The levator scapula, also known as the levator scap, is one of several muscles that make up the “superficial layer” of back muscles. It is active in many scapula movements.
Understanding the Scapula Levator Muscle mass
The shoulder blade, also known as the scapula, is a flat, triangularly shaped bone that lies on top of your rib cage’s upper part. In the back, there are two scapula bones, one on either side of the spine. The elevation is a movement that occurs as the levator scap raises the shoulder blade or scapula. The scapula is also rotated downward.
This muscle pushes the scapula’s bottom tip towards the spine by making upward from the inner corner of the scapula bone to the outside of the neck, where the levator scapula connects. It is the aforementioned downward rotation movement.
These shoulder blade movements are usually part of the broader flexion and abduction movements of the shoulder joint. When you move your arm forward and up towards the ceiling, it is called flexion, and when you move your arm out to the side, it is called abduction.
The levator scap actively contracts during flexion and abduction
The contraction of the levator scapula muscle may also move the jaw. It engages in lateral flexion, or side bending, as well as rotation or twisting. The levator scap connects the scapula’s inside top edge to the cervical vertebrae one through four (C1 to C4).
Scapula Levator the Function of Muscle in Head and Neck Posture
Neck and shoulder pain is a common complaint among office staff, truck drivers, and those who spend their days sitting. It’s made harder when the worker’s chair or car seat lacks support for a properly balanced spine. Chronic muscle tension and spasm, and muscle fatigue can be caused by poorly built work furniture. One of the levator scalp’s main functions is to hold your shoulder blade in a position that maintains a vertical alignment of your head on your neck and prevents forward head posture.
The shoulder blade, on the other hand, is a highly mobile bone by nature. It’s no simple task to keep it still to preserve proper neck posture.
Imagine standing on a surfboard in the ocean while carrying and using your computer equipment and other office supplies to get a sense of what a movable shoulder blade might do to your levator scap, which is responsible for keeping it in the proper place on your back. Dynamic opposing movements, in this situation, will most likely require your muscles and bones to change independently and collaborate for you to write, reach for your phone, and maintain your equilibrium as the water rushes underneath you.
The levator scap might not be sturdy enough to hold the shoulder blade where it should be for proper head-on-neck posture in this and similar, but less dramatic, scenarios. Instead, it may become overworked.
When muscles are overstretched, they tend to become taut to provide support. It may appear to be muscle tension caused by muscle shortening, but it’s not the case.
And if you slouch, don’t have lumbar support, and the desk or steering wheel is too high or too low, the shoulder blade can force upward or downward.
Treating Neck and Shoulder Pain Associated with the Levator Scapula
When you have neck pain, the levator scapula muscle can involve several shoulder muscles. Since the shoulder and neck are so complex, any pain or dysfunction in those areas should be diagnosed by a trained, licensed health practitioner.
A few visits to a physical therapist might be all you need to get back on track
In that case, care may include strengthening and stretching the levator scapula and another shoulder, neck, and upper back muscles, as well as improving posture patterns.
Physical therapy exercises, especially those that address your upper back posture, can help reduce kyphosis, according to a March 2018 study published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science. Kyphosis is often a precursor to the state mentioned above of forward head posture.
Physical therapy can be able to help you minimize the amount of tension on the levator. Stretching, strengthening, and posture lessons will also help you relieve pain, enhance upper-body physical function, and improve your overall quality of life.
Patterns of pain
When trigger points in your levator scapulae are present, they can cause pain in the immediate area and refer pain to other, otherwise unrelated areas of your body. The levator scapulae’s primary pain areas are the side of your neck and your upper shoulder. It can, however, cause pain on your shoulder blade and its inner border, known as the margo medialis. It’s connected to the following aches:
Shoulder blade discomfort • Pain between the shoulder blades • Muscle pain in the neck
Neck stiffness
The red color in the image represents the pain areas.
When the levator contains trigger points, the darker the red, the more likely you will feel pain in that region.
Movements that are hampered or painful:
You will find it difficult to turn your head fully to the side without experiencing discomfort. It is what the majority of people go through when they have a stiff and painful neck. Raising the neck when lying on a sofa or in bed can be so sad that you’ll need to support your head with your hands. It is particularly aggravating when you want to adjust your head position for a more comfortable sleeping position. Tilting your head down to read a book can be uncomfortable as well.
