Teres Minor

Other Names

• Rotatory Cuff
• Back

Heads

• Teres Minor

Also see Teres Major.

Movement

Shoulder

• External Rotation
• Transverse Abduction
• Transverse Extension
• Posterior Stability

Attachments

Origin

• Scapula (Lateral)
  • Lateral Border
    • Posterior on upper and middle part

Insertion

• Humerus
  • Greater Tubercle (Posterior)
    • Inferior Facet

Related Muscles

Works with the Infraspinatus. See other rotator cuff muscles:

• Infraspinatus
• Supraspinatus
• Subscapularis

Comments

Teres Minor exerts only an average of 17.5% and 15.4% shoulder external rotation force as compared to Infraspinatus in both 0° and 90° abducted shoulder positions, respectively (Hughes RE & An KN 1996).

Teres Minor activity is remarkably high during prone horizontal abduction at 100° abduction with shoulder external rotation, exhibiting similar activity as infraspinatus (Blackburn TA, et al. 1990; Malanga GA, et al 1996).

Shoulder abduction angle does not affect external rotation torque of Teres Minor. It has relatively constant external rotation moment arm (approximately 2.1 cm) any degree of shoulder abduction (Otis JC, et al. 1994).

Teres Minor can produce only very small scapular plane adduction during maximal contraction (Hughes RE, An KN 1996) with adductor moment arm of approximately 0.2 cm at 45° of shoulder internal rotation and approximately 0.1 cm at 45° of shoulder external rotation.