This series is designed to give you a basic introduction to how various parts of your body move. Knowing these basics will help you become aware of your movements and move better. Part I of this series will introduce you to your scapulae, commonly known as shoulder blades. The singular…
This series is designed to give you a basic introduction to how various parts of your body move. Knowing these basics will help you become aware of your movements and move better.
Part I of this series will introduce you to your scapulae, commonly known as shoulder blades. The singular of scapulae is scapula.
Your scapulae are two triangular bones that rest on your upper back on either side of the thoracic spine. Each scapula slides on top of the ribcage. Together the scapulae and the ribcage create a sliding joint.
Note: Don't confuse "shoulder blade" movement with "shoulder joint" movement. The head of the arm bone moves in a shallow ball-and-socket joint. Its technical name is the glenohumeral joint. But it is commonly called the "shoulder joint." This can be confusing to newcomers to the language of human body biomechanics. We will cover the movements of the arm bone in another part of this series.
Each scapula slides on top of the rib cage in 6 different directions, in 3 pairs.
You can try these pairs of movements for yourself:
- protraction - round your shoulders forward
- retraction - pinch the shoulder blades toward each other
- elevation - glide the shoulder blades upward toward the ears
- depression - glide the shoulder blades downward toward the hips
- upward rotation - lift the arms overhead (stop this movement if you meet tension or pain or have to compensate with your lower back)
- downward rotation - return the arms down to the sides of your body