Trigger Points: Suboccipital Muscles


Please be sure to refer to What Are Trigger Points and How To Release Trigger Points when working on trigger points at home. As always, please consult with your primary care physician prior to any type of treatment.

Suboccipitals: Muscular Origins, Insertions, Actions, and Nerve Innervations
Our suboccipital muscles are composed of eight small muscles that run between the nuchal line of the occiput, our first cervical vertebrae, and our second cervical vertebrae. They assist us in being able to rotate our head, tilt the head backwards into extension, and tilt the head from side to side without moving the neck.

The nerve associated with these muscles is the suboccipital nerve.

Suboccipital Muscle Trigger Points: Location and Possible Symptoms


Feeling for these muscles may be difficult since they are under several other muscles and are right on the spine. When palpating these muscles, be sure to significantly warm up the area ahead of time and ease into the area so as to not cause pain.

When a trigger point is activated in the suboccipital muscles, you can feel a local, dull achy pain, that can travel from behind the ear up towards the eye. Since these muscles are also associated with visual focus, you may also feel pain traveling into the back of the eye socket. Patients have described this type of trigger point activation as "someone pushing on the back of my eye."

If you are feeling significant eye pressure, please consult with an optometrist to rule out possible significant issues.

Corinne D. Bracko-Douglas, CMT, LMT, CKTP is the owner of Dochas Clinical Massage Therapy based out of Columbia, MO. She received her diploma in Clinical Massage Therapy from The Soma Institute in Chicago, IL in 2004. She enjoys teaching others about how to live a healthy lifestyle and still works one on one with clients out of her private clinic. When not working as a therapist she can be found enjoying trail hikes with her wonderful husband, Lee, and their adorable doggos, Shadow and Koda, or trying out fun new workouts to expand her knowledge of the human body and how it functions.

The advice given in these articles is not meant to diagnose. Please always consult with a health care provider before performing any of the techniques described upon yourself.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Self Trigger Point Therapy: How to Release Trigger Points

Image
There are many different methods that have been done over the years to release trigger points in the body. These methods include injections, spraying the skin with refrigerant and then stretching the frozen tissue, and massage therapy. Of all the options, massage tends to be the safest, most effective form of treatment. In the event of injections, there can be additional scarring caused by the injection itself. When releasing a trigger point on yourself, safety must be kept in mind. Many trigger points can be released with the use of a tool, such as a theracane, or even a baseball or golf ball. How Does Trigger Point Release Work? As discussed in a previous post , trigger points are caused by a contracture within muscular tissues. To release a trigger point, we must overload the sensory nerve endings in the area, forcing the muscle to release and relax. Once the muscle is relaxed, it must be stretched to reset the muscle fiber length. Warming up the Area When releasing a trig...
Read more

Plantar Fasciitis: A Look At The Underlying Causes

Image
Plantar Fasciitis is generally characterized as sharp, stabbing pains in the bottom (plantar surface) of the foot. The location of the pain may vary from person to person, with some people feeling the pain located directly under their heel, while others feel the pain more in the arch of the foot. For most individuals, this pain is greatest upon waking, followed by a slight decrease in pain throughout the middle of the day, and then another spike as the end of the day nears. The Anatomy Behind Plantar Fasciitis The key muscular players in planter fasciitis are the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles along the back of the lower leg (commonly referred to as the calf muscles), as well as possible tibialis anterior and/or the peroneus muscles involvement. Due to overuse, the muscles will pull on the plantar fascia, which is a sheet of fascia that goes along the bottom of your foot. This fascia attaches to the medial process of the calcaneal tuberosity (heel bone) at the back of your f...
Read more

Kinesiology Taping: What is it and does it work?

Image
Kinesiology Taping, Kinesio Taping, Elastic Therapeutic Taping: three names for the same concept. Many of us have seen athletes running around with bright pink, blue, and black tape on their bodies, but what is it and is it effective? The Kinesio Taping Method™ was originally developed by Dr. Kenzo Kase  who realized that while in house treatments for patients was good, providing them with something that could continuing providing therapy after treatment would be even better. After trying other types of tape that did not allow people to move through their range of motion, he designed a tape that provided stability to joints without over-restricting people. Since then many different brands of Kinesiology tape have come out: Kinesio Tex , Rock Tape , and  KT Tape  just to name a few. As far as differences go, I find it depends upon the person or practitioner using the tapes. Personally, Kinesio Tex Gold has always been my favorite since I find less people tend to h...
Read more