A pectoralis minor that harbors trigger points may be, among others, responsible for pain at the front of your shoulder and your chest.
Although it is the little brother of the pectoralis major, it has a different function as you will learn soon.
When your pectoralis minor contains trigger points, it can give you pain right at the location of these spots and send it to other, seemingly unrelated areas of your body.
The main pain zone of the pec. minor is the front of your shoulder, but you might also experience a radiating pain into your chest and all the way down your inner arm.
Furthermore, it is possible that this muscle creates pain in your palm – not shown in the picture – and in your 3rd to 5th finger.
The pectoralis can cause the following pains
The darker the red in the picture below, the more common it is to experience pain in the respective area when trigger points are present in your pectoralis minor.
One of the functions of the pectoralis is to pull the shoulder blade forward, downward and inward.
So what might happen if it is super tight or contains trigger points and you spread your arm to the side and bring it backwards?
Surely, the movement will be limited or even painful because the shoulder blade moves a little upwards and then backwards, and thus pulls on the pectoralis minor.
It has to elongate and if it cannot or “does not want to” – because the stretch will put even more tension on the tight muscle – it will give you pain.