Relief for massaged muscles

Under the base of the skull must be the single most relieving and popular target for massage in the human body.

No other muscle gets such rave reviews for its deeply relaxing and satisfying sensations, and a great therapeutic relevance to one of the most common of all human pains, the common tension headache.

It is estimated that 80-90 per cent of the population suffer from tension headaches at least once during their lives. And no wonder, without these muscles your head would fall off. They feel just as important as they are.

Along with lots of other neck muscles, the suboccipital group – usually just called “the suboccipitals”, work overtime to keep your head balanced on top of your spine. In particular, they initiate and control fine movements.

This is no small task; if you’re a big person, your head may weigh as much as a 10-pin bowling ball, and it is resting on a foundation only about one third as wide. These muscles would have to be absolute workaholics.

The suboccipitals are also partly antagonized (balanced) by the jaw muscles, which are also highly-used muscles.

Generally speaking you’ve got one muscle or group of muscles that pulls one way, and another group that pull the other way.

It’s a belief that the jaw muscles do not affect the spinal joints, and that they cannot directly work against or with the suboccipitals. But they do.

Muscle studies have shown that the jaw muscles behave much like they would in a normal push-pull relationship with the suboccipitals. They function together and dysfunction together.

Both of these muscle groups routinely harbour trigger points that cause headaches, and together they are the source of most tension headaches and can also be likely triggers for migraines and a build-up of stress.

If I could only have one group of muscles to get massaged regularly, this is the one I would choose!

Do you find yourself clenching your teeth at work? Do you grind your teeth during the night? Do you spend time on your phone? Or work at a computer? These muscles are helping/hindering you, so I encourage you to get a massage today!