Although it sounds like an obscure general from the Roman Empire, the splenius capitis is actually a neck and head muscle. You have a splenius capitis (SC) on each side of the neck attaching along the vertebrae of the upper back at one end and on the other end attaching to the skull at the mastoid process (just behind your ear).

Contracting the SC on one side will rotate and/or laterally flex (bring ear to shoulder) your neck on that same side. Looking up (extension) requires contraction of both SC simultaneously.

As a neck muscle the splenius capitis is susceptible to injuries such as whiplash. Trauma involving the neck or head can allow trigger points to develop in this muscle. Over or misuse of the muscle (especially related to posture) can also set the stage for trigger points.

Trigger points in the splenius capitis generally refer pain to the top of the head. Headaches of this nature can be relieved if trigger points are causing them and can be deactivated.

Just after Labor Day I will be going back to school. Well, for four intense days anyway. I have been looking forward for a long time to begin learning a technique called manual lymph drainage (MLD).

As a massage therapist, working on an area of inflamation is contraindicated – we’re not supposed to treat it. With MLD I’ll will learn – among other things – how to treat inflamation gently, effectively, and safely.

Learning to treat an area of inflamation within hours of onset, will allow me the ability to help clients enhance the recovery process. By adding this tool to my bag of tricks, I can help even more people who have had surgery or have been injured.

I recently read a report designed to study the use of massage for postoperative pain reduction. The report was published in 2007 by Mitchinson, et al in the Archives of Surgery.

The study chronicles the first five days after major surgery for over 600 veterans. Two hundred participants were in the group receiving a basic, daily back massage. The authors of the study found significant decrease in pain intensity and pain unpleasantness measured for the massage group compared to the control group.

The researchers conclude “massage is an effective and safe adjuvant therapy for the relief of acute postoperative pain in patients undergoing major operations.”

Here is a link to an article about this study. To read the full report you will have to have a subscription.