, he said "I dont see a problem."

He said if you can reach your right hand up behind you high enough to touch a bra, and reach over your head to get things on shelves without pain, that's it.
I said but what my affected shoulder does is completely different...
We never even discussed the nerve pain from neck to right shoulder.

He just sat there watching me cry, waiting for me to leave. When i asked, he suggested a female PT i could see if i insisted on trying to get help.

He was a very good PT at the Cleveland Clinic. I was not an athlete, slightly overweight, old white female.

It was 2 months before i could actually set foot in the bldg - i broke my first two appts with Nina.

who turned out to be a dry needle specialist. We worked on my neck and nerve pain. She was a genius, got me to pain free on the right, taught me to breathe, and we had begun doing scapula exercises when she left for new job.

Ive been on my own since then. Thanks to you and another teaching PT here on youtube, i both wish i could work with someone again AND know that not every PT does the supportive ribcage work ;->

It's a start. I'm 75 now, and know how unappealing my situation is to many PTs.
But Nina undid pain that 40 years of bad work posture had made chronic.

I dont have the capacity to learn anatomy at this point, and ADHD makes even remembering to do new things very difficult.

Im just glad for the chance, and if any other female geezer has read this far, CHANGE IS POSSIBLE - we are lucky to have phones full of possible allies ❤

[SuperAwesomeReasons]

This is really tough for me to do but after getting the hang of the stretches my RoM has increased by about a dozen degrees. Thank you so much! This is the first step to fixing a serious problem I've had for several years.

[gpbckte]

Excellent explanation! Thank you very much, you explain clearly and precisely.

[shane_rm]

For myself this issue is a consequence of a right BC pattern and Conors videos on that have been very helpful. I also found the neck video helped a lot.

[kng]

thank you for this, this is just what i needed. ive been seeing a PRI trainer and its been incredibly helpful but havent done much work on shoulder specific stuff. this will be a great addition to my current program

[praneetprakash]

Bro's spot on. Every test in this video.

[MovimientoConscienteConIsa]

Wow Conor, you really shared very useful and unique content. Thanks a lot 🙋🏽‍♀️

[annak]

I really appreciate these exercises, thank you.

[thrivefnl]

Excellent video
Love your valuable contributions
Thank you for spending the time and effort you do
🥳💪💗

[avanessaantipora]

Hi, Conor .The real problem is a violation of the act of breathing, when the diaphragm does not work or there is insufficient.When the middle scalene muscle begins to participate in the act of breathing and in the act of forced inspiration, then ischemia of the transverse artery of the neck occurs. It is the Transverse Neck Artery that supplies the upper third of the brachial plexus. This artery can also suffer due to the strap of a bag. The middle scalene muscle may become reflexively contracted due to any injury, scar or infection. When the brachial plexus does not receive enough blood, then problems occur along the long thoracic nerve (and not only); if there are problems along the long thoracic nerve, then a problem occurs in the Serratus anterior muscle and we have a wing. Conor is new to anatomy, so he explains the problem as “a discrepancy between the shape of the chest and the shape of the shoulder blade.” Breathing into the back will help, but only if the neck muscles are tense only as a result of the bad habit of breathing upward. But unfortunatly the are plenty of other reasons such as over use of hands, shitty bags, cold or hot temperatures, infections, individual anatomy, traumas, long tr. nerv stuck in fibroses between latissimus dorsi and Serratus anterior

[fhgbfpapillon]

Thank you. You mentioned important and hidden points

[jimmy]

These are life changing thank you so much 😊

[Shanker_Singh_]

Congratulations for 1.3 lakh Subscribers ❤❤❤❤❤❤. May God bless you 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[AntiqPlayzLIVE]

Who ever is struggling with this injury, Focus on Strengthen all 3 traps muscle and it will fix automatically. My Experience hope you got well as soon as possible😇

[therealsnaily]

Hello Conor! I've recently dug into your content and I'm liking it a lot! I was wondering if you could do a video on shoulder dislocation rehabilitization. Some years ago, I extended my arm in such manner that I felt my joint going off, and now I have the same probelm in both shoulders. Thank you in advance.

[sasazezelic]

Hi Conor! I just found your videos 2 days ago, and they are amazing. Great explanations with very helpful visual tools, easy to do exercises that make perfect sense after your explanations, and time stamped videos 👍
I have one question regarding this one. When you say that winged scapulas are due to ribcage, do you mean because of the way the ribs are curved or because the spine's natural curve is a little over exaggerated?

[aprilhassell]

I think the last 2 will help me.Ill get right on those. Those first 2 look like nice stretches.

[TheGmiah]

Absolutely awesome. Thanks! Just what I was after, need to fix my scapular winging and hopefully that should sort out the chest minor strain so I can bench press again.

[WarLockGaming-pcht]

For everyone who suffer from scapula winging do focus on strengthen lower trap and middle and do shoulder rotator strength exercises, hope it will fix . Thank you❤️