Rotator What???

People workout for a variety of reasons: weight loss, feeling good and being fit among many. But let’s face it, vanity is also a popular reason people choose to begin, and continue to work out. We all like to work out the muscles that help us look good.

Depending on our gender, our focus many be different. Men often train the pecs, biceps and shoulders while women often prefer to train the butt muscles like the glutes and legs.

But what about the muscles that are essential for us to perform daily activities, stabilize our shoulders, hips and spine and assist in sports? These are the muscles that also HELP those big muscles like the pecs, glutes and legs! I’m not saying you shouldn’t be working these ‘common’ muscle groups. However, there are some smaller muscle groups that are arguably more important.

Most people don’t even know about these muscles until they suddenly have an injury. I can assure you that if you haven’t experienced this, these muscles will not allow you to ignore them for too much longer.
There are many little stabilizer muscles that need to be kept strong in the body, many that I have found to be weak on most people. The rotator cuff group, the scapular muscles, the gluteus medius, transversus abdominis and the multifidi muscles.

The rotator cuff consists of four muscles that are located in the back of the shoulder and are crucial at maintaining shoulder stability. Many people suffer from a weak rotator cuff which can lead to shoulder weakness and poor posture. Severe weakness of the rotator cuff can lead to a rotator cuff tear. This is actually a tear of the rotator cuff tendon. The rotator cuff muscles can be strengthened to prevent injury to the rotator cuff.

The scapular musculature is often overlooked but plays a pivotal role in shoulder function, shoulder injuries and shoulder rehabilitation. The scapula (shoulder blade) not only articulates with the upper arm and collarbone, it is also the attachment site for many muscles in the shoulder itself, as well as the back, the chest, the arm, and even the neck. Therefore it is easy to comprehend how a weakness in this area could affect many others in the body.

I know what you’re thinking – you barely have time to do the workouts you are currently doing! Why should you add to the overwhelming list of exercises? When you work these muscles, you are protecting the larger muscles and helping them maintain their function. By not working these muscles you are definitely more at risk for injury!

I will blog more next week about the other ‘ignored’ muscles that are key to injury prevention.