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neck pain

Headaches & Pain in the Neck

Published: 25 May 2016
Written by Leah
3 Comments
Categories: Blog
Pic 1- Upper Trapezius Trigger Point Pattern
Pic 1- Upper Trapezius Trigger Point Pattern

After sitting poorly at a computer from a long day at work, it is common to feel some neck tension and possibly experience a few headaches. One of the most common muscles causing this pain is your trapezius. Stress or hormonal issues might feel like the cause, but they are commonly switches that turn on the already existing trapezius trigger points, thus turning on that pain pattern and discomfort.

The Much Massaged Trapezius

Your trapezius muscle attaches from the bottom of your skull, out to your shoulders, down your mid spine, and along the spine in between those areas. It forms a trapezoid, hence the smart anatomical name. The upper trapezius is a prime culprit in many headaches (see pic 1), and the lower trapezius trigger points refer pain into the neck/shoulder area where the upper trapezius attaches (see pic 2 below).

Putting pressure on these trigger points releases them and can greatly decrease pain and tension, if the red pain pattern is what you’re experiencing. However, until you correct the root of the issue (usually postural and/or neck weakness), the pain and headaches will continue to return.

Preventing These Nasty Trigger Points

trapezius 2, 3 trigger points
Pic 2- Upper & Lower Trap Trigger Points

So, not only is it helpful to work out the trigger points causing your pain in the neck, but accessing and massaging the front of the neck, to allow the head to float back into better alignment (and not be so protruded) prevents trigger points in the trapezius from forming again.

Because you have many nerves and arteries close to the surface at the front of your neck, it’s important to seek out a skilled massage therapist, and one who is familiar with postural work or myofascial techniques.

The other area that is widely overlooked regarding neck pain and headaches, is your shoulder (or glenohumoral) joint.

If your shoulder is sitting forward in its socket, chances are, your trapezius muscle is working hard to hold it back from gravity. Just like a forward head, this forward shoulder creates trigger points in your trapezius muscle, usually in the lower trapezius, which works counter to your pectoralis minor- that little, nagging muscle pulling your shoulder forward and down.

Again, it’s so important to lengthen the FRONT of the shoulder, and engage/strengthen the muscles that help pull your shoulder back and into its socket. Your massage therapist can help lengthen the front muscles and fascia of your shoulder, and you can do some exercises to strengthen and maintain that length…

My Favorite Videos On How To Engage Weak Shoulder Muscles

Wall Angel: Helps to Lengthen & Strengthen

Easy Shoulder & Neck Opener

Yoga Sequence for Neck & Shoulder Tension

The last 2 videos are made by a good friend and fellow structural bodyworker. I highly recommend her stack your bones apps for improved body alignment and coordination.

If you’re experiencing neck pain or headaches  that don’t reflect the pain patterns discussed here, you likely have trigger points in another muscle acting on the head and neck. Feel free to post your issue or give us a call 801-878-6044 to visit one of our highly skilled Salt Lake City massage therapists.

 

How To Relieve A Stiff Pain In The Neck

Published: 25 June 2013
Written by Leah
2 Comments
Categories: Blog

Neck pain can be oh so aggravating. It can come on in a flash, get worse over time, and have the potential to drastically decrease the movement of your head. Not fun when you have to look over your shoulder to check your blind spot.

So, I’m here to give you some important information on the most common trigger points that cause neck pain. What causes them, and how you can treat them to relieve neck pain.

Levator Scapulae trigger points: Ouch, I can’t turn my head

This muscle attaches to your cervical spine (your neck) and the top of your scapula (shoulder blade). Trigger points in levator scapulae can make it quite painful to turn or tilt your head to one side.

levator scapulae trigger point
An X shows a trigger point, and the red is the pain area

It’s name would suggest that it elevates the scapulae, which is what it’s supposed to do. Unfortunately, for a lot of the population here in the US, this muscle has been recruited to hold our forward heads back, much like a bridle to a horse. If we didn’t have muscles doing that, our heads would continue to be pulled more forward and down by gravity.

Because levator scapulae is not meant to be the head-holder-upper, it gets overloaded and develops trigger points, which in turn cause pain.

Now, the main culprit is not levator scapulae. It is the forward head posture, exacerbated by tightness in the front of the neck (from years of poor posture). So you can press on the trigger point as much as you want, but until you release the front of your neck, and start sitting with your spine stacked, head floating up not forward, then you will continue to get neck pain.

What you can do to relieve the pain

To find some immediate pain relief if you’re experiencing this neck pain, search around with your fingers of the opposite arm and find a tender, intense spot. Apply pressure there (sometime letting go for a second) for about 2 mins or until the pain starts to dissipate. Then find another point and repeat.
sitting posture
You really know you’re on the right point when you feel the referral/radiating sensation that causes your neck pain. A theracane or a trigger point massage therapist, like our therapists here in salt lake, also help to relieve the immediate pain.

To fully alleviate the pain and prevent it from returning, getting a myofascial or structural massage is key. Following that up with changing your sitting and standing habits (not by forcing good posture, but by stacking your spine) will help you for a lifetime. And yes, you can still do this while sitting at a computer all day!

 

Sign up for our newsletter  for the next installation of pain in the neck causing trigger points!

And feel free to call us if you have any questions about your neck pain. It’s possible we might be able to help you over the phone for massage and self care for neck pain in Salt Lake City – 801.906.3222.

Nah, it's Not Pain, it's Just Tension

Published: 10 May 2012
Written by Leah
1 Comment
Categories: Blog

I was reminded today of how our body tries to tell us something, usually through sensations. Many times we don’t recognize that it’s crying out for some assistance, and many times we try to logically deduce what’s causing a problem or imbalance, when the imbalance is a little more complicated than we think.

Let’s talk about pain, for instance. Say you have shoulder pain or tightness that comes and goes. You assume the pain is caused by your shoulder (because that’s the location of your pain). However, your shoulder is connected to your arm and to your neck, which is part of your spine that’s connected to your hips then to your legs, and so on.. we can play this game all day.

Your Arm Bone’s Connected to Your… Foot Bone! Our body is made up of a vast pulley system of fascia and muscle, so when one area is tight from say overuse with poor posture, another area will have to compensate- this is usually the area we experience pain. So you could potentially have a hip imbalance that caused your shoulder pain.

I’ve trained in myofascial techniques to improve posture and tight, held areas… and in my experience treating shoulder pain, I’ve been able to decrease or relieve that pain by working on areas like the neck. If I only worked on the shoulder and did not uncover the root imbalance, it wouldn’t matter how hard I worked on the shoulder, the pain would come back in a day or two.

This is why you might have been to a massage therapist over and over again, felt relief for a couple days but then always, the pain returns. It can take a number of sessions to fully relieve pain, but it took a number of years developing that pain. Think back- there were probably some precursors (tension, tightness, intermittent pain) that were the body’s way of saying “Hey! Pay attention! You need to do something about this before it gets worse.” Unfortunately, most of the population tries to ignore it, ices it, takes advil, and believes it’s resolved because the pain went away.

Practicing Root-Release Therapy (specialized massage therapy) in Salt Lake City, I have come across and helped many clients who were part of this population. Even if you don’t live in the Salt Lake area, I’d love to talk and shed some light on what kind of massage therapist or bodyworker you should look for or what types of self care practices you can do to help relieve your pain. I’m always happy to spread some knowledge, and if I can help you over the phone, I will! Call 801.906.3222