Table of Contents
- Activities to Avoid or Change
- For Temporary Relief
- Stretches and Exercises for Longer-Lasting Relief
- Yoga Corner
Here, you can find relief through self-care from pain at the base of the head and under the shoulder blade. In this other post, you can read more about how people describe this pattern and the activities that create the problem.
Activities To Avoid or Change:
Avoid sleeping in awkward positions or, especially, under a draft. Chill aggravates this pain at the base of the head and under the shoulder blade more than the awkward position.
This muscle is often overpowered by short, strong muscles on the front of the neck. Specifically, the anterior scalene attaches to the front of the 3rd cervical, where this trigger point lives. This is one of the many muscles that may develop problems from craning your neck forward to drive, looking at the computer, leaning in to listen, watching television from the couch, etc.
Do You Have Forward-Head Posture?
This muscle is often overstretched and overpowered by Forward-Head Posture. As the head moves forward, the opposing muscles become short and strong. Consequently, this muscle becomes overstretched and tight. Once the head has become imbalanced over the torso, this muscle fights to rebalance posture.
If you have Forward-Head Posture, review this collection, especially the self-care suggestions for changing your environment and the Tuck, Tilt, Turn, and Lift exercise.
Improve the ergonomics
at your home or office.
This post offers some great ideas for actively sitting without support or sitting with supports that help you avoid pain and fatigue. There are also suggestions about a few useful accessories.
For Temporary Relief:
Place one of the small Salonpas patches on the green star in the picture. This should be centered between the base of your head and the top of your shoulders. They’re available at every drugstore and even cheaper on Amazon.
After it has been on for a few minutes, try stretches #2 and #3 listed below. The topical patch makes it particularly easy to release with a stretch.
These self-care activities, like over-the-counter drugs, are not intended to replace appropriate medical attention. If you have concerns about these self-care activities, get help from a professional. Use these suggestions and strategies with discretion and at your own risk. See your doctor when your pain is severe, persistent, or not responding to these simple suggestions.
Stretches and Exercises for Longer-Lasting Relief:
This post has a great stretching exercise for the neck. Start with the top of the neck, as the post suggests.
Sometimes, you will feel it under the shoulder blade or at the top of the neck when the mid-neck shifts. This usually creates an immediate and notable relief of pain and tension.
Do the whole series in The Box, but pay particular attention to lifting your head as you do stretches #2 and #3, as shown below. Use a little extra Ice along the mid-neck to facilitate the release.
Is Your Neck Extra Stiff and Painful?
Sometimes, turning your head is strongly limited by pain. This indicates that more than one of the muscles that creates a “stiff neck” is involved. Check out these posts on a stiff neck.
In this case, if the problem does not resolve with home care, consider professional help from your bodyworker. They will offer quicker relief, have longer-lasting results, and keep you focused on effective self-care.
I’d love your feedback on how this works for you and any suggestions you might have.
Email me at integrativeworks@gmail.com.
Yoga Corner
There are many yoga routines for stretching your neck. It is important to release the upper neck first. Then, this stretch often opens the facet joints in the mid-neck that release this trigger point.
Often, the pain is relieved with those little clicks at the base of the neck that release the serratus posterior superior.
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Tony Preston has a practice in Atlanta, Georgia, where he sees clients. He has written materials and instructed classes since the mid-90s. This includes anatomy, trigger points, cranial, and neuromuscular.
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*This site is undergoing significant changes. We are reformatting and expanding the posts to make them easier to read. The result will also be more accessible and include more patterns with better self-care. Meanwhile, there may be formatting, content presentation, and readability inconsistencies. Until we get older posts updated, please excuse our mess.