Infraspinatus Release
Equipment Needed:
- Open Floor, yoga mat, or wall
- Lacrosse ball or similar mobility tool
Instructions:
While seated on the ground
- Using one hand reach across your body and over the opposite shoulder to place a lacrosse ball on the back of your shoulder blade
- Slowly lower your weight onto the lacrosse ball
- Move in small increments, rolling the ball along the flat aspect of the shoulder blade looking for tender spots
- Focus on any particularly tender areas
- Roll for the prescribed amount of time then switch sides
While against a wall
- Using one hand reach across your body and over the opposite shoulder to place a lacrosse ball on the back of your shoulder blade
- Slowly lean into a wall increasing pressure on the lacrosse ball
- Move in small increments, rolling the ball along the flat aspect of the shoulder blade looking for tender spots
- Focus on any particularly tender areas
- Roll for the prescribed amount of time then switch sides
Common Errors:
- Missing the targetted tissue. Many people fall off the shoulder blade and onto the muscles running along the spine. This is also a great area to treat but will have different results than the desired mobilization.
- Make sure to relax the muscle being massaged
Progressions / Regressions:
If this is too challenging:
- Sometimes putting a ball into a long sock and draping it over your shoulder as you lean against a wall helps get the ball to the right spot
If you want more of a challenge:
- N/A
Notes:
- This mobilization is easier to perform against an open wall than on the floor