Table of Contents
- How People Describe This Pain Pattern
- How You Activate and Intensify This Pain Pattern
- Self-Care – Getting Relief on Your Own
- Musculoskeletal Anatomy Behind Your Pain
- Therapy Notes for Massage and Bodywork
Want to skip ahead?
Here’s a link to my post about
getting relief on your own.
How People Describe This Pain Pattern
People complain about a tender spot at the top of the neck while turning their heads. I have to admit, I find it interesting that they don’t complain about pain during an activity or in general. They usually complain that it is tender to touch. When I press them, about what touches that spot, or when they noticed that it was sore to the touch, they don’t know.
Background Headache Tension
They usually don’t complain about the headache at first. However, almost always, when I ask them, they tell me that they have one. Sometimes, the person will complain that it gets worse when they turn their head so that their nose moves away from the tender spot. They may also complain about it being intense on the same side as the neck tenderness. In those cases, I ask them to describe the headache in more detail.
When you feel around in the area that is tender at the top of the neck, it usually feels fuller, stiffer, and more sensitive than the other side. This is much more common on the right and restricts turning the head to the left.
How You Activate and Intensify This Pain Pattern
Slept Funny
This trigger point is often activated by turning and tilting the head suddenly or for a long time. This might happen if you fall asleep with your neck across the arm of the couch. People often say that they “just slept funny” and woke up with a stiff neck. A friend ended up in this pain after a long ride in a crowded car. I’ll also hear people complain about it after sleeping in a strange bed.
This pattern also becomes apparent sometimes after working through other trigger point patterns created by whiplash.
The Musculoskeletal Anatomy Behind Your Pain
Musculoskeletal Anatomy
This post on anatomy contains standard information about the origin, insertion, function, and innervation of muscles. Additionally, it includes information on functional considerations and anomalies.
Find Related Posts
Anatomy posts have a grid of all related posts. This includes posts on pain patterns, self-care, therapy notes, NMT protocols, cranial techniques, and cases.
Getting Relief on Your Own
Clinically Proven
Self-Care Strategies
This post has strategies for getting relief on your own. Explore how to change your activities, stretching, and other strategies that relieve the pain associated with this trigger point.
Therapy Notes for Massage and Bodywork
Better Bodywork
Through Shared Expertise
This post has techniques, tips, treatment routines, and anatomy illustrations to improve the bodyworker’s approach.
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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.