February - Levator Scapula (shown in bright red)
The Levator Scapula muscle’s main function is to raise the shoulder blade. It also bends the neck to the same side and helps to tilt the head backwards when both levator muscles fire bilaterally.
Stress and tension from our daily lives keep the shoulders raised, creating increased tension on this muscle. Forward head posture can also shorten the fibers of levator scapula causing trigger points and pain. Almost every client that I see has levator scapula trigger points.
Trigger points are accumulations of waste products around a nerve receptor. Often times they feel like nodules or taut bands of fibers within the soft tissues. Trigger points form in muscles which have been overused or injured due to an accidents, exercise or surgery. (Interestingly, trigger points often form along the meridians of the body recognized by traditional chinese medicine. These meridians are the points that are treated in acupunture and acupressure for various ailments.) Common characteristics of trigger points are increased muscle tension and muscle shortening. Increased muscle tension is the primary side-effect of trigger points and pain is the most common secondary effect. Trigger points can present themselves as referred patterns of sensation such as sharp pain, dull ache, tingling, pins and needles, hot or cold, and can also create symptoms such as nausea, ear ache, equilibrium disturbance, or blurred vision.
Trigger points can exist in two states, either active or latent. Active trigger points are those which cause discomfort. Latent trigger points wait silently in the muscle for a future stress to activate them. Aches and pains which began in the past become more frequent and severe in intensity as we age. It is common to attribute this discomfort to arthritis instead of our tight muscles which harbor trigger points.
follow this link for anatomy and kinesiology of the levator scapula:
http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/muscularsystem/shouldermuscles/posteriormuscles/levatorscapulae/tutorial.html
The best thing that you can do for neck pain with levator scapula involvement is the following stretch:
Sit on chair. Grasp seat of chair with right hand.
Place left hand on head and gently pull forward and to the opposite side at the same time, until a stretch is felt.
Hold for 10-15 seconds.
Repeat for other side.
Repeat cycle three times, at least three times daily.
The best thing that I can do to help you with your pain is:
Neuromuscular Therapy is an effective treatment for chronic problems including levator scapula issues.
To diffuse a trigger point, static compression (pressure) is applied for 10 seconds, released, then pressure applied for 10 more seconds in a pumping action while the client breathes deeply. This action flushes the toxins and calms the nerves. Releasing trigger points releases endorphins so the result is elimination of discomfort as well as being energized.
Neuromuscular Therapy requires the participation of the client to communicate the presence and intensity of pain and discomfort. The therapist and client work together as a team to maximize the effectiveness of the treatment.
It is common to find great improvement after one treatment. Repeated treatment may be necessary for those with chronic trigger points. Stretching should be done as "home work" to encourage the muscles that have been treated to stay in a lengthened position.
Trigger point research has found that nutritional deficiencies or inadequacies are "perpetuating factors". Without the proper nutrients the muscle fibers are likley to return to a dysfunctional state thanks to cellular memory. For nutritional support, I suggest Spirulina. This tiny aquatic plant offers 60% all-vegetable protein, essential vitamins and phytonutrients such as the antioxidant beta carotene, the rare essential fatty acid GLA, sulfolipids, glycolipids and polysaccharides.
Most importantly, be patient with your progress. Your muscles did not get this way overnight. Often, clients feel so great for a period of time after massage therapy that they think the problem is "fixed". When it "rears its ugly head" once more, they might be discouraged and think that massage cannot help them in the long run. The reality is that once a problem is chronic it may take some time to reeducate the body through continued therapy, stretching, nutrition and most importantly your own awareness and experience of your body. For most people, a series of sessions once or twice a week for a few months and followed by a maintenence plan of one session per month (this varies from person to person) will get them on the road to health.
March
Subscapularis
The subsacpularis muscle originates from the underside of the shoulder blade and inserts at the front of the upper arm (humorous).
Action
It medially rotates the arm and also helps to extend the arm.It stabilizes the head of the humerous (arm bone) in the genoid cavity.
