You have trouble turning your head to look behind you, feel a burning on the top of your shoulder blade or perhaps you wake up in the morning with a crick in your neck! It could very well be your;
LEVATOR SCAPULAE (levator in Latin means to lift) which is situated at the back and side of the neck and its function is to life the scapulae, such as shrugging the shoulders. It originates from the cervical 1-4 vertebrae as 4 little muscles joining into one and inserts into the medial border of the scapula. There is a levator scapulae muscle on both sides of your neck. Its not the biggest muscles on the neck but it sure does a whole lot of work there.
This muscle also turns your neck on the same side, in other words if you want to look over your right shoulder, your right LS is engaged. It often works in combination with other muscles in the neck allowing for elevating and rotating the shoulders, as well as stabilizing the neck. When you look down, the LS prevents your head from flopping forward onto your chest.
Most of us spend long hours engaging this muscle then wonder why our neck and shoulders are so tight. One of the most common causes of LS pain is working on a keyboard that is positioned too high. Other pain causes are in correct posture while working on laptops, driving, or working with your arms raised.
This neck muscle is frequently responsible for a stiff neck!
With massage techniques, stretching along with some PNF stretching, range of motion of the neck can be increased considerably and pain reduced.
Take time and figure out what you doing wrong if you have a stiff and painful neck.
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