You wake up with a stiff neck after sleeping on the couch the night before and find that you cannot turn your head- what could be causing this inability to turn your head, stiffness and overall pain in your neck? Today I want to discuss a muscle called the levator scapulae and also revisit a muscle we have talked about previously: the trapezius muscle.
That dreaded stiff neck is most often caused by a neck muscle called the levator scapulae. This muscle attaches to the sides of the 1st 4 cervical vertebrae (c1, c2, c3, and c4) or transverse processes and connects to the top of the shoulder blade or scapula. This muscle is responsible for allowing you to turn your head. When there are muscle spasms, or trigger points a loss in range of motion and stiffness of the neck can occur. The pain pattern of this muscle is usually where the neck and shoulder meet and along the inside of the shoulder blade.
To stretch the levator scapulae muscle laterally tilt your head and turn slightly to the opposite direction you are laterally bending to. It also helps to also flex the head slightly forward. To increase the stretch reach up with the hand (on the side you are tilting towards and give a gentle pull on the head laterally and slightly forward. For example, to stretch the left levator scapulae- tilt your head right, turn or rotate back to the left 30 to 40 degrees, and pull your head slightly forward and to the right.
The muscle most responsible for trigger points is your upper trapezius muscle. This muscle attaches from the back of the neck vertebrae, out to the clavicle. To stretch the upper trapezius it’s similar to the levator scapulae except you turn the head in the same direction you are lateral flexing.
For instance, to stretch the left upper trap: tilt or laterally bend the head to the right, turn your head 30 to 40 degrees to the right and flex the head slightly forward.
The trapezius pain pattern is most often up the back of the neck on one side or the other and sometimes up into the temple, orbit (eye), or angle of the jaw.
The trigger points in the trapezius are located above the levator scaupulae in the belly of muscle that is between your neck and shoulder. You can often reach one arm across and squeeze the belly of the trapezius muscle where trigger points are most often found.
Additional Reading Resources
- My trapezius really hurts…How do I find relief?
- Decreasing tension in her neck and upper back
- What Can Cause a Stiff Neck?
- The things that make you say “ Oh my Neck….”
- Arc4life’s Spine-Worx Posture system helps maintain spinal alignment!
- Sally and her Stiff Neck: Solutions for Neck Pain Relief
Visit the Arc 4 Life Store for your online selection of neck pillows, cervical supports and cervical traction products 4 relief of stiff neck, and neck pain.
Pain is something that everybody has in their body and experience that quite often
on different occasions due to so many different reasons like work pressure, mental
stress and illness, marital difficulties and personal problems
i was one of them to experience a pain in my back both lower and upper back which
was mainly because of my work and it was so bad that it was affecting my mind
and making me feel so stressful, i tried a lot of medications but none worked for me
until i was adviced by one of my colleague to take it this way and it did work for me
and it took me so easy and today i am so different than before.
Your posting is informative and useful too. Hope it helps people suffering with such pains. Thanks for sharing with us.
Good information NJ. I just posted a stretch for the levator scapula.
Hey Miye, thank you for your comment and information
-NJ
Dear Pain Relief: You are right, everyone feels pain differently. Some people have a higher tolerance for pain as well. I agree with you that stress can intensify pain in the body and perhaps make it more intolerable.
Many people try medications for pain- however, you have to be careful because it can become addicting and can cause harmful side effects (which sometimes require more meds).
Thanks for your comment- NJ
My significant other is 8 days post-op from open door cervical expansile laminoplasty, C2-C7, and has been in rehab since day 4 post-op. He is suffering crippling spasms in his right trap. The pain is so bad that he can hardly do the PT and OT needed to keep him in rehab (as opposed to a nursing home, which would be a disater on many levels). He’s 66 and an industrial mechanic. They’ve got him on Vicodin and Valium, and using a heating pad, none of which does much good. His head is cocked to the left, and he can’t turn to the right past midline. Any attempt makes him scream. He’s a very tough guy and has lived with pain for a long time, and this has done him in. It’s impossible to tell if the surgery accomplished anything because the neck/shoulder pain overrides everything else. Anyone have any experience with this? We’d sure appreciate suggestions. Thanks.