When the Rhomboid Screams, It’s Rarely the Rhomboid

Dear reader,

In the JANMI clinic I recently saw a library worker in her early thirties with a complaint I hear surprisingly often: deep ache along the inner border of the shoulder blade — classic rhomboid pain.Her left shoulder sat forward, her head drifted forward, and the left scapula looked slightly winged — like it had lost its “quiet grip” on the ribcage.

Here’s the part many people don’t expect:

Rhomboid pain is often the end of the story, not the start

The rhomboids are meant to guide the shoulder blade and help it sit well on the ribs. But when the scapula is pulled into a forward-tilted, unstable position, the rhomboid becomes a desperate stabiliser — gripping, bracing, and eventually protesting.

In her case, the usual suspects were present:

• Pec minor tightness (pulling the shoulder girdle forward via the coracoid region)

• Deltoid and biceps tendon area feeling over-recruited (front-of-shoulder “seatbelt” behaviour)

• Upper traps and suboccipitals overworking (holding the head up in a forward world)

• Mid-thoracic extensors working too hard (trying to create a platform for the shoulder)

The rhomboid wasn’t “weak” or “bad”. It was simply doing the job of a whole chain that wasn’t sharing the load.

The twist: the opposite foot was overpronating

She also overpronated more on the opposite side leg. That matters.

Because when the foot collapses inward repeatedly, the chain tends to follow:

• foot pronation → tibia rotates in → femur follows → pelvis subtly rotates/tilts

• pelvis changes ribcage position → ribcage changes scapula position

• scapula loses clean tracking → rhomboid tries to pin it back (and starts aching)

So the rhomboid pain becomes a “postcode problem” — the complaint is felt in one area, but the origin is often distributed across the whole kinetic chain.

Why modern life breeds this pattern

Library work is not violent — it’s persistent:

• reaching forward for books, scanning, typing

• long hours of stillness

• repeated small angles: eyes down, shoulders forward, ribs quiet

Modern life doesn’t injure us with one dramatic moment. It trains us with thousands of small postures — until one muscle becomes the unpaid manager.

Where JANMI Full Chain Reset fits

This is exactly why JANMI Full Chain Reset exists: to assess postural misalignments across the whole chain — feet, pelvis, ribcage, scapula, neck — and then apply a layered approach using JANMI Soft Tissue Therapy, sports massage, trigger point therapy, myofascial release, and targeted re-patterning strategies to help the system share load more intelligently.

Not chasing the pain. Understanding the chain that creates it.

Short disclaimer

This is an anonymised educational reflection, not medical advice. If you have persistent, worsening, or neurological symptoms, seek appropriate healthcare assessment.

Until next time,

Paulius