The latissimus dorsi is a big muscle that covers most of the back.
If is tense or contains trigger or tender points, it can be a cause for back pain and shoulder blade pain.
When trigger points are present in your latissimus, they can give you pain right at their location and send pain to other, seemingly unrelated areas of your body.
The upper trigger point – X1, shown under “Attachment Points” – very often triggers lower shoulder blade and mid back pain.
Furthermore, pain can radiate over your shoulder blade down the backside of your arm, until it reaches your 4th and 5th finger.
Although not shown in the pictures, you also could experience pain at the inner side of your arm and hand – also 4th and 5th finger –.
The lower trigger point – X2 – mainly refers pain to the front of your shoulder and to the side of your body just above your hip.
Your latissimus dorsi muscle can contribute to the following pains:
The darker the red in the pictures below, the more common it is to experience pain in those areas when trigger points in the latissimus are present.
Usually, tight muscles that contain trigger or tender points, impair certain movements or make them painful.
Mostly those movements are the ones where the muscle contracts or gets stretched.
The latissimus however is somewhat special here.
It will not give you too much trouble while using it, even if it is tight or has trigger or tender points.
This way you might not really feel that something is wrong with this muscle.
If there are any movements that may be painful, then those are the ones where you reach in front and above – thus stretch your latissimus –.
The latissimus dorsi consists of three parts that all run into the same direction/attachment point.
All three parts run to the tuberculum minor at the humerus, which is located at the upper front of your upper arm.
This latissimus dorsi adducts your arm, extends your shoulder and rotates it inwardly.
Because it is a powerful adductor of your arm it helps to compress your thorax/chest when coughing – both, the left and the right lat contract –.
Shoulder neutral
Depression at the shoulder
Extension at the shoulder
Medial rotation at the shoulder
Adduction at the shoulder
Here, especially movements are to mention that involve heavy pulling or throwing.
Such movements occur a lot in …
But also, if you are not an athlete involved in the sports mentioned above and have pain at your mid back and/or lower shoulder blade, you might want to check your latissimus for tender and trigger points.
The latissimus dorsi muscle is a real no brainer as it is so big that it is nearly impossible to miss it.
Hand on the muscle
Hand on the contracted muscle
You can use your hands or a ball for the massage.
For massaging your latissimus with your hands, pinch it and search for tender or trigger points.
When you encounter one, roll it slowly between your fingers. But be aware of not overdoing it here. This massage is hard on your hands.
It might be a good idea, to massage it first with your hands for a short time and then switch to the massage ball.
I recommend not stressing your hands too much as you might strain them.
There are mainly two areas that are often tender. Namely the outer border of your shoulder blade and the area of your lower ribs.
Self-massage at the outer border of the shoulder blade.
Self-massage in the area of the lower ribs.
