What is the Serratus Anterior?
The Serratus anterior is largely hidden from view underneath the shoulder blade, it is remarkably easy for both patients and clinicians to forget about this vital muscle. It originates from the underside of the shoulder blade near the inner edge and has a broad attachment to the ribs. It gets its name from the way that it is serrated, like a knife blade, as it attaches into the ribs, and is anterior (forward to) th
e shoulder blade. Even though the Serratus anterior is not visible on most people’s bodies, it is normally a very strong and fairly large muscle.
The serratus anterior has historically been though of as performing two primary functions. The first is to hold inner edge of the shoulder blade against the ribs, preventing ‘winging’ of the shoulder blade, as shown here.
How would I know if I have a weak or fatigued Serratus Anterior?
Shoulder pain will certainly be apparent and should be assessed by a sports therapist. The Serratus anterior weakness and/or inhibition is extremely common to a range of painful shoulder conditions. The Serratus anterior should also be examined for most patients with neck pain, particularly those who find that their pain is brought on by use of their arms – i.e. experiencing neck pain with lifting, carrying, cleaning, etc.
A weak Serratus Anterior can lead to poor scapulo-humeral rhythm and shoulder impingement. Below shows a great way to stabilize/strengthen the entire shoulder girdle including but not limited to the rotator cuff muscles and the Serratus anterior.
“Serratus Swiss Ball Wall Push”
CAUTION:
- Make sure to AVOID your scapular internally rotating or giving the appearance it is sticking out; this may occur if this exercise exceeds your capacity, march your feet closer if this occurs.
- Going up on your toes will increase the load you must push in the Swiss ball with you supporting arm.
- You can maintain this position here for time, or to add a dynamic component, begin performing circles with the swiss ball clockwise and counter clockwise.
- I typically like to perform this for 10 repetitions each direction per arm for 3 sets
- If you want an additional challenge bend your elbow just a little bit.
CHALLENGE:
- To make this exercise even MORE functional, what you can do is rotate your body 30 degrees away from your stabilizing arm (for this video I would rotate to the left).
- This will put your shoulder in the SCAPTION plane allowing for more optimal muscle length of the shoulder stabilizers thus increasing their activity.
