It is important to know how to massage these key muscles for
many problems as mentioned in the last post. Don’t be afraid of
touching your neck. You may want
to lie down while massaging so that your neck gets relaxed.
Scalenes are
behind the sternocleidomastoid (SCM).
To reach the anterior scalene, with your opposite
hand, you have to push the sternocleidomastoid
aside toward your throat to locate it between the sternocleidomastoid and the neck vertebrae.
 |
|
© Clair Davies
|
Get your fingertips in
front of the vertebrae and push the anterior scalene against the vertebrae up behind your ear and down to the
collarbone (clavicle). If you feel the pulse, just get out of the way. You will feel tenderness if trigger points are active. You might
find the worst one behind the collarbone. It is normal to feel a referred sensation somewhere else or
mild nervy sensation. Stroke on
each trigger point side to side up to six times.
To locate the middle scalene is easier. Get your fingertips on the side of the neck vertebrae.
The posterior scalene is buried almost
behind the collarbone and tricky to find. Find where your collarbone meets the top ridge of the
shoulder, and move toward the throat along the collarbone.
 |
|
© Clair Davies
|
When you press downward toward the collarbone, you feel a
bony structure underneath. The
posterior scalene is around there, and it feels ropy and moves around. It brings to me a mild nervy sensation,
not tenderness, and sends a referred sensation to my back at the inner edge of
the shoulder blade. It may not be
comfortable first, but if you don’t find trigger points in the anterior and
middle scalenes, this posterior scalene is the key, so don’t be
discouraged.