Technical Tuesday Levator Scapulae
The levator scapulae muscle sits at the
side of the neck and back. Like the name implies, it levitates (lifts) the
scapula (shoulder blade). Therefore,
when a dance teacher tells a student to put their shoulders down, the levator scapulae
muscles are partially to blame.
For all my fellow science nerds, here is
a description of what this muscle does:
“Elevating
or rotating one shoulder at a time would require muscles to stabilize the
cervical spine and keep it immobile so it does not flex or rotate. Elevating
both at once with equal amounts of pull on both side of cervical spinal origins
would counteract these forces. Downward rotation would be prevented by
co-contraction of other muscles that elevate the spine, the upper fibers of the
trapezius, which is an upward rotator.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levator_scapulae_muscle
Ballet dancers seldom injure this
muscle, but symptoms of an injury can involve the usual suspects of pain,
inflammation, and decreased movement.
From the Big
Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Secret #27aaa:
“The levator
scapulae lifts the scapula.”
Link of the Day:
Quote of the Day:
“I know I
can depend on books in times of trouble because they have a spine and two
wings”
― Ayse Aslihan Koksoy
― Ayse Aslihan Koksoy
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