It is one of the four rotaor cuff muscles (Subcapularis, Infraspinatus, Supraspinatus and Teres Minor)
Subscapularis is a very powerful muscle that rotates the arm inwards. A partial rupture of the muscle is more common than a complete rupture but the partial rupture will often heal with inflammation.
Symptoms include:
Pain when moving the shoulder especially when the arm is raised above the shoulders.
Pain when you rotate the arm inwards against resistance.
Pain when you press in on the tendon insertion (difficult if you don't know where it is exactly).
Test
This test involes holding the hand behind the back (like a police arrest hold) with the palm facing away from the body. Push gently on the palm away from the back while a gentle force is applied forward. If the muscle is injured pain will occur. If only mild or no force can be applied the muscle may be torn.
follow this link for anatomy and kinesiology of the subscapularis muscle:
April
CORACOBRACHIALIS
This "little" muscle is often a culprit of pain due to the finite movements of our everyday lives...driving, mouse control (on the computer that is!), anything that we do with our arms that flexes and/or brings the arm/shoulder in towards our bodies. I often find that clients have hypertonicity in this muscle due to over exertion and dysfunction of the rotator cuff muscles in general.
Coracobrachialis arises from the apex of the coracoid process, in common with the short head of the Biceps brachii, and from the intermuscular septum between the two muscles.
It is inserted by means of a flat tendon into an impression at the middle of the medial surface and border of the body of the humerus (the upper arm) between the origins of the Triceps brachii and Brachialis.
Action
The coracobrachialis draws the humerus forward (shoulder flexion) and towards the torso (shoulder adduction).
Innervation
The coracobrachialis muscle is innervated by the musculocutaneous nerve which arises from the anterior division of the upper (C5, C6) & middle trunks (C7) of the brachial plexus.
A helpful tutorial :
muscularsystem/armmuscles/anteriormuscles/coracobrachialis/tutorial.html
May is Supraspinatus
Supraspinatus is on of the four rotator cuff muscles. The other three are subscapularis,infraspinatus and
teres minor. It is the most often injured of the four, making abduction of the arm painful or sometimes impossible. It is a relatively small muscle of the upper limb that takes its name from its origin from the supraspinous fossa superior to the spine of the scapula.
The supraspinatus muscle tendon is often ruptured in sports involving sudden forceful movements of the upper limb. The muscle can also degenerate in the elderly leading to increased instability and loss of function at the shoulder joint.
The supraspinatus tendon can also become inflamed, in persons of any age, leading to a condition called Supraspinatus tendinitis. In this condition initiation of abduction of the shoulder is difficult or impossible, but all other movements are full and pain free. The definitive cause of this condition is not clear, although it is suspected, without definite evidence, to be an after-effect of minor trauma to the shoulder joint.
Heres a helpful tutorial:
http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/muscularsystem/armmuscles/posteriormuscles/supraspinatus/tutorial.html
June is Infraspinatus
Infraspinatus is one of the four rotator cuff muscles. The other three are subscapularis,supraspinatus and
teres minor. The Infraspinatus muscle is a thick triangular muscle, which occupies the chief part of the infraspinatous fossa.It attaches medially to the infraspinous fossa of the scapula and laterally to the greater tubercle of the humerus.
It arises by fleshy fibers from its medial two-thirds, and by tendinous fibers from the ridges on its surface; it also arises from the infraspinatous fascia which covers it, and separates it from the Teres major and minor.
The fibers converge to a tendon, which glides over the lateral border of the spine of the scapula, and, passing across the posterior part of the capsule of the shoulder-joint, is inserted into the middle impression on the greater tubercle of the humerus.
The tendon of this muscle is sometimes separated from the capsule of the shoulder-joint by a bursa, which may communicate with the joint cavity.It is a lateral rotator of the glenohumeral joint and abductor of the arm.
The Infraspinatus and Teres minor rotate the head of the humerus outward (external rotation); they also assist in carrying the arm backward. Studies by Lastayo, w., etc. have shown the infraspinatus to be the major external rotator of the shoulder in comparison with the teres minor.
Here is a helpful tutorial :
http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/muscularsystem/armmuscles/posteriormuscles/infraspinatus/tutorial.html