Think Like a Nerve, Part 2: Nerves of the Shoulder Blade

About this event

Think like a Nerve is an advanced series of 3 classes for manual therapists (LMT, PT, DO, DC's) seeking clearer strategies for assessing and treating peripheral nerves. Each class is 2 hours of anatomy and technique (online or in-person), and can be taken on its own or all together as a discounted bundle .

about part 2: nerves of the shoulder blade

The shoulder blade is among the most mobile regions of the body, and its nerves travel with it: the dorsal scapular, suprascapular, spinal accessory, long thoracic, axillary and subscapular nerves, along with the supraclavicular nerves and the cervicothoracic dorsal rami near the surface. Entrapment and neuropathy here are widely under-recognized, and their effects reach well beyond pain. They can contribute to scapular dyskinesia such as winging or depression, rotator cuff weakness and atrophy, synovitis, and adhesive capsulitis. This class maps the nerves supplying, and carried along by, this dynamic region, shows how scapular position and movement tension or compress them, and covers the presentations that should raise suspicion of neural involvement. Then we practice, from skin-level work to graded techniques at the suprascapular notch and along subscapularis.

about this series

A headache that cascades upward from a cranky neck, the burning ache along a shoulder blade, the knee that still twinges after its tissues should have healed: these cases fill our treatment rooms. We tend to focus on posture, motor control and repetitive stress, but the health of the nerves in these tissues deserves a central place in our reasoning. We regularly find inflammation far more robust than the state of the tissues would predict, and tenderness or guarding that surprises us. Where inflammation persists without clear cause, or pain seems mistuned, we need to understand how to navigate the local nerve ecology.

That takes much more than the classic wiring diagram of spinal levels and target tissues. We need to understand what keeps a nerve healthy, what irritates it, and how to help it return to a calmer, better-resourced state. That clarity makes every method we use safer, and sometimes it decides whether our work helps at all.

Each two-hour class focuses on one region: its major nerves, how they move and what irritates them, and the common conditions where neuritis or neuropathy may be involved. Then we practice neurodynamic positioning, careful palpation of the nerve sheath along its length, and graded hands-on treatment strategies.

Class 1 · upper cervical ecology · Nov 7. The nerves, dura and vertebral dynamics of the suboccipital region, and their part in headache and neck pain.

Class 2 · nerves of the shoulder blade · Nov 21. The nerves supplying the scapula, clavicle and glenohumeral joint, and their role in pain, scapular dyskinesia and rotator cuff dysfunction.

Class 3 · nerve ecology of the knee · Dec 5. Navigating the saphenous, common fibular and tibial nerves, and the cutaneous nerves of the lateral and posterior knee.

Take the classes separately or as a discounted trio. Join in person, live on Zoom, or by recording. We're excited about this new format and hope you can join us.