Massage Tutorial: Pain under the shoulder blade, myofascial release

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This is a complaint that I hear somewhat frequently, especially from office workers. They feel like there's a "knot" under the shoulder blade that acts up the longer they work, sometimes with searing pain. This can be exacerbated by manipulating loads out in front of the body (carrying, cleaning, stocking, filing).

After years of hunting down trigger points (I don't do this as much any more, but I'm glad to have that information under my belt), I've found that the most common site that refers to under the scapula is the lateral trapezius, especially the inferior aspect. Once you've warmed up the region, you should be able to find the relevant area just medial and inferior to the spine of the scapula. You'll be working on the edge of trapezius, right where it crosses over the medial border of the scapula. Dealing with this trigger point can be tricky, as you might have to "trap" the squirmy edge of the muscle using your fingers. You can go broad instead and not worry so much about trapping just the right point.

After dealing with the culprit, think globally. What other regions are yanking on this area, causing it to be ticked off? My first suspects are rotator cuff (if they all team up at the same time, they can "glue" the scapula out laterally), upper traps, and pecs. Iron these areas out and assign some nice chest stretches to keep this from reappearing.

Let me know what you think! I'm always looking for suggestions for videos, new ways of doing things, questions, and comments.

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