Neck pain and headaches? Look to the suboccipitals

I’ve been fascinated lately by a group of 8 small muscles that lie at the base of the skull on the back of our heads. These are called the suboccipitals.

Here they are. They lie behind larger muscles that are cut away in this drawing.

The suboccipitals are small but extremely important for pain-free ease of movement.

• They connect your skull to the first two vertebrae of the spine (the atlas and the axis).
• They are important postural muscles. When they are balanced and working properly, they help align your cranium on top of your spine.
• They do the small, intrinsic movements we all do many, many times a day, such as turning your head while driving or nodding slightly.

Because they are postural muscles, they can easily become tight or unbalanced. Think of your posture after you’ve been, say, sitting at a computer for two hours working on an important project. Your upper back and shoulders are likely rounded and hunched, your chest muscles are likely shortened and tight, and your head likely sits forward from it’s optimum position.

This head forward position puts a lot of strain on these little suboccipitals. When muscles get tight, they can develop trigger points, which refer pain to elsewhere in the body. Tension headaches can occur because of trigger points in these muscles.

To help ease the strain on these muscles, take breaks throughout your day and glide your head back to neutral. You’re not tipping your head back, but rather gliding it along the same plane until your ears are over your shoulders. (You may need a friend to help you with this.). To help that along, you’ll want to bring your shoulders back slightly and glide your shoulder blades down your back. Think “heart lifting” (rather than sticking your chest out).

Try this two or three times a day, more if you can remember. With continual practice, you are sending a message to your brain that this is the “normal” way to hold your head.

Another interesting fact about these suboccipitals: one of them, the “rectus capitus posterior minor,” actually sends its connective fibers into the dura, which is the protective layer that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord. Some believe that relaxing this muscle helps with the flow of cerebral spinal fluid and improves neurological function. Massage can help relax these muscles.