asana: supine infraspinatus stretch

yogabook / asanas / supine infraspinatus stretch

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Last update: 10 Oct 2025
Name: Infraspinatus extension supine
Level: A

Classification

classic: functional exercise

Contraindication

The non-surgically treated tendency to anterior
shoulder dislocation is a conditional contraindication.

Effects

Preparation

No pre-exercises are given for this functional exercise.

Diagnostics (No.)

(261) Excessive tension in the exorotators / limited endorotation

If it is impossible to slide the hand under the back or this is associated with too intense a stretch sensation, it can be assumed that the ability to endorotate in the shoulder joint is significantly restricted. Excessive pressure on the medial epicondyle of the arm, if not caused by a disorder such as golfer’s elbow, must also be considered a sign of a significant limitation.

Instructions

  1. Loosely extend the arm and bring it into a 90° frontal abduction, the other arm is in a position in which it does not interfere with the execution.
  2. Turn your upper body towards the arm lying on the floor according to your tolerance.

Details

  1. The endorotation in the shoulder joint is mainly performed by the subscapularis and some less relevant synergists. It is opposed by the tensions of the exorotators, the most important of which is the infraspinatus. The force of the endorotators alone is usually not enough to stretch the exorotators, especially the infraspinatus. This requires a significant partial body weight or external aids such as dumbbells or resistance bands. If the upper arm is placed directly to the side of the body in a supine position and the forearm is placed endorotated on the abdomen, the degree of endorotation is hardly ever sufficient for stretching the infraspinatus. Depending on their flexibility, a position is required in which the wrist is further dorsal than the elbow, as is the case with the infraspinatus stretch without external aids. The exercise described here is intended to describe a simple and effortless position that can be held for longer, which is less effective but can potentially be held for a long time because it is lying down and effortless. If the posture is not sufficiently intense, the elbow can be placed slightly raised, taking care to ensure that the edge of the supporting medium does not press uncomfortably on the medial triceps. If you want to increase the intensity during the posture, you can do this by dorsiflexing the wrist under the back so that it presses against the back. This lowers the wrist and increases the exorotation in the shoulder joint.
  2. Care must be taken to ensure that the shoulder blade lies as flat as possible on the floor. A lack of endorotation ability in the shoulder joint also manifests itself in this position in that the shoulder blade moves in the scapulothoracic gliding bearing, slightly in the direction of protraction. In addition to a side-differentiated sensation, this may also manifest itself in the fact that it feels as if only the margo medialis of the ipsilateral shoulder blade is in contact.
  3. In order to be able to hold the hand on the floor better, it is advisable to at least pull the lateral thigh towards the upper body. This not only eliminates the pull of the iliopsoas on the lumbar spine, which tends to lift the lumbar back off the floor, it also causes the short hip extensors to pull, that the pelvis tilts cranially to dorsally, which pushes the lumbar spine and consequently the cranial back further towards the floor. This in turn improves the endorotation of the arm in the shoulder joint.
  4. The lack of intensity of the exercise can be largely compensated for by an easily extendable dwell time.
  5. This exercise improves endorotation in the shoulder joint, as used in other poses such as gomukhasana, maricyasana 1, maricyasana 3 or namaste on the back.