The sternocleidomastoid muscle, known as the sternomastoid is a paired muscle and one of the largest muscles that resides in the layers of the side of the neck. Its most important role is the flexion of the neck and the rotation of the head. It is formed of the medial head and the lateral head that are separated by a triangular interval, located bellow the middle of the neck.

Sternocleidomastoid Muscle

This muscle functions both as a short range and a long range rotator not to mention the fact that it acts as a flexor of the cervical spine and an upper cervical extensor, so there is a lot involved with this particular area of the body. However, very few people know of its existence and sometimes they are confronted with symptoms that might seem to be something else, when in fact, they are symptoms related to the sternocleidomastoid muscle.

Although the muscle rarely hurts, it can still be affected and also affect your overall life quality. However, when patients do actually feel pain, they were usually involved in an accident. But it’s the other symptoms, which are often more severe, that rush people to the doctor or the massage therapist. The muscle sometimes creates severe headaches and even facial pain. The headaches are called tension headaches and the pain experienced is usually located on the forehead.

Some people might even experience dizziness, brain fog and blurry vision, while others can have symptoms such as pain behind their ears or even hearing loss. Rarely, this particular muscle could be linked to vertigo, pain in the cheek and molar teeth, sinus symptoms and even nausea or loss of appetite. Some people may even experience itching in their ears, an itch they cannot scratch and feels quite persistent sometimes. Along with itchiness they may also experience a crackling sound.

The causes for pain or other symptoms in the sternocleidomastoid muscle are numerous and usually they involve bad posture or accidents. For example overhead activities such as painting a wall or even swimming may cause pain or stress this muscle. Other causes are poor posture like the forward head posture or sleeping with a pillow that is too high may be causing damage to your muscle. Even working at a computer, especially a laptop, for too long will put a great amount of stress on the muscle.

Other activities that are putting a lot of stress on the sternocleidomastoid muscle are horse riding, wearing tight clothing around the neck, reading in bed, having the head turned to the side for too long, etc. Whiplash is another reason why people might discover they have symptoms relating the sternocleidomastoid muscle so if you were in an accident recently, you will need to make sure that everything is healed properly.

Even more, some of the symptoms related to the sternocleidomastoid muscle can imitate sinus problems, for example people may experience a runny nose, a sinus congestion or headaches. People can go for ages thinking they have problems with their sinuses when in fact, it’s their sternocleidomastoid muscle trigger points acting up. The muscle is also used for breathing so people might find it hard to breathe deeply if it is affected.

There are a few ways of treatment that will help you get rid of these symptoms along with the pain you might experience. First of all, people are usually prescribed anti-inflammatory medication for their pain; mild anti-inflammatory medication is not a cause of concern but when the pain is extreme, some people might even go for pain killers, which may give them an addiction that is very hard to overcome.

This is why more natural methods such as exercise, yoga or massage are best when it comes to such issues because people will be able to get rid of their symptoms easily. When you think of the term Massage, any type of massage like remedial massage, sports massage or deep tissue massage will do as long as the professional therapist has enough knowledge and expertise.

Light exercise for maintaining the health of your muscles and tendons is