The trapezius muscle is very large and forms a diamond in your back. It is made of three parts, the upper trapezius, the middle trapezius, and the lower trapezius. The group begins at the base of your skull, extends down and out towards each shoulder, and then comes together at the thoracic spine (middle of your back). The lower trap is made to pull your shoulder blades together and down, while the upper is made to pull your shoulder blades together and up. Many of us are familiar with the upper trap because we can "see" it in the mirror and tend to carry a lot of stress in this area. Often times, it feels very tight and causes pain in your upper back.
The upper trap and the lower trap work simultaneously, keeping your shoulder blades back and supporting your posture. I always say, "The upper trap is very nice and very helpful. When the lower trap is weak the upper trap lends a helping hand". Unfortunately, the upper trap is not positioned to effectively help the lower trap. When these muscles become overactive the result is changes in normal mechanics of the neck and shoulders.
The following test will give you an idea of the strength of your lower traps. Lay on your belly with elbows straight and arms overhead like you are making a touchdown signal. Next, try to lift your arms straight up off the ground. If you can do this, then take the exercise one step forward and ask somebody to gently push down on your arms and see if you can hold up any resistance. You should be able to hold your arms up against some mild to moderate resistance.
The lower trap is often a large focus in our physical therapy practice. We work to not only strengthen the muscle, but also teach it how to function properly when you sit, stand, move your arm. When this muscle is trained to work properly during activities, we often see a significant improvement in neck pain as well as shoulder pain.
If you have neck pain or shoulder pain it is quite possible your lower traps are weak and could be contributing to your symptoms. Consider a PT evaluation and follow-up treatment to assist with identifying causative factors of your dysfunction and learning the proper way to strengthen this region!
Pictures of Trapezius Muscle: <http://www.myweightlifting.com/image-files/trapezius.jpg>
* Petersen SM, Wyatt SN. Lower Trapezius Muscle Strength in Individuals with Unilateral Neck pain. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy. 41(4): 260-265.
Created by:
Alison Synakowski, PT, DPT, OCS, ATC, CSCS
Facility Manager
Certified Sportsmetrics Instructor
Sports Physical Therapy of NY, PC
1 West Ave, Suite 150
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
(518)-583-7537 x2805
(518)-583-7606 (fax)
www.sptny.com
www.sportsmetrics.org
Shane Connors, PT, MSPT, DPT Shane is a graduate of Ithaca College where he received his masters and doctorate degrees in physical therapy. Shane grew up in Bethlehem, NY where he was a member of the basketball, baseball and cross-country teams for the eagles. He enjoys working at SportsPT due to wide variety of equipment and interventions that he gets to use everyday and how his job improves his patients' quality of life for the long run.
Alison Synakowski, PT, DPT, OCS, ATC, CSCS Alison Synakowski is a Certified Orthopaedic Specialist in Physical Therapy and the Facility Manager at Sports Physical Therapy. She enjoys seeing all types of conditions, not specific to athletes, and creates a specific and unique program to suit the needs of each individual patient. She is a current member of the American Physical Therapy Association and truly focused on improving awareness of the many benefits of PT.
Jennifer Szymanski, PT, DPT, ATC Jenniferjoined the Sports PT team in 2008 and excels in this out-patient orthopedic setting. Prior to this, she worked and found enjoyment in the acute in-patient setting for 3 years. She graduated from Mercyhurst College with a Bachelors in Sports Medicine and became a Certified Athletic Trainer. While attending Gannon University to obtain her Masters and Doctoral Degrees in Physical Therapy, she was the athletic trainer for the University's Women's Volleyball and Lacrosse teams.
Zoe Devito, MSPT Zoe J. DeVito graduated with an undergraduate in Clinical Exercise Physiology and Masters in Physical Therapy from Boston University in 1999. She has worked for this company since graduating and started the Saratoga facility of Sports PT in late 2000. Her philosophy includes a "hands on" approach to PT with special interest in spine, post surgical, postural and soft tissue dysfunctions. At this time she is employed per diem while raising a family.
Jeff Fear, PT, MPT Originally from Saratoga, Jeff graduated from Notre Dame College in Manchester, NH in 2001 with a Masters of Physical Therapy. He has over 10 years of outpatient orthopedic experience, is an APTA-certified clinical instructor, and has a special interest working with patients with shoulder injuries. What he enjoys most about his job is working with different types of people with different types of injuries everyday as well as being apart of a succesful team!
It's the second time when i've seen your site. I can gather lots of hard work has gone in to it. It's actually wonderful.