Dr. Shepard a Chiropractor Bloomington IL discusses the latissimus dorsi muslce
I’m Dr. Shepard a chiropractor bloomington il and a rehabilitation specialist. I wanted to discus the importance of the Latissimus dorsi muscle. A powerful muscle of the back. When this muscle gets overused / shortens it can cause low back pain and aggravation / pain near the base of the neck. The Latissimus dorsi muscle originates from your lumbar fascia, lower thoracic spine, and pelvic bone. The main function of this muscle is to bring the arm into extension / adduction. It may also internally rotate the humerus in the shoulder joint.
If this muscle gets overused enough is will become so tight that as it tries to assist in deep breathing. Upon which pain may develop in the sides of the chest. The Latissiumus dorsi muscle is an important stabelizer that acts as a bridge between the low back and the neck. Since the muslce is so large the neck and the entire middle and lower back may have to be treated in order to treat this muscle properly.
Without the Latissimus dorsi muscle functioning properly, lifting type activities will be performed by shoulder shrugging. This further increasing lower neck pain along the slope of the shoulders which is primarily from pain in the trapezius and levator scapulae muscles. Pain in the trapezius muscle area will thus recur unless the latissimus dorsi muscle is first treated. Similarly, in low back pain treatment the Lat. must be examined because of its insertions into the thoracolumbar fascia and attachments into the pelvic bone.
