Scalenes question....

[kinney1]

I was told by my chiro that I have tight scalene muscles that are causing my upper back/neck issues. What stretches would be useful to loosen them up? Neck rolls, foam rolling, or static strethces? Thanks.

[LancelotsLover]

I'm not sure what stretches target those muscles, but I had a fantastic massage last week and the woman doing it mentioned that my scalene muscles were tight and proceeded to work on them for a long time. It hurt like holy hell, but I felt a lot better afterwards!

I usually do neck stretches by holding my arm straight down and slightly to the side, and tip my head to the other side and pull it down toward my shoulder with the free hand. You can change the angle of your head and also your arm, and hit different muscles.

I have a good link to an article on stretching that I'll try to find and post here when I get home.

[Mon]

Originally Posted by LancelotsLover

I'm not sure what stretches target those muscles, but I had a fantastic massage last week and the woman doing it mentioned that my scalene muscles were tight and proceeded to work on them for a long time. It hurt like holy hell, but I felt a lot better afterwards!

I usually do neck stretches by holding my arm straight down and slightly to the side, and tip my head to the other side and pull it down toward my shoulder with the free hand. You can change the angle of your head and also your arm, and hit different muscles.

I have a good link to an article on stretching that I'll try to find and post here when I get home.

I have gotten massages on this muscle too (once by a pro, mostly by a friend and theracane), but then when I use my shoulders again, the tightness comes back. Same thing goes for when I go to my chiropractor. It feels good after and then goes back to tight when I activate my upper trapz accidently, which is hard to prevent activating because we use these muscles 24/7. I use a theracane everyday on these muscles and the tightness just comes back again and again. I also keep forgetting to stretch these muscles and stretch period. I need to get myself to stretch a few times a day and the neck/trap muscles more than once or twice a day. My TFL is a struggle too because in the morning, they ache (I sleep on my side) and I always put a baseball under the muscle to stop the aching. its sore right now though from too much self massaging it.

Its hard for muscles we use everyday to stay loose.

[mpipes]

I'd bet you actually have shortened sternocleidomastoid muscles (aka: SCM), which are the cause of the head forward posture, and put the strain on the scalenes. They run from the base of the skull right behind the ear down to the front of the neck, and when doing work where you tend to tilt the head forward a lot, like using a computer all day, they shorten up.

If you stretch the scalenes but not the SCM, the tension in your upper back and neck only gets WORSE, not better, because the SCM just shorten up even more.

While standing or sitting upright, pull your head straight back while keeping the plane of your face vertical/perpendicular to the ground. You can use a hand to push the chin down to keep the head from tilting up if you have to. This will stretch the SCM and you'll likely feel the tightness in the scalenes and upper traps as well. Because of their (SCM) locations, the typically recommended neck rolls/stretches actually don't do much to stretch them, but turning your head from side to side will make the SCM "pop", which allows you to then manually massage them with less risk of accidentally hitting the nerve bundles that run nearby (the reason most massage therapists are urged to never work deep on the front of the neck).

Scalene and levator scapulae stretches are easier to find.

Probably don't want to put too much general pressure on the neck with foam rollers. "Finer-tuned" finger-focus, or something smaller like a tennis ball would be safer.

[Mon]

mpipes - this got me thinking..chiropractors turn our head from side to side to get rid of the tightness in this muscle, but then the tightness comes back later on when the muscle is used again. what mine does is feel where the tightness is (knott), and then he turns my head to the side and then the knott is temporary gone. do you know why? Is there a way to actually keep the muscle from getting tight again? there should be a way. I found a way to keep my hips even and not twisted after a few adjustment sessions (hip mobility work and also making sure I have good posture 24/7), but the shoulders, trapz, and neck is hard to keep loose. I dont know why that is. I got the upper body mobility (inside out) by hartman and cressey, but nothings making these muscles looser. Maybe I am not doing enough mobility work and stretching. I should probably do it more than once a day (I usually stretch only when I work out). maybe thats why these muscles are not staying loose. they tighten up everytime I use these muscles.

[kinney1]

thanks for the replies....mpipe - thanks for your response, but i am still not quite sure how to stretch it. i will google scalenes stretches though.

mon - i have the exact same issues. i have used the inside/out stretch routines, foam roll, lacrosse balls, etc. anything i think would help. i have found that it only brings temporary relief. my chiro does help, but i usually reaggravate the area after a day or two. as you said, it is difficult not to use those muscles. very frustrating.....

i also can't perform low and mid trap strength exercises like Y's and T's. after i perform those exercises my upper back always tightens up real bad.

[Mon]

yeah same thing with my chiropractor as well and its hard to prevent reaggravating the area. Anyone how how to prevent reaggravating the area so we can stay loose? If theres a way, then I can go back to my chiropractor, get my adjustment, and then be happy. otherwise, the chiropractor is not worth it anymore unless I have a pain I cant get rid of or something actually came out of allignment or if my hips get twisted again. the only problem right now is these scalenes/trap muscles tight!

by the way, t's and Y's are done with shoulder blades squeezed together (its a retraction exercise, not an elevation exercise). Here is an activation exercise. Get on the floor on your hands and knees in a modified push up position (so you can feel the right muscles working). and then using your shoulder blade/scapulae muscles only, protract them hard (bringing your shoulder blades away from you) and then retract them hard (squeeze those shoulder blades together just like you would squeeze your glutes together or squeezing a ball hard with your hand. pretend there is an orange in between the shoulder blades that needs to be squeezed to make orange juice). There is an exercise called push up plus in the inside out dvd, so view that. thats the one I am talking about. if the regular version (hands and toes) makes you do it wrong, then do the modified version on hands and knees.

Most important thing is make sure you keep your core tight the whole time, butt squeezed, and most important, shoulders down (not up/shrugged). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY9Vuo27pCs

here is scap wall slides http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXcRFBFuo-c to activate the lower trapz. make sure shoulder blades, head, butt, forearms, and hands stay in contact with the wall the whole time and keep shoulders down!

Even though I do these activation exercises and keep my shoulders down and back during exercises using good form, my trap muscle/scapenes still reaggravate...especially when I am at ralphs bagging. out of no where, it just flares up everysingle time I work. The problem really is...how can we all keep these muscles loose and make them weak so they wont be used?

[mpipes]

kinney1: to stretch the SCMs and scalenes, stand with your back against a wall, make sure your heels and butt are touching as well.

Bring your head back til it touches the wall too, but keep the chin down. if you have head-forward posture, the head will want to tilt upward in order to allow it to touch the wall, but that allows the neck to remain in the forward position. Keeping the chin down, using a hand to help if you have to, will bring the neck back as well, and you're really going to feel the stretch.

As far as maintaining looseness, you have to be conscious about your posture *constantly* and you have to stay on top of the stretching, either multiple sessions per day or every spare minute you get while at work, take the opportunity to stretch something.

Chiros and massage therapists are great when you get into a sticky spot. They can get you freed up enough that stretching can become more effective, but the majority of the care you will have to do on your own.

Basically it comes down to balancing the time spent stressing the body - ie: working or working out, with time spent performing recovery.
If you spend 8 hours a day wrecking things at work, whether it's all at a computer or all spent on your feet, a 30 minute daily stretching routine after a workout isn't going to be enough.

I work at a computer all day but there's always 2-3 minutes here and there that make perfect stretching opportunities.