Investigating scapular muscle coactivation during static yoga postures to help restore muscle balance

Abstract

Shoulder pain is very common, particularly among older adults. Subacromial impingement syndrome (SAIS) is the predominant cause of shoulder pain. SAIS is defined as a mechanical compression of tissues in the subacromial space due to a narrowing of this space. Patients with SAIS show scapular muscle imbalance. There is extensive research on shoulder muscle coactivation using traditional strengthening exercises. However, very little is known about the effectiveness of yoga on shoulder rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to investigate scapular muscle coactivation in yoga postures and determine which poses may be useful in shoulder rehabilitation. We examined fifteen yoga postures and collected shoulder muscle activity using surface electromyography from twenty healthy women. We identified that patients with upper trapezius hyperactivity may benefit from specific yoga exercises, including the plank, reverse tabletop, side angle, locust arms back, and upward dog. Patients with deltoid hyperactivity or supraspinatus weakness may use either the dancer’s pose right or dancer’s pose left, depending on the sympathetic side, while downward dog may be used bilaterally. This information may be beneficial in developing rehabilitation programs and yoga guidelines to help restore muscle balance in patients with shoulder dysfunction.