10yo boy shoulder blades

[Aubrey]

I know, weird post title, but my kid's shoulder blades are freaking me out. On his back, the bottoms of them are sticking out...I'd say more than an inch. They weren't like that...yesterday, even, I don't think.

 

Dh says it's perfectly natural: he's hit a growth spurt, & his wing buds, er, I mean, shoulder blades, took off first, out of proportion w/ everything else.

 

Since neither one of us has much experience looking at the backs of 10yo boys, though, I'm not completely convinced that this is normal. I remember nothing like it from the locker room on Wonder Years, the extent of my expertise. :001_huh:

[WVNA]

I'm not a doctor and obviously I haven't seen your son, but I'd check him for scoliosis. My shoulder blades are the way it sounds like your sons are and that is the cause of mine. If you go to youtube, just search for videos on checking for scoliosis - there are a lot there. It's probably nothing in your case, but it's very easy to check for and worth the 5 minutes it will take. If you're still concerned about it, I'd also tell his pediatrician the next time you go there.

[MamaT]

I have a gangly late-blooming 12yo boy and his shoulder blades do that. I think part of it is because he is so skinny. He had a physical recently and is perfectly normal.

[m0mmaBuck]

Is your son thin? A lot of times they just haven't developed the strength in their scapular musculature to hold the scapulae down against the rib cage. Google: "winged scapula" and it will pull up a lot of images. There are exercises you could have him do to strengthen the muscles. This page has a description of it (and it is fairly common in young kids, usually only problematic in adults). It also has exercises you could have him do it it really bothers you, but normally it will resolve on its own as he develops.

[Aubrey]

I'm not a doctor and obviously I haven't seen your son, but I'd check him for scoliosis. My shoulder blades are the way it sounds like your sons are and that is the cause of mine. If you go to youtube, just search for videos on checking for scoliosis - there are a lot there. It's probably nothing in your case, but it's very easy to check for and worth the 5 minutes it will take. If you're still concerned about it, I'd also tell his pediatrician the next time you go there.

 

I don't know anybody in our family who *doesn't* have scoliosis, so I assume ds does, too.

[Aubrey]

I have a gangly late-blooming 12yo boy and his shoulder blades do that. I think part of it is because he is so skinny. He had a physical recently and is perfectly normal.

 

Oh, thanks! Ds is on the thin side; really, he's just small over all. He *needs* a growth spurt, lol!

[Aubrey]

Is your son thin? A lot of times they just haven't developed the strength in their scapular musculature to hold the scapulae down against the rib cage. Google: "winged scapula" and it will pull up a lot of images. There are exercises you could have him do to strengthen the muscles. This page has a description of it (and it is fairly common in young kids, usually only problematic in adults). It also has exercises you could have him do it it really bothers you, but normally it will resolve on its own as he develops.

 

Wow--that's it! I'm glad to see it's normal--I'd never seen anything so...sticky-outy...for lack of better terminology.

 

Dh is smug, though. :glare:

[Tap]

DD12 went to physical therapy for her shoulder and this is one of the things they kept focusing on as they worked with her. They showed her exercises to do, and how to do them properly. As her posture corrected, her shoulder issue resolved and he 'chicken wings' went away.