Shoulder Base Protocol Card (Scapular Winging)

Winging shoulder blades mean the front is winning the tug of war. A 9-exercise system to rebalance the chest-to-back tension pattern that drives most shoulder blade complaints in guitarists.

Winging shoulder blades mean the front is winning the tug of war.

When the shoulder blades wing out from the ribcage, the muscles anchoring them are locked-long and exhausted. The chest muscles are locked-short and winning the pull. Strengthening the mid-back without releasing the chest first is like trying to straighten a bent nail by hammering the wrong end. Most guitarists who have been told to work their rhomboids are doing exactly that.

"I'd been doing band exercises for a year and nothing changed. My shoulder blade still felt unstable. This card showed me I was strengthening into a pattern that wasn't released yet. Two months later it's a different shoulder." Paul, 52, Melbourne

This protocol works through three phases:

Release: address the latissimus dorsi, the pectorals, and the deep shoulder rotators that are pulling the blade forward before the back muscles have any chance of functioning. 

Reset: reintroduce the upward rotation and smooth gliding the blade has been locked out of, without the forced bracing that makes things worse. 

Rebuild: activate the lower trapezius, rhomboids, and serratus anterior to build the endurance that holds the blade stable under the sustained demands of playing.

9 exercises. Clear anatomical illustrations. Sets, reps, and what you should feel for each one.

Print it, stick it on the wall, or pull it up on your iPad before you play.

What's included

• 1 high-resolution PDF protocol card, designed for iPad or printing
• Step-by-step anatomical illustrations for every exercise
• Sets, reps, and plain-English execution notes
• Built to use in 10 minutes before every practice session

This is for you if

You're 40+, you play guitar, and you feel a burning or aching sensation across the shoulder blade area during or after playing. You have been told your shoulder blade wings out, or you can feel it yourself. Exercises like rows and band pulls have not resolved it.

Designed by Fergus O'Connor, Manual Osteopath, Strength Coach, and Guitarist, with 18 years working with guitarists in pain. Part of the Release-Reset-Rebuild™ framework built for adult guitarists.

Format: Instant PDF download. 2 pages + RRR Framework overview.

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