What’s up folks, it’s Patrick Lerouge here from Evolve Restorative Therapy. You can find me at livepainfreeprocess.com. I help the super athlete eliminate pain for the long term all through self care, with the belief that the body can heal anything. Today we are going to be talking about the triceps. It is a simple muscle to understand, since its main function is to extend the elbow. However, this does not mean it’s not a common area that binds and stops massive movement. The triceps attaches at the back part of the shoulder and at the bottom part of the elbow. The sites where the muscle ends attach to, are common areas for pain to be held and where movement is slowed down. As you know, everything is about movement, so if something does not move, the body will compensate and make another part move that is not supposed to. So what we are going to focus on today is how the triceps gives you common pains. Today we will focus on the triceps and the shoulder. The triceps compounds on the shoulder, because that is where it attaches.

If you were to look at a muscle diagram, you would see that the triceps attaches right underneath the shoulder and at the bottom part of the scapula. So as you extend your elbow, the triceps will stabilize the shoulder as well. Many of the movement points are closer to the elbow, so you will get a lot of elbow pain. People with golfer’s elbow or tennis elbow should understand that the triceps plays a part in those conditions. This is what I want you to focus on: how the triceps plays a part in the elbow and the shoulder.

At the shoulder joint, the triceps attaches right underneath the scapula, that means if you can’t get that triceps to open, the scapula won’t do the specific ranges of motion it needs to. Everyone understands that if you have more propulsion in your arms, you are going to move faster in your run. They think it’s just about the pecs and shoulder joint, but if you can’t extend with your triceps, you won’t be able to get it completely open and you won’t be able to push forward. This will hinder you from running faster. So your triceps plays a key role in getting you to do that. An easy way to determine if your triceps is working well, is by scratching the middle of your back. All the joints are able to rotate and give your shoulder, total range-of-motion, playing a key role in how the shoulder moves.

Now I’m going to talk to you about the common mistake that everyone makes when stretching the triceps. Everyone thinks they should lift their arm, try to reach for their back as far as they can, and stretch sideways, yet this is not correct. By stretching sideways, you are grinding your shoulder joint and bypassing the triceps, as you hit the joint capsule. The best way is to make your arms parallel to your torso as you lift your arms and reach for your back. Then just go as far down your back as you can, always keeping in mind to keep the arm parallel to your head and not moving sideways. Once you get this movement down, you will feel different fibers in the triceps stretch. Another way is to put your elbow against a wall and slide down. As you slide down, the elbow stays right where it is and the triceps move straight up.

If you can get the triceps to open up, it will give you forward-moving power for running or walking. Your triceps muscle will stabilize the scapula with a proper range of motion. Additionally, this will roll the T-spine, allowing your body to rotate itself. You can see now how all of these functions are affected by the triceps, so focus on getting the triceps to start lengthening. If you enjoyed this tip, please pass it on. If you aren’t part of the family yet, come on in and I can drop pain-free solutions in your lap! Until next time! Bye.