Let me guess. You work on a computer or are like the majority of the population who slouches over their phone, doom scrolling on social media to later be informed through technology that you spent X amount of hours on your phone.
It's okay, you can admit it.
Your scalenes are a group of three muscles on both sides of the your neck. These muscles are accessory to breathing since they help with movement of the first and second ribs,are involved in rotation of the neck, and cause flexion of the neck.
Other than the above causation of pain due to neck position with holding your head over your phone while it is below chest level, issues can arise due to whiplash, excessive coughing, having respiratory disorders such as asthma, sleeping on your stomach, carrying a bag over one shoulder, or wearing a very tight collar and tie.
When this muscle is angry, it can cause a pattern of pain.
Depending on which scalene is causing the issues, symptoms of scalene tightness or injury include pain along the back of the arm, pain along the back of the thumb and middle finger, pain along he chest, pain on the mid back, pain along the side of the arm, pain along the shoulder and pain along the back of the hand. It may also lead to weakness of grip.
Is this sounding more and more familiar?
Acupuncture can be beneficial to help release some of the tension on this tight muscles.
You can also stretch using the following images for guidance.
We can also take care of our necks by sitting upright when using a computer for pleasure or work, and by holding our phone at a height where we do not have to strain our neck downwards to see it.
Little changes can make a big difference, even though you won't immediately see results.
Have any questions or need an appointment to help with this or other issues?
Feel free to send me an email, direct message or give me a phone call!
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