At Home Care for Health and Wellness

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. Splenius: Muscular Origins, Insertions, Actions, and Nerve Innervations The splenius muscles are located along the back of the neck down into the upper back. They can easily be palpated between the upper trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles. There are two main muscle bellies within the splenius group: splenius capitis and splenius cervicis. The splenius capitis muscle originates at the ligamentum nuchae and the spinous processes of vertebrae C-7 thru T-3 and inserts into the mastoid process and lateral nuchal line. Splenius cervicis originates from the spinous processes of vertebrae T-3 thru T-6 and inserts into the transverse processes of the upper cervical vertebrae. When contracted together, these muscles work to extend the head and neck. When contracte...

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. Occipitofrontalis: Muscular Origins, Insertions, Actions, and Nerve Innervations The occipitofrontalis muscle consists of two main muscle bellies, one in the front of the head, the other in the back of the head, that both originate from the galea aponeurotica. The galea aponeurotica is a broad sheet of connective tissue that stretches across the top of the skull. The frontalis muscle belly attaches to the skin over the eyebrows and is responsible for raising the eyebrows and wrinkling the forehead. The occipitalis Occipitofrontalis Trigger Points: Location and Possible Symptoms When a trigger point in the occipitalis muscle belly becomes active, you may feel pain along the side and back of your head. It has also been known to cause a traveling pain that goes ...

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...

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. Sternocleidomastoid: Muscular Origins, Insertions, Actions, and Nerve Innervations The Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle originates at the top of the manubrium for the sternal head and at the medial third of the clavicle for the clavicular head. Both muscle bellies insert at the mastoid process of the temporal bone as well as the lateral superior nuchal line of the occiput. When only one side of the SCM muscle is activated, the actions are to laterally flex the head to the same side, rotate the head to the opposite side. When you activate both of your sternocleidomastoid muscles, you are able to perform flexion of the neck. These muscles can also assist in respiratory inhalation. The nerve associated with this muscle is the spinal accessory nerve. Sternocleido...

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. Upper Trapezius: Muscular Origins, Insertions, Actions, and Nerve Innervations Our upper trapezius muscle is located in our upper back to neck. The muscle originates from the external occipital protuberance, the medial portion of the superior nuchal line of the occiput, and the ligamentum nuchae. The muscle fibers insert into the lateral third of the clavicle, acromion process, and the spine of the scapula. When contracted, the upper fibers of the trapezius muscle extend the head and neck. The nerves that are associated with this muscle are the spinal accessory and the cervical plexus. Upper Trapezius Trigger Points: Location and Possible Symptoms The upper trapezius has two main trigger points. The first one is located in the more superficial muscle fib...

Tension headaches are muscular headaches that present themselves in various ways. One of the main reasonings behind this is that the muscles associated with the headache may have activated trigger points. You may remember from prior posts that trigger points are minor muscle contractions that refer pain to other parts of the body. For this post series we are going to look at primary tension headaches, in which the headache and associated muscular tension is the main cause of the headache itself. The other kind of headache is known as a "secondary headache," in which there is another cause of the headache that may be more severe, such as head trauma. Depending upon the person, tension headaches can be a rare occurrence, or you may get them daily. Chronic daily headaches can lead to other issues such as decreased range of motion in the head, neck, and shoulders, postural imbalances, troubles sleeping, or secondary headaches from other trigger points being activated afte...

Breathing is something that we do everyday without much thought, yet many of us are doing it improperly. When you watch a newborn at rest, you will notice that they breathe into their belly first, and then the rest of their lungs inflate. Between infancy and adulthood, we lose this natural instinct to breathe diaphragmatically, and instead tend to breathe into our upper lungs only. Not only does this cause muscular imbalances within our system, it also does not supply us with as much oxygen as we could be getting. Try these exercises at home to start learning how to breathe diaphragmatically and incorporate that into your life and meditation practice. Exercise 1: Lay down on a couch or bed (preferably with little to no distractions). You can put on calming music in the background if that helps to soothe you. Take one of your hands and place it on your stomach, just above your belly button. Take your other hand and place it on your chest above your heart. When you go to take a...