The Shoulder

Technique:

• The patient adopts the half-lying position with the arm in medial rotation and in slight abduction (the hand on the iliac crest).
• This brings the pectoralis major into prominence which allows an accurate palpation of the lesion.
• The therapist stands or sits at the painful side. The painful spot is taken between thumb and index finger of the ipsilateral hand.
• The active moment of the friction is a lateral pull while pressure is applied.
• Skin and fingers move as a whole.
• Though there is sufficient pressure, the procedure is not supposed to be painful.
• During the passive phase, pressure is somewhat released to allow fingers and skin to move back over the muscle fibres to the starting position. See: General principles technique