14/10/2021
DEEP CERVICAL MUSCLES- the cervical spine is a frequent source of clinical complaints as many people in modern society suffer from neck pain related to prolonged sitting and computer/phone usage. While it is common for the superficial muscles of the neck to be symptomatic with trigger points and perceived tightness, it is the deep muscle layers where we find many interesting LINKS. The deep network consists of muscles that are loaded with spindles and work to inform the brain about the position of the spine and skull in space. Almost all of these muscles attach to C2 (gray) which makes C2 position very important for proprioception. The deep muscles include the suboccipitals:
Re**us Capitis Post Major (dark pink)
Re**us Capitis Post Minor (dark purple)
Obliquus Capitis Sup (light blue)
Obliquus Capitis Inf (light purple)
Re**us Capitis Lateralis (dark blue)
The Deep Intrinsics:
Intertransversarii (green)
Interspinales (yellow)
Transversospinales (Orange C2, pink)
All of these muscles can be thought of as the “fine tuners” of the cervical spine and skull which includes working with the eyes to perfect gaze and stabilizing the cervical joints. Like all muscles, they require movement stimulation to optimize function. If we stare statically at a screen all day, these muscles shorten and give bad proprioceptive feedback to the brain which will alter muscle recruitment patterns and joint function. Headaches, neck tightness and pain may follow. Change the input to the brain through the proprioceptive muscle system (manual therapy, needling, exercise), change function. This drawing can help clarify the targets
