The Role of the Scapula in Rehabilitation

The body functions as an integrated system in all aspects of sport and work. This integrated system allows variability so that we can respond to specific tasks in an efficient manner. Understanding how the entire system works as a functional unit within its environment is indispensable for appropriate evaluation and intervention to restore patients to their full functional level. Individual patients develop movement patterns and resting postures dependent on their physical characteristics, the demands of the particular task, the environment of the task, and their psychological state. The goal of the treating clinician is to identify these factors as they relate to physical impairments, functional limitations, and particular pathology. Once the factors are identified, there are several ways to intervene. Through our clinical experience we have found that exercises that integrate the entire body and address scapular motion and control have helped our patients return to their normal function. The primary goals of this chapter are to describe our clinical assessment of the scapula and to provide our rehabilitation approach in the upper extremity of a throwing athlete