Shoulder

Tendons

• Long head of biceps tendon

  The tendon that runs from the top of the shoulder socket, down a groove in the upper arm bone, to the biceps. How it runs, what holds it in place, how it wears, tears and slips, and what surgery studies report.

• Pectoralis major tendon

  The tendon that joins the large chest muscle to the upper arm bone. How it is built, how and in whom it tears, and what studies found after repair.

• Rotator cuff tendons

  The four tendons that wrap the top of the upper arm bone and hold it in the shoulder socket. How they steady the joint, how often they tear with age, and what is known about how they change.

Cartilage & fascia

• Shoulder labrum

  The rim of fibrocartilage around the edge of the shoulder socket. What it is made of, what it adds to stability, how and in whom it tears, what scans show in shoulders without symptoms, and what studies found about healing.

Muscles

• Deltoid

  The thick, three-part muscle that rounds the shoulder and lifts the arm. How it moves the arm, how it loses strength or tears, how it grows with training, and what it works with.

• Infraspinatus

  The rotator cuff muscle on the back of the shoulder blade that turns the arm outward. Where it attaches, how it wastes in overhead athletes and after cuff tears, how it responds to training, and what it works with.

• Rhomboids

  Two muscles that run from the spine to the inner border of the shoulder blade. How they move and hold the shoulder blade, how their nerve and the muscles themselves are injured, what studies of recovery found, and what they work with.

• Subscapularis

  The large rotator cuff muscle on the front of the shoulder blade that turns the arm inward. Where it attaches, how its two parts work, how it strains and wastes, and what studies of its repair report.

• Supraspinatus

  The rotator cuff muscle along the top of the shoulder blade. How it helps raise the arm, how it wastes and fills with fat after a tendon tear, what studies found after repair, and what it works with.

• Teres minor

  The narrow rotator cuff muscle on the outer edge of the shoulder blade that helps turn the arm outward. Where it attaches, how much it adds, how it wastes, and what it does when its larger neighbour fails.

Bones

• Clavicle

  The collarbone, an S-shaped strut between the breastbone and the shoulder blade. How it holds the shoulder out, where and how it breaks, what studies of healing found, and what attaches to it.

• Scapula

  The flat, triangular bone on the back of the shoulder. How it anchors the arm's muscles and moves as the arm rises, how often it breaks, and what it connects to.

Joints

• Acromioclavicular joint

  The small joint where the collarbone meets the top of the shoulder blade. Which ligaments hold it, how it moves, how it is injured or worn, and what studies report about healing.

• Shoulder joint

  The ball-and-socket joint between the upper arm bone and the shoulder blade. How it moves, what holds it in place, the forces measured across it, how it dislocates or wears, and what crosses it.

Exercises

• Band external rotation

  A shoulder exercise that turns the arm outward against a band, cable or weight. What it loads in the rotator cuff and deltoid, how arm angle, towel and load shift the work, how training changed and progressed it, and shoulder-pain trials.

• Bench press

  A barbell pressing exercise. What studies measured it working, from the chest and triceps to the shoulder, how bench angle and grip width change that, what ten weeks of training changed, and how studies progressed it.

• Dip

  Lowering and raising the body on the arms, from a bench, bars or rings. What two small laboratory studies in men measured, the injuries case reports describe, and what one training trial found.

• Overhead press

  A pressing exercise that pushes a weight from the shoulders to overhead. What the studies measured it loading, how seat, bar and bar path shift the work, and what is and isn't known about training it.

• Pull-up

  Pulling the body up to a bar from a hang. What studies measured it loading, how grip and kipping shift the work, what changed with training, and what injury reports recorded.

• Push-up

  A bodyweight pressing exercise done face down on the hands. How much body weight studies measured on the hands, which muscles work, how hand position and unstable surfaces change that, and what training trials found.

Stretches

• Cross-body stretch

  A shoulder stretch that pulls the upper arm across the front of the body. What studies measured in the deltoid, the rotator cuff muscles and the capsule, how range changed, and the doses trials used.

• Doorway pec stretch

  A standing chest stretch with the arm on a door frame, wall or corner. What studies measured in the pectoralis minor and major, where their findings on length and posture disagree, and the doses trials used.

• Sleeper stretch

  A side-lying stretch that turns the shoulder inward. What studies measured in the capsule and muscles at the back of the shoulder, how much inward rotation changed, and the doses trials used.

Nerves

• Axillary nerve

  The nerve that wraps under the shoulder joint to the deltoid and teres minor. Where it runs, what it supplies, how a dislocation, a blow or a tight gap injures it, and what studies report about recovery.

Conditions

• AC joint dislocation (AC separation)

  An injury to the ligaments that hold the collarbone to the shoulder blade. How studies grade it, who it affects, how low-grade injuries fare, and what trials of surgery against a sling found.

• Frozen shoulder

  A painful shoulder that stiffens over months. How guidelines define it, who it affects, the two accounts of how it changes over time, and what trials of injections, exercise, joint distension and two operations found.

• Shoulder dislocation

  The upper arm bone forced out of the shoulder socket, most often forward. How a care pathway and reviews define it, who it affects, how often it recurs, and what trials of slings, exercise and surgery found.

• SLAP tear

  Damage to the top of the shoulder labrum, where the long head of biceps attaches. How studies define it, what arthroscopy and insurance records count, and what a sham-surgery trial and reviews of surgery and of care without surgery found.

• Subacromial shoulder pain (shoulder impingement)

  Pain around the bony point at the top of the shoulder, long called impingement. How guidelines define and name it, who it affects, and what trials of surgery, exercise and injections found.

Exercises that load this area

Filed under another area, but connected to an entry here.

• Barbell row

  A pulling exercise for the back. What studies measured it working, from the lats and back of the shoulder to the lower back and the side of the trunk, and what is known about how those muscles adapt.

• Biceps curl

  An exercise that bends the elbow against a weight. What the studies measured it loading, where they disagree about grip, and how the arm muscles changed with training.

• Burpee

  A bodyweight move from standing to a squat, a plank and back up, often with a push-up and a jump. What studies measured of its demand, what burpee training trials found, and how thin the evidence on its muscles is.

• Dead hang

  Hanging from the hands with the arms straight. What studies of climbers measured it loading, from the finger muscles to the back, how grip endurance changed with training, and what one bar-hang study showed about the spine.

• Plank

  A face-down hold that works the muscles of the abdomen, back, hips and shoulders. What studies measured it loading, how its versions shift the work, and what is known about how these muscles adapt.

• Shrug

  A shoulder exercise studied mainly for the trapezius. What studies measured it loading in the trapezius and nearby shoulder-blade muscles, and what trials of programmes that included it found.

• Side plank

  A held position that works the side of the trunk and the hip. What studies measured it loading, from the obliques and quadratus lumborum to the gluteal muscles, and what is known about training those muscles.

• Triceps extension

  An exercise that straightens the elbow against a weight. What the studies measured it loading, how arm position and range change the work, and where training studies disagree.