This short video gives a quick overview of the Scalene muscles in the Neck, including a geography lesson on how to find them. I have rarely seen anyone that does not have tight scalenes and/or a tight sternocleidomastoid (SCM) – adults, elderly, even kids. And especially massage therapists! I’ll tell you why below.
The SCM is just anterior to the anterior scalene, and it has the same actions on the neck as the scalenes – flexion, lateral flexion to the same side, and rotation to the opposite side. However, the scalenes also assist with breathing – a pretty important action 🙂
Most people have three scalenes on either side of the neck – anterior, middle, and posterior – though some people actually have a fourth. These muscles tend to get pretty tight, probably due to the fact that so much of what we do in this culture involves leaning the head forward into flexion – driving, texting, computing, washing dishes, etc. Even massage! Often, the consequence of this is chronic shortening of the scalenes and SCM and rock-hard myo-fascial adhesions.
In many massage situations, the therapist has an hour or less to do a full body massage. Often, the scalenes and SCM get short shrift, if they get any attention at all. This is very unfortunate. I’ve had massages where the therapist barely touched my scalenes or just did a few light effleurage strokes, and that was it.
Since most people have tight scalenes, the therapist that glosses over this area misses an opportunity to help a lot of people. When these muscles are tight, they can affect blood flow in the subclavian artery. They can also put pressure on the brachial nerve plexus that comes between the anterior and middle scalenes and branches out through the shoulder and down the arm to the hand. They can also trigger pain referral patterns to other areas, including the head.
When someone complains about tingling or numbness in their fingers or shooting pain down the arm and into the wrist and hand, the odds are that the scalenes are tight and need to be loosened. Sometimes, such symptoms are misdiagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome, resulting in unneeded surgery.
In the Direct-Indirect Technique CEU class for the Neck, I show you how to thoroughly and efficiently loosen and lengthen the scalene and SCM muscles and the fascia that is intertwined in and around these muscles. Clients often mention they’ve never had their neck worked like that before, as they experience a newfound freedom and greater range of motion in their neck that feels fantastic.
I’d love to hear your comments below. Please press the facebook like button, and I’ll see you in class…
John