Don't Shrug This Off

You remember those teenage years, the ones where the shrug meant volumes in communication, mostly with parents.

The shrugging muscle is called the levator scapula, and it runs from the top of the scapula (shoulder blade) up to the top of the neck, C-1 through C-4. It elevates the shoulder blade, hence the name, levator scapula.

This one muscle is the most chronically tight of all that I palpate when I give a massage with at least 90% of my clients. Why? Our lifestyle promotes it. Almost all of us work on computers, we drive, and at some point during the day, most of us find that our shoulders have crept up to our ears. My personal theory is that we are hardwired to do this when we are stressed. It's the old "I'm big, so don't mess with me," survival instinct that we still see in birds when they puff up their feathers, in cats when they fluff out their fur when they feel a threat. And our culture encourages stress. (Buy this, so your life will be easier, more enjoyable, more interesting, but then you have to work harder and longer to afford all these gizmos. And the gizmos have obsolescence planned into them so they won't last long and you'll need to buy another just to keep up. And don't get sick, or you'll insurance will cancel your policy, if you are fortunate enough to have insurance to start with... and the list goes on.)

So we are stressed. And our shoulders are around our ears. We consciously move them down into their relaxed position only to find they are back up at our ears again. What's a body to do?

This past week one of my clients shared a stretch that her PT has shown her. It's so easy, and it stretches out the fibers of the muscle, encouraging them to relax. This is how you do it.

Stand with your right arm behind your back. Bring your left hand to the back of your head, and pull your head towards your shoulder, so that your left ear is almost touching your left shoulder. Feel that stretch? I like Michael Young's approach to stretches, especially when it's therapeutic and to release a spasm, so keep the stretch to no more that two seconds long and repeat for about ten times. Then do the opposite side.

Do this when your ears feel crowded, and afterwards you can shrug the tension off!