Is Your Pec Minor a Major Problem? | Here's How to Release it FOR GOOD!

Pec minor tightness and dysfunction can cause pain on its own or contribute to other shoulder pain. As always, we need a set of exercises to address any pec minor issues but also get to the underlying cause of those pec minor issues.
- Grant
Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
0:51 Cause of Pec Minor Dysfunction
1:47 Role of the Upper Back in Pec Minor Dysfunction
3:03 Upper Back Mobility Exercise
5:56 Pec Minor Ball Mobility
8:22 Pec Minor Stretch
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Your Wellness Nerd offers a new perspective on pain, injury, and improving your quality of life based on the work of one really passionate Physical Therapist. Grant is a HUGE nerd about optimizing human function and performance and hopes to provide the "a ha!" moment you didn't realize you were looking for.
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#pecminor #pecminorstretch #shoulderpain

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope these pec minor tips help you sort things out! Don't forget about that upper back!

[@louisacurrier2951]

I keep returning to this as it worked so well the first time! The exercise instructions begin at 3:50 for anyone else coming back to try them again

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Great Louisa!

[@boozakid5531]

Great video! Thanks Sean Penn!!

[@danbriggs3106]

woa!! dude you are something else ! ...ive been watching and doing exercises from motivational doc on KZbin who gets millions of views each video but yours really hit gold!. I've done all his videos for forward head posture and he goes out his way to do his own unique study and experiments but I couldnt quite release my pec minor. started to feel helpless until I found a wellness nerd who taught me to focus on upper back to give permission to release pec minor...minutes later I felt my shoulders finally pull back and chest release. couldn't believe it ! thanks so much ! ill be a fiend watching your videos from here on out lol god bless!

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Fantastic to hear Dan! Glad the tips hopefully helped! Appreciate the kind words 👍!

[@tonytex1337]

These exercises fixed my chest pain after just doing one set of these exercises. An amazing feeling not having to wake up in the morning with that sore/tensed up chest muscle. Thank You!!!👍

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Awesome to hear Tony!!!

[@DoseofFitness]

great video!

[@aditi6357]

My pain instantly went away 😮 You have earned my subscription mate! God bless you 🙏

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Amazing Aditi! Glad it helped and welcome aboard!

[@weavingwithadrienne4153]

Great video! Never thought about doing the upper back release, thanking you!

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope it helps Adrienne!

[@joeye.g.smithy5118]

Cheers Jeff 👍

[@larrygeoghegan7300]

Very solid advice and techniques. I like the verbiage of "respectfully" treating tissue . Well done video.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Appreciate it! Hope it helps!

[@evb1601]

So helpful! Thank you!

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jon7592]

Thank you very much. Awesome relief

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Awesome to hear Jon!

[@cassandrablasettihealy1089]

What an AWESOME video and a stellar tip for finding the pec minor! Thanks so much. Very timely as I have shoulder arthritis that will not be improving but pain management and releasing the PEC minor and the upper back muscles should help minimize the pain, according to my orthopedic doc. Thanks again. I'll be a loyal follower for sure! 😊

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lisah3801]

Oh my gosh thank you so much! I've been having shoulder, trap and especially elbow pain. After one time of doing this it helped. . Excited to see how after a couple weeks it feels. !

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope it helps Lisa!

[@emanmoustafa554]

WOW that really helped! Thanks a million man!!! 🥰🥰🥰

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Fantastic to hear!!

[@haihai39]

Can’t wait to try these!

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope it helps!

[@sammict]

Omg. Thank you!!

[@YourWellnessNerd]

You’re welcome!

[@Thenovembermadmen]

Overhand thrower here, been dealing with tightness and pain while throwing for months. Portrayed as trap tightness. Did these for 5 min and muscles were spazzing and releases almost instantly. Great work man. Thank you

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Amazing to hear mate! Glad it had an impact for you!

[@londizon251]

Glad i found this channel..i’ve been suffering from pec muscle pain.hoping this would help me😊

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope it helps too!

[@nadiacollins66]

Well explained and perfectly demonstrated video. What exercises do you do regularly to promote your superb posture? Or is it something else? It's a whole other level of credibility when the physiotherapist has PERFECT alignment like you do!

[@daveymp1]

Thank you so much! May god bless you

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope it helps you mate! Good luck!

[@MrBlunt419_]

Thank you!

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope its helpful Henry!

[@heathslater5522]

I've been suffering from shoulder pain for one week now, this video is the one I'm truly looking for! I got a very tight chest, especially the pec minor area that you've mentioned. My posture is surely bad since my job requires me to sit in the front of the computer for 8 hours per day. I will start following what you did in this video, starting today, and will update my progress in the comment section. Thank you for a very informative video.

[@MightyAntelope]

How is it

[@oli7120]

How is it

[@s.e.8719]

Thank you man.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope it helps!

[@bg147]

Thank you. I will get after this. Years ago, I had a portion of my right pec minor surgically removed because I had some sort of thoracic outlet syndrome. It caues a huge release about 6 months later. My rib age rotated forward and downward on my right side and did the inverse on the left side. The pain went away on the right but now I deal with upper back tightness on my left side. Therefore, I have been working on partially reversing the rotation by strengthening what remains of my right pec minor along with stretching the pec minor and serratus on the left. I would like my upper body to be more symmetrical as well. The original pain on the right was due to bulking up with muscle and what the doctors and therapists never mentioned... I had/have scoliosis. Regardless, I wish we had youtube back in the early 1990s. Thanks again.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope the tips in the video help in some way mate!

[@alexandermalinovski6306]

Great video. I was always wondering why pain originates in my chest but ends up in my back. Great explanation for relief.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Awesome Alex! Hope it helps!!

[@NANINANI-cs6rn]

Thank you

[@YourWellnessNerd]

You're welcome!

[@Savillon2009]

Instant release! Thank youu

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Awesome! Glad it helped!!

[@gabyramos7722]

Oh my goodness thank you! This was a God sent video. 🤩🙌🏼

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Glad to hear it resonated!

[@gabyramos7722]

@@YourWellnessNerd darn couches lol

[@gabyramos7722]

@@YourWellnessNerd what about using tens units for soreness???

[@cchawk6280]

Thanks! I think I finally have some hope this pain will go away after this lesson.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Amazing mate! Appreciate it!

[@julianmassiah3952]

I’ve been dealing with pec minor pain for years. (It robbed me of my breathing technique for playing sax.) This is the first video that really helped to activate and release the pec minor muscle. Thank you so much!

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Brilliant to hear Julian! Hope it helps you find a longer term solution!

[@newts1964]

has it helped

[@debbiepalmer1094]

9:56 such a great tip to have your elbow slightly off the wall, it really enabled me to get the right stretch which I couldn't when my elbow was against the wall. Thanks!!

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Awesome Debbie!

[@nadiacollins66]

Me too!

[@user-jy9gf3yr2n]

Wow dude… this is insane. I’ve had this pain for months and just stretching and less activity didn’t do anything. Got a ball and now my pec feels relief for the first time in ages. Thank you very much sir 😢

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Amazing mate! Great to hear you could hopefully find the underlying cause of that issue!

[@user-jy9gf3yr2n]

@@YourWellnessNerd I appreciate it. I think it came from injuring my back and having to do a lot of sitting at work. Update: I am back to being able to lift weights without feeling it. Sometimes I feel a little soreness in the same spot after workouts but I have been doing the routine still. The next day I don’t really feel it again. This is awesome stuff 👏

[@berkenilkin5576]

Exactly same here! Been doing this for two days and already feeling a relief. Several months not lifting and streching didnt help. I Think the injury came after heavy chest training.. Hope to get back to lifting soon 😎💪🏼

[@beebleknievel2603]

So glad I found your channel! I've been mostly in agony and disabled for over a year with TOS and pec minor issues. When. I do the first exercise with the lacrosse ball I feel a little of what feels like nerve pain (maybe?!).. Do you know what this could be- could I be too close to my spine with the ball? I'll experiment carefully and discuss with my physio. Many thanks for your great content!

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Glad to have you on board Beth! Obviously speak with your physio to make sure you know exactly what you need to be doing. From a general perspective, the ball is there to try and respectfully force any tight muscle and restricted joint tissue to mobilize. If someone puts the ball into a sore/ symptomatic spot that also feels restricted and tight, it may help those symptoms settle if mobilized. If the spot just hurts and doesn't feel restricted, it's not really somewhere for the ball to be technically!

[@masterwilliamstudios]

You've got some great info mate, take a sub. Question - is there any danger to the lymph nodes in your chest if you're pressing a ball hard into them?

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Good to have you on board asdf! You never want to dig anything in hard anywhere depending on how your body feels. It always has to be comfortable. In terms of lymph nodes there's generally no issue respectfully pressing a ball into the pec minor!

[@matthewbuffone5625]

Great video. Been struggling w mine for a while since I’m hunched over in my machine. Would you recommend these exercises be done 2/3 times a day? How many sets each? Or just one good set two times a day? Thank you

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hi Matthew, hope you’ve since found a regime that helps. Typically, any stretches should be performed as often as feels appropriate throughout the day provided that it actually feels like it makes the instant impact.

[@TRex-ph7qh]

I have had tingling in my left arm and neck for years and it’s shocking to me that no doctor or massage therapist knew it was related to my pec. It was even giving me tinnitus. I honestly just really dug into my pec with my hands and pulled the muscle outwards for a good hour. It hurt so bad but felt so good and I have zero tingling in my arm for the first time in years.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

That's awesome to hear mate! Hopefully you've found something to work on!

[@Xoxodiii]

Same here.😢 Hope you’re doing well!!!

[@athomeinmo]

I’ve been to 3 doctors and 6 physical therapists in 10 years. Explained the symptoms exactly. And not one has EVER touched my pec area. I’ve lost all faith in 99% of medical “professionals”

[@3cardmonty602]

I’ve had right shoulder pain for months now & not relating it to my Pec Minor. I performed the stretches and now my shoulder pain is gone.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Brilliant mate! Hope it stays away!

[@juliegustafson5147]

This is so helpful!!! Thank you greatly! I have a question. I have been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and pec minor syndrome. I also have repetitive injury in my shoulders where I've got nerve compression under both armpits. And brachial plexus area. Do you have any ideas of what I can do?

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hey Julie! Glad it's been helpful! I can't really comment on your specific symptoms over the internet, but from a general perspective, I'd be very interested in seeing whether there is any stiffness and tightness in the joints of someone's upper back with that presentation!

[@juliegustafson5147]

@@YourWellnessNerd thank you for responding. Things are very tight and stiff in my upper back area especially. I did send an email through your website. Hoping to be able to get more questions answered some how

[@chetzmartinezrodriguez2253]

This is my problem and been dealing this pain 7 years now😭

[@waynebradshaw4221]

Same. I’m so overjoyed 🥰

[@YourWellnessNerd]

I hope the information in the video has assisted you in finally improving your pain, mate.

[@davidlens4893]

My G

[@tankconnors7323]

Can knoked chest cause problems up the front of my neck? ive had this over 3 years.. ( doing pushups home and got a crazy muscle spasm all the way up my neck to my ear) ever since that i had a problem.....

[@danbriggs3106]

this exercise helps so much im curious to know what's your education lol....I don't mean to be mean but you don't appear as a doctor but yet you have an exercise that beats theirs of all the KZbin doctors I tried working with pec minor on. lol congrats !~

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hey Dan! I've been an Australian Physiotherapist for about 16-17 years now. A lot of learnings over the journey thus far!

[@trevorrisley5419]

Who gives a shit if he’s a doctor or not? You’re ridiculous. He could be an 8th grade dropout that now works at Walmart and I wouldn’t take ANYTHING away from his great information and help. Folks in this world have been so heavily indoctrinated that unless you have squandered hundreds of thousands on an education they cannot be taken seriously. Which, this feller has paid his collegiate dues, FWIW. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@zacharymiller2462]

My bottom of my chest has bump sinking down like a line with a sinking u on bottom of chest any fix

[@kevin__7459]

Very good video. So even after endless stretching of the pec minor, it may not release unless the thoracic spine/upper back is mobilised? Would a flat thoracic spine mean even more mobilisation/pec minor tightness

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Nailed it Kevin! The curvature or lack thereof could contribute, but ultimately it's hard to know whats going on with those joints unless you or someone else gets in their and has a feel for that restriction. Everything needs to be results based, so if mobilizing any joint stiffness allows that pec minor the space to settle and release you should always see a genuine change if its connected.

[@kevin__7459]

@@YourWellnessNerd okay thank you. That makes the order of attacking the situation cleaer, thoracic spine then stretch pec minor etc Out of curiosity, would the best place to contact you for queries be through social media?

[@josephdecesare4885]

Well I did this but my arm is completely numb and my 3 finger in the front of my arm is that normal

[@norkbork]

had a question- been working rly hard on holding better posture, shoulders back and down. my question is- do i want to hold my shoulders back and down with effort, or should my shoulders feel relaxed and sit comfortably? i don’t want to compress because i my shoulders aren’t back/down enough.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Ideally nothing should feel forced. For me I don't recommend going back and down, just back and taking the weight. The reason being that when we lose good postures, gravity often forces us down and forward, so going back and down can exacerbate some symptoms.

[@norkbork]

@@YourWellnessNerd thanks!

[@louisacurrier2951]

This is great. When I do that last stretch using the wall, I’m feeling it in the back of my neck and shoulder rather than the pec - what am I doing wrong? I’m always working on my posture but I have hypermobility and struggle to rain muscle even with very consistent practice

[@YourWellnessNerd]

It’s hard to say sight unseen Louisa, sometimes if the joints in the upper back are stiff and restricted they can make things feel uncomfortable. It could be worth freeing them up first and seeing what it does, or have someone do it for you.

[@louisacurrier2951]

@@YourWellnessNerd thank you. I’m enjoying your videos lots of really good insights

[@rhysnichols8608]

I woke up one morning and outta no where I had really bad pec pain, it felt like I tore the muscle and for about 2 weeks I couldn’t do any press or over head activity, it felt normal after 4 weeks but it would flare up often for seemingly no reason. 4 months later and I’ve got back to doing some push ups and it’s been manageable for the last 3 weeks, but then I did a higher set today and the pain is back. It’s so annoying as it comes outta no where

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope the video helps mate!

[@carstenstahl7429]

Hey, do u think a massage pistol could help free up those tight spots? Thanks for all your videos btw🙏

[@YourWellnessNerd]

It really depends mate! They can be helpful but obviously you need to be careful where you put it, how hard you go and for how long you do it for!

[@petedarkside6853]

Hello sir, how many times per day do we have to do these? And is it okay to do it everyday? Also is it normal to feel the day after doing it? (Like red spot on the chest/shoulder after applying the ball technique)

[@YourWellnessNerd]

It's not abnormal to feel a little tender, but genuine pain is never OK. These exercises can be performed daily for most but again it's always best to base things on how each person feels so that it's highly specific to each person's situation.

[@yasqueen9092]

My hand goes yellowy/white when I do this 😔 trying to find something that helps for possible Thoracic Outlet Syndrome 💔

[@Stoffendous]

My muscles between my ribs also feel tight making it hard to breath in fully. Its like my chest can't fully expand. What causes those muscles to spasm? It seems especially prevalent in the lower ribs just above the abdomen.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

From a general perspective much of the rib area dysfunction we see can be a product of what's going on where it connects into the back. We often see stiff/restricted tissue here which has the potential to create dysfunction anywhere it associates with.

[@Stoffendous]

@@YourWellnessNerd Cool I'll focus on tennisballing my entire back cept for the spine. Thanks!

[@danbriggs3106]

I'm back again lol ..left this exercise for a few other ones by motivational doc but started to feel extremely tough contracted upper back ribs bringing shoulders forward with painful posture ...the ball in upper back ribs is so marvelous I wanted to see if you can explain better more simpler and detailed what'd going on ...all you really explained was its splitting muscles to loosen them ...well I wanna be a health need like you when it comes to this technique and why it's so effective etc

[@YourWellnessNerd]

No worries Dan! The idea with the ball is two-fold. Ideally it's there to try and affect the spinal joints and rib joints as they attach into the spine. We're trying to encourage mobility through those restricted areas with constant pressure. In clinic a therapist can mobilise them with certain basic techniques using subtle movement, but constant pressure is best with a ball when talking practicalities. Secondarily, in order to get to those deep joints we often have to get through some tight muscle. Pressure from the ball can create a reflex through a tight muscle that prompts it to release and give. Ultimately, freeing up restricted tissue at the back can potentially get to the underlying reason as to why a pec muscle at the front is asked to be tight in the first place. Hope that makes sense!

[@danbriggs3106]

@@YourWellnessNerd amazing!!! I had to copy and paste to re read often ...so amazing god bless!!

[@danbriggs3106]

@@YourWellnessNerd im glad I asked because it gave me better idea points to put pressure on...I felt like I nailed those spinal joints and rib tissue now and a whole bunch of weight seemed to lift from upper body leaning ...and stress in joints felt a lot better ...amazing!

[@thomasgarratt8206]

Where in Aus are you based? I’m moving to Melbourne next year and could do with working with you on some issues I have

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hey Thomas! Unfortunately I'm not based in Melb anymore, im up in NSW currently.

[@thomasgarratt8206]

Ahh well I’m arriving in February so if you come down anytime treating people I’ll keep an eye out! Do you have instagram?

[@maxweiss7852]

Question. I’m having this pain on both sides. Could it be from driving a stiff string wheel on my car a whole day?

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Often the underlying cause relates to the postures and positions people get into the most often throughout the day - or at least that's a great place to start!

[@newts1964]

how often can you do these daily or weekly

[@YourWellnessNerd]

As a general rule, most stretches can be performed daily to a comfortable level that should always leave each person feeling a little looser straight away.

[@danbriggs3106]

Wellness nerd man I need ur help ..I'm back again in pain ...I can't seem to understand where these rib back joints are ...this is the only thing that will help me .I tried tons others ..my pec won't release and it feels I'm always leaning all weight off back upper rib joints ..???

[@YourWellnessNerd]

No worries mate! To find the rib joints at the back, a simple strategy is to place the ball right next to the bumps down the middle of the spine - this is where the spinal joints are and can be stiff in their own right. Coming slightly further out to the side often then hits the rib joints as they attach into the spine.

[@danbriggs3106]

@@YourWellnessNerd that did the trick ! thanks alot ! feels so refreshing feeling the strict joints loosen...never ceases to amaze me how helpful you are compared to tons of other doctors on youtube ..keep growing your channel!!

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Appreciate it mate, glad it helped! For the record, I'm not a doctor, just a Physiotherapist with a few years of experience under my belt!

[@elposho23]

Can this cause headaches

[@YourWellnessNerd]

It’s not something I see clinically, but the same poor postures and shapes can overload both the upper back/pec minor and the upper neck - which is often a referral site for headaches

[@Behindjoonao]

Ive been dealing with pec minor pain that comes and goes from weight training for the last 6 years. It's pretty annoying as anytime i start to progress and start breaking PRs again the same injury flares up. Upper back pain/tightness like you mention and pain when flexxing my pec near the lower pec minor insertions (near the nipple). Also noticed that if i hold down my pec minor in this flared up state and retract/protract my scapula i get some snapping sensations in my upper back. I've pretty much tried about everything over the last 6 years to get over this injury and have gone periods up to 6-8 months without feeling it but it always comes back at some point. Really holds me back on any type of horizontal rowing exercises or barbell/dumbell bench pressing. Anyone here experience something similar or have got over something like this?

[@allann7333]

Do you experience high blood pressure, when it happens?

[@Behindjoonao]

@@allann7333 not at all, im a pretty healthy and active 25 year old dude, been training for 11 years consistently.

[@1001mudit]

You need to strengthen your serratus anterior to off load your pecs. Easier said than done but do try it religiously and yes get more mobility in your rotatorcuff muscles.

[@SlayerOfIncels]

@Bren B you the first person to ever have the same long term injury as me please tell me if you find a remedy it’s been 5 years

[@Behindjoonao]

@@SlayerOfIncels Its tough man, its literally impossible to find anything about this type of injury online. Been looking for 6 years now and havent been able to come to a conclusion.

[@Hustlersambiton]

What to do for a pec injury? I heard that you shouldn’t stretch it

[@YourWellnessNerd]

If it's physically damaged or torn, stretching is generally best performed once healed to allow the tissue to settle. Freeing up any stiff upper back segments in the meantime can help normalize how the pecs are loaded in the meantime.

[@Hustlersambiton]

@@YourWellnessNerd thank you

[@allann7333]

Can pec minor cause high blood pressure? When I extend my arm, my blood pressure is normal. When I bring my arm close, my muscles feel tight and blood pressure goes up.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Its hard to tell without assessing someone as the pec tightness could also be a symptom of stiff rib joints underneath. A safe and responsible way to find out would be to have someone free up their pec minor and then reassess whether there was an obvious change in BP. Having said that, when BP is involved its important to have someone asess things to figure oit specifically whats going on!

[@allann7333]

@@YourWellnessNerd my physical therapist did a friction massage against my pec minor and armpit. The BP went down a lot. There must be a lot muscle tightness in that area.

[@Liriodendron-Ocean]

Can a pec minor injury or tightening result in shoulder pain and the inability to lift your arm above your head like you’re raising your hand? I’m trying to determine what’s causing my sudden pain and loss of range in my left arm.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope you’ve since found the answer mate! If you have, please feel free to let me know what worked!

[@MrGoodToons]

Please comb your hair.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

🤓

[@watcher805]

Oh, I think I released my pec minor for good when I tore it off my ribs and collarbone

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope its recovering well mate!

[@watcher805]

@@YourWellnessNerd I do okay I think. My bench will always be a little weaker now but my delts and forearms and stuff got bigger to compensate? Is that a thing.

[@lisah3801]

Oh my gosh thank you so much! I've been having shoulder, trap and especially elbow pain. After one time of doing this it helped. . Excited to see how after a couple weeks it feels. !

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hope it helps Lisa!