Prone scapular protraction works serratus anterior, the muscle on the side of your chest wall that draws your shoulder blades forward and keeps them flat on the ribs. You lie face down propped on your forearms, press them into the mat so your upper back lifts and rounds, then let it sink back. The elbows stay bent and your hips stay down, so only the shoulder blades move.

How to do the prone scapular protraction

Lie face down on a mat with your legs straight, then prop yourself up on your forearms. Your elbows sit roughly under your shoulders, and your forearms point forward with the hands in loose fists, as in the video.
Tuck your chin in gently so the back of your neck stays long and your eyes look down at the mat.
Let your chest settle a little between your shoulders, so the shoulder blades draw in toward your spine. This is where each repetition starts.
Press your forearms down into the mat and push your upper back up toward the ceiling, so it rounds and the shoulder blades spread apart around your ribs. Your elbows, hips and legs stay where they are.
Pause at the top, then relax the shoulder blades and let your chest lower slowly to the start before the next one.

What you should feel

Work along the sides of your ribs under the armpits and a little at the front of the shoulders. Nothing should bother your lower back.

Common mistakes

Lifting your hips or stomach off the mat to push higher.
Shrugging the shoulders up toward your ears instead of pushing the mat away.
Lifting your head to look forward, which squeezes the back of the neck.
Dropping quickly back into the start instead of lowering under control.

How often

Many programs use 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 slow repetitions with a short pause at the top, once a day or a few days a week. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

A sharp pain or a catch in the shoulder as you push up, or the shoulder feels as if it might slip.
Pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down your arm or into your hand.
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
A sudden pop or tearing feeling in the shoulder that brings sharp pain, new weakness or trouble lifting the arm. Stop and contact your surgical team the same day, or get medical advice the same day if you have not had surgery.
The shoulder feels as if it has slipped out of place, looks a different shape or suddenly locks so you cannot move the arm, or your hand turns cold, pale or blue. Go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, and do not try to put the shoulder back in yourself.

From the clinic

It is a small movement. Think of pushing the mat away with your forearms, not lifting your body, and let the rounding happen between the shoulder blades. Resting on your forearms arches the lower back a little. If that is uncomfortable, a pillow under your stomach often eases it, and if it still hurts, the wall push up plus trains the same muscle standing up.

Your legs and hips stay on the floor here, and your wrists take no weight. Once it feels easy, the quadruped scapular push up moves the same shoulder blade action onto straight arms on your hands and knees, and the push-up plus puts most of your body weight through the arms in a full plank. If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every repetition and never hold your breath.

After shoulder surgery, including a rotator cuff repair, or after a shoulder fracture or dislocation, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and do only the movements and range they have cleared. Many plans allow only passive movement at first, where the arm is moved for you and its muscles stay relaxed. Lying on your forearms loads both shoulders, and pushing up adds to it, so ask when your shoulder is ready to take weight. Weight through arms held in front of you pushes the top of the arm bone backward, the direction a shoulder goes when it slips out backward, so if yours ever has, check with your physio first.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Prone scapular protraction