Roll out neck tension
by Megan
Sit at a desk all day? Spend a lot of time on your phone? Clench your jaw when stressed?
Then, like us, you might have poor neck posture. This causes pain around the shoulders, neck, and jaw and can lead to tension headaches.
Even if you stretch regularly, you might find that neck tension creeps back in quickly. Stretching alone might not be enough to release this tension.
Myofascial rolling might be the solution - it targets not just the muscle tissues, but the connective tissues (fascia) where tightness can add up. Self-massage works tissues in different ways from stretching, and can break up places where layers of tissues have become stuck together.
Let’s learn about neck anatomy and explore rolling practices to manage neck tension and maintain mobility and tissue health.
Neck anatomy 101
Muscle and fascia attach the skull to the neck and upper ribs to help connect the head to the torso. The neck moves in several ranges of motion: flexion (forward, dropping your chin), extension (backwards, lifting your chin), rotation (side-to-side), and lateral flexion (tilting your head to side).
Basic muscles:
Suboccipitals
Upper trapezius
Sternocleidomastoid (SCM)
Scalenes
How neck tension affects function
When sitting for a while, many of us tend to let the head drift forward. This shortens the suboccipital muscle group at the back of the neck, and over time, the muscles get used to holding this tighter position. This is called adaptive shortening.
This forward-head posture also adds load and tension to the muscles of the side neck (the scalenes and SCM). When these muscles develop knots, you might feel a ‘tension headache’ or pain that wraps around your head from back to front.
Some of us also carry our stress in our neck and shoulders, and muscles like the upper trapezius get tighter as a result.
Put it together with props and practices
To do these exercises, you’ll need:
a squishy ball
a pair of tune-up balls
a block/thick book
Open the neck and chest
Megan uses a squishy ball and some wall space at standing level for this short practice. The ball allows for broad pressure in self-massage that helps to release tension in the fascia and muscles in the chest and front of the neck.
This practice reduces postural strain and manages tissue tension from the jaw, neck and chest.
Release neck tension
In this short practice, Alana guide the use of tune-up balls and bodyweight to open the back of the neck. This exercise targets the sub-occipitals.
This is a great short practice to help manage tension from forward-head posture.
Release tight traps
This practice uses tune-up balls and a door frame to target the upper traps. Work with the breath to help create length in these commonly tense muscles.
This practice reduces tension in commonly tight upper traps near the neck attachment. Stand and use the door frame to leverage the tune-up balls to a depth where you can comfortably work.
Want more resources?
Join us in person: check out current class offerings in Kitchener
Watch: myofascial release playlist on YouTube
For a deeper dive into MFR for postural strain explore our Learn to Roll: for Postural Strain course available online.
