Sometimes we can experience shoulder pain when taking the arm behind your back. This would be internal rotation of the shoulder and adduction as shown below.

When looking to diagnose shoulder pain we should look what muscles are activated in the movement. In this case it is the internal rotators of the shoulder.

The primary internal rotators of the shoulder (glenohumeral joint) are the subscapularis, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, teres major, and anterior deltoid. These muscles work together to rotate the humerus inward towards the body's midline. The subscapularis, a key part of the rotator cuff , is the largest and strongest muscle in this group, providing over 50% of the rotational force.

More often than not it’s the subscapularis that is the culprit here where we have pain taking the arm back and behind us. Often there is a dull ache in the rear of the shoulder and down the back of the tricep. You will also feel pain here when sleeping on this side of the body.

As we reach the arm back and behind we activate the Subscap to complete the movement. If this muscle is unhappy to the point where we have trigger points in the muscular fibres this can cause pain and discomfort.

A balanced yoga practice such as The Element Series will help open snd release this muscl,e but sometimes we need a little extra help to tell the body to relax that area.

Now, this muscle is a little trickier to get to because of it’s location. It sits on the inside of the scapula, making it harder to get to.

Leaning forward and bringing the effected arm across your body you will widen your lats and make space for you feel the inside of the scapula as shown below.

Using your thumb and holding the back of your lats with your four fingers you will press your thumb deep into the back of your arm pit until you feel the bone of your scapula.

If there are trigger points there you will know about it as the area will feel very tender to touch.

You will need to differentiate between the subscp and you lats. The lats are a thick dense muscle. The subscap sits on top of the scapula which is bone.

Grabbing the lats with four fingers and thumb into the subscap

Widening the lats and locating the subscap with the thumb

Bringing the arm across my body and pressing the thumb strongly into each trigger point

As you press into each trigger point you should feel the area slowly become warmer and then start to release. Repeat this into each part that feels tender and then stretch the shoulder as shown below.

Now, once you have released the muscle it will need stretching. The opposite movement the muscle is designed to do is to take the shoulder into external rotation and flexion.

As part of The Asana Guide is a list of prehab and rehab tutorials on how to stretch and strengthen various parts of the body working on the most common injuries and imbalances.

The Asana Guide

Shoulder pain reaching backward

Accessing the hip flexors in back bends

How to Pancake