III. Shoulder Muscles

The shoulder muscles pass from the scapula to the humerus. They consist of the deltoid, teres major, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor muscles. Become familiar with the information in the chart and diagrams below. Again, there is no need to memorize the chart. Know where the muscles are located and try to visualize what actions occur when they shorten.

• Big Moore, pg 541
• Big Moore, pg 540, fig 6-44

Rotator Cuff Muscles

The rotator cuff muscles help stabilize the shoulder joint. The tendons of these muscles fuse with the capsule of the shoulder joint to form a musculotendinous cuff around the head of the humerus. The rotator cuff muscles are the "SITS" muscles. One way to remember this is that an athlete who injures his roator cuff "SITS" out of the game.

S = supraspinatus
I = infraspinatus
T = teres minor
S = subscapularis

• Baby Moore, pg 304, fig 7.9