Muscles
Coracobrachialis Trigger Points
Symptom Area: Upper Back, Shoulder and Arm
Coracobrachialis Trigger Points are explored here through their location and referred pain pattern. Muscle knots is an everyday term used for tender muscular spots; myofascial pain describes pain involving muscle and its surrounding connective tissue. Flexes and adducts the shoulder.
Where you feel it
When the Coracobrachialis holds active trigger points, you usually notice it as front of shoulder pain. Where the pain spreads: Anterior shoulder and down the back of the arm to the dorsum of the hand. What often sets it off: Climbing, throwing, sustained overhead reaching.
Overview
Flexes and adducts the shoulder. Trigger points here are common in everyday and athletic populations and frequently contribute to the referred pain patterns described below.
Trigger point locations
Medial upper arm from coracoid process to humeral shaft.
Referred pain pattern
Anterior shoulder and down the back of the arm to the dorsum of the hand.
Palpation & testing
Palpate the muscle belly along its accessible course. Reproduction of the patient's familiar pain on palpation supports involvement.
Common causes
Climbing, throwing, sustained overhead reaching.
Self-care & clinical treatment
Pec minor stretch, axillary release. Clinically: needling.
Treatment protocol
For Coracobrachialis, the general protocol applies: sustained pressure release on the taut band, then stretch and active movement in the newly gained range.
Position and palpation: Palpate the muscle belly along its accessible course.
Regional precaution for clinicians: Over the upper back and shoulder girdle the pleura lies immediately deep to thin muscle, so pneumothorax is the key risk; needling is performed tangentially or against a bony backstop (rib, scapula), never perpendicular to an intercostal space.
Primary Symptoms
Secondary Symptoms
Often confused with
These muscles cause the same primary symptoms, so they are checked together:
Related muscles in this region
Related articles
References
- • Travell & Simons — Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction
Medically reviewed by: Marco Aruffo — physiotherapist since 2006, specialised in myofascial pain · Last reviewed:
