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Latissimus dorsiMusculus latissimus dorsi

Broad, flat, fan-shaped muscle of the lower and middle back that extends, adducts and medially rotates the arm.

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LatinMusculus latissimus dorsi
Origin
  • Spinous processes of T7–T12
  • Thoracolumbar fascia (attaching it to the lumbar and sacral spinous processes)
  • Posterior part of the iliac crest
  • Lower three or four ribs
  • Inferior angle of the scapula (a small slip, often present)
Insertion
  • Floor of the intertubercular (bicipital) groove of the humerus
Action
  • Extends the shoulder
  • Adducts the shoulder
  • Medially rotates the shoulder
  • With the arms fixed overhead: pulls the trunk up towards the arms, as in climbing
  • Assists extension and lateral flexion of the lumbar spine
NerveThoracodorsal nerve (C6–C8)
NameLatin for 'broadest (muscle) of the back'.

Palpation

  1. Client prone with the arm resting by the side or hanging off the edge of the table; stand beside the table.
  2. Grasp the back of the armpit (the posterior axillary fold) between thumb and fingers; latissimus dorsi and teres major form this fold.
  3. Follow the fibres down and in across the lower ribs towards the iliac crest and the thoracolumbar fascia.
  4. Ask the client to press the arm down and back against your hand; feel the fold and the flank firm up.

Landmarks: Inferior angle of scapula · Iliac crest · Sacrum

Latissimus dorsi covers most of the lower back and the side of the trunk, so long Effleurage strokes and Wringing along the flank work it well. Near the spine its upper part lies under the lower Trapezius.

In the armpit it wraps around Teres major, and the two together make the posterior axillary fold. Teres major is the upper, shorter part that stays on the scapula; lats continues down the trunk. A memory aid for the insertion is “a miss between two majors”: lats inserts into the floor of the bicipital groove, between Teres major and Pectoralis major.

Techniques

  • Effleurage — Long, gliding strokes with the whole palm that spread the medium, warm the tissue and link the other strokes together.
  • Petrissage — Kneading strokes that compress, lift and squeeze the muscle away from the bone, working the tissue between the hands.
  • Wringing — A petrissage stroke where the hands lift the tissue and push and pull it across the body in opposite directions, like wringing out a towel.
  • Compression — Pressing straight down into a muscle with the palm, fist or forearm, holding briefly, then releasing and moving on.
  • Passive stretching — The therapist gently moves a relaxed limb to lengthen a muscle to a point of mild stretch and holds it there, with no effort from the client.

Works with

  • Teres major — Thick, rounded muscle from the inferior angle of the scapula to the front of the humerus that pulls the arm down, back and inwards.
  • Pectoralis major — Large, fan-shaped chest muscle that flexes, adducts and medially rotates the arm.
  • Triceps brachii — Three-headed muscle on the back of the upper arm that straightens the elbow.

Opposes

  • Deltoid — Thick, triangular muscle that caps the shoulder and is the main muscle for lifting the arm out to the side.
  • Trapezius — Large diamond-shaped muscle of the upper back and neck that moves and stabilises the scapula.

Used in routines

Sources

  1. Wikipedia, Latissimus dorsi muscle
  2. Gray's Anatomy (1918), IV. Myology 7a: The Muscles Connecting the Upper Extremity to the Vertebral Column (Public domain; Bartleby edition read via the Internet Archive.)