Teres Minor

The Teres Minor is a rotator cuff muscle of the shoulder.

Anatomical Attachments:

• Origin: Attaches to the superior 2/3 dorsal surface of the axillary margin of the scapula.
• Insertion: Attaches to the inferior facet of the greater tuberosity of the humerus.

Action: Adducts and rotates the head of the humerus externally and pulls the humerus toward the glenoid fossa.

Synergist: Infraspinatus, Supraspinatus, and the Posterior fibers of the Deltoid.

Antagonist: Subscapularis, Pectoralis major, Anterior Deltoid.

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Nerve Supply: Axillary nerve (C4, C5).

Vascular supply: Scapular circumflex artery.

• Primary: The pain referral is primarily experienced slightly posterior and superior to the deltoid tuberosity and follows an area down the posterior arm directly over the triceps. The unsuspecting practitioner may assume that the TrPs are located within the triceps brachii, when in actuality the pain referral is produced by the Teres minor.
• Satellite or associated triggers: Deltoid, Teres Major and Infraspinatus.

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Trigger Point Signs and Symptoms: Posterior shoulder and arm pain, with possible paresthesia of the 4th and 5th digits, which follows reaching above ones shoulder level for an extended period of time.

Trigger Point Activating and Perpetuating Factors: Persistent lifting or holding with ones hands above their head or in front of them, bracing either forward or upward to avoid impact.

Differential Diagnosis: Rotator cuff tear, Rotator cuff tendinitis, Quadrilateral space syndrome, Ulnar neuropathy, (Segmental, Subluxation, Somatic dysfunction) C6 or C7 Radiculopathy, Neurogenic arthropathy (Charcot’s joint), Adhesive capsulitis (Frozen shoulder), Subdeltoid bursitis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Dislocation/Subluxation of the Glenohumeral joint, Shoulder pointer, Bone cancer, Bone fracture, Post Deltoid injection soreness, Systemic infections or inflammation, Nutritional inadequacy, Metabolic imbalance, Toxicity, Side effects of medication.

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