14
T
he shoulder is the most complex joint in the body.
It has the greatest range of motion of any joint
in the body and in doing this it gives up stability for
range of motion. Therefore, it has to be stabilized by
a number of factors
which all work
together to allow the
smooth functioning of
this joint.
Anything that
affects one of these
stabilizing or mobility
components may lead
to the type of pain that
is common and felt by
many of us. The bony
components are the
humeral head which
articulates with the glenoid fossa of the scapula i.e. the
socket that is housed on the “shoulder blade”.
The large head in the shallow socket has to be
stabilized by the rotator cuff muscles, the four of which
originate on the scapula and hold the head in the
centred position in the socket and allows the larger
shoulder muscles : deltoid, pectoralis, latissimus dorsi
and the trapezius , to move the arm.
The scapula itself is stabilized and moved to enable
My shoulder
is hurting
me
WHY?
Submitted by Dr. Godfrey Araujo
