Would it surprise you if you felt severe pain in your hand? Although we all know the expression “a pain in the neck”, if there are myofascial trigger point in your neck muscles, it’s unlikely that you will feel any pain. Trigger points in the neck muscles can cause pain in many other areas of the body. This makes it difficult to diagnose and many people suffer from severe pain or other symptoms.
Scalene Group
The scalene group is the most common area to experience neck triggers. It includes three muscles, the anterior, middle, and posterior scalene. These muscles connect the neck bones to top of the ribcage, and trigger points in any one of them can cause pain in many places. The pain pattern caused by spasms of the scalene muscle group can vary from person to person and can even change from one day to another for the same person.
Scalene triggers can cause pain that radiates down to the chest, arms, hands, upper back, and sideways. Stabbing pains in the upper body and arms are common. It can be very beneficial to stretch the scalene muscles, especially to combat headaches.
Trigger Points
However, it is a good idea before stretching to massage trigger points to ensure that stretching doesn’t make things worse. The triangular area where the scalene muscles are located is between the collar bone and the trapezius shoulder muscles. You should massage this area with your fingers’ tips and not the tips.
You can use small circular motions to locate the muscle bands. If you feel the pulse of the carotid or jugular vein, you can ease off. This area may feel strange and uncomfortable at first. You might feel hot and sharp when you press on a trigger point. You should feel a mild ache spreading throughout your arm, shoulder, and head. This is a sign that the massage is working.
What to do?
A daily stretch can be very helpful in relieving symptoms after you have deactivated triggers within your scalene muscles by massaging.
- Standing, clasp your hands behind you back.
- Your left shoulder should be lowered and your head should be tilted to the right.
- Roll your head backwards until the scalene muscles are stretched.
- For ten to fifteen seconds, hold the position and then switch sides.
Poor Posture
Poor posture is one of the main causes for myofascial pains in the scalene muscle groups. Trigger points can be caused by excessive stress on the scalene muscle groups. This can be done by tilting your head upwards or down, twisting to one side, or sloping your shoulders forward. Your computer screen should be at the right height so that you don’t have to look up or downwards.
Make sure your laptop has a docking station and a separate monitor. You should ensure that your computer screen is in front of your face so that you don’t have your neck bent to see it. Also, your head can remain in a neutral position.
Lower Back Support
A lower back support will automatically pull your shoulders back, and keep you from slumping forward at your desk. You can adjust the height of the seat to ensure your feet are flat on a level surface or use a stool. To compensate for your feet being too far away from the floor, you will lean forward.
This will cause your upper body to move out of alignment and increase pressure on your neck. Triggers in the scalene muscles can cause pain and other problems. However, the only place that seems to be unaffected is the neck. To reduce trigger points in the neck, gentle massage and regular stretching can be combined with a great posture.