Quick Answer:
Neck and shoulder tightness is one of the most common causes of ongoing neck pain and tension headaches. Muscles like the upper trapezius, levator scapulae, sternocleidomastoid, and suboccipitals often become overworked from prolonged sitting, screen use, and forward head posture. When these muscles stay shortened for long periods, they can create pain in the neck, shoulders, and even refer symptoms into the head and behind the eyes. Gentle stretching, improving posture, and restoring normal neck movement can help reduce tension and improve mobility. If your symptoms continue despite stretching, a physiotherapy assessment can identify the underlying mobility, strength, or postural issues contributing to your pain. Learn more about treatment options on our neck pain physiotherapy Markham page
Why do these Muscles Create Neck Pain?
There's no such thing as a bad muscle. Our muscles are meant to help us move freely and easily. They weren't designed to be in one position for long periods of time. Unfortunately, the demands of day to day life often require them to do that.
The Muscles That Often Need to be Stretched
There are many muscles in our neck, but the ones that tend to get overused the most when we're slouched for long periods of time tend to be the ones that shorten when our shoulders roll forward and our chins poke forward.
Your Upper Trapezius Muscle
Connecting the tip of your shoulder to the back of your head, these are the muscles that when tight will tend to pull your shoulder blades up to your ears. The pain they create often is located where they are but can also refer to the side of your head
Your Levator Scapula Muscle
This muscle attaches from the inside tip of your shoulder blades to the back of your neck. Pain from this muscle if often found locally where the muscle is.
Your Sternocleidomastoid Muscle
This angled muscle is a common headache generator and connects from your head (just beneath your ears and along the back) to the inside part of your collarbones.
Your Suboccipital Muscles
These small muscles connect the back of your head to the top of your neck. When they're sore they can create local pain or refer to your eyes.
What stretches can you do for these headache and neck pain muscles?
Are you noticing that your neck and shoulder muscles have been sore? Have you noticed if you've been spending more time in front of a computer or screen? Poor posture from shortened muscles can be one of the reasons. In a previous blog post we discussed how these muscles can cause headaches. Watch the video to see how to stretch out the most common tight muscles.
