BANDED APLEY’S SCRATCH RETRACTION

The banded apley’s scratch retraction exercise is an exercise that targets your scapular retractors. Start by anchoring a band to a solid object in front of you and loop it around your upper arm. Place the back of your hand on the small of your low back and step backwards to add band tension. While maintaining hand contact with your band, retract the scapula by pulling the shoulder blades backwards as far as tolerable. Do so while limiting the amount of bending you do through the thoracic spine. Allow the band to slowly pull your arm and shoulder into passive protraction to complete a repetition.

Muscles involved:

• rhomboid major

• rhomboid minor

• middle trapezius

Related conditions:

• shoulder impingement

• dynamic shoulder instability

• glenohumeral joint labral tear

• rotator cuff tendinitis / rotator cuff tendonopathy

• upper cross syndrome

Exercise videos