Download The Coracobrachialis Muscle

20th January 2016
The Coracobrachialis Muscle
Article by Craig Shiel, Physiotherapist
If you are having trouble scratching your back or trying to put an arm into a jacket it could
be because of muscle tightness in your shoulder. One of the muscles that allow the hand to
perform this action is called the Coracobrachialis (C/B) muscle. If this muscle is tight then
often discomfort could be felt as it has to stretch.
The majority of people have never heard of this
muscle let alone know where it is and what it does!
It is a small muscle located at the front of your
shoulder. The muscle helps to lift the arm up in
front working with the deltoid and biceps brachial
muscles. It also works with pectoralis major to
bring your arm in to your side (adduction).
If your C/B muscle is tight, it can give you pain at
the front of your shoulder, back of your upper arm
and forearm. People who experience tightness of
this muscle also usually have tightness of other
muscles that work in conjunction with it. (These
muscles are shown in the diagram here to the left).
To test for tightness of your C/B muscle you can do
the following: Put your thumb between your biceps
and triceps high up in your arm pit. Press your arm
into your side (you should feel the muscle bulking).
If you are experiencing tenderness then it's probably too tight caused by overworking. (See
images below for how to do this test).
A treatment that you can do for this muscle is
self-massage. Keep your thumb on the
muscle (between your biceps and triceps high
up in your arm pit) and go downwards along
the muscle to perform gentle massage,
searching for tender areas. The reason for
gentle massage is that this area also contains
nerves which could be irritated with too
much force.
We have included in this month’s newsletter
some additional stretches that will help to gently stretch the C/B muscle. If you find that
these stretches do not help then you may need further medical intervention. Please speak
with your physiotherapist or GP.
The shoulder joint is the most intricate joint in the body. When it breaks a lot of problems
could be happening. A lot of these can be difficult to detect E.g. Tendon tears can happen
without trauma. Do not just put up with discomfort/pain always seek advice.