The TuneUp Program

The two bones of the pectoral girdle, the clavicle and the scapula connect the upper limb with the rest of the skeleton. The clavicle attaches to the sternum at the sternoclavicular (SC) joint and the scapula connects with the arm at the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint, they connect with each other at the acromioclavicular (AC) joint.

The clavicle is a thin irregular shaped bone that provides the only contact of the arm with the rest of the body (at the SC joint). It acts like a strut keeping the scapula, and therefore the shoulder, in position away from the rest of the skeleton.

The scapula as a larger irregular shaped bone that provides a stable base for the arm to move on. It is most easily viewed from behind. It consists of a flat triangular plate with a bony ridge (the scapula spine) running transversely across it’s posterior aspect from about two thirds up on the medial border to the lateral corner. At the extremity of the scapula spine the acromion process connects with the scapula at the AC joint. The glenoid fossa of the scapula is a large concavity on the antero-lateral aspect (on the side to the front) that holds the head of the humerus (at the shoulder joint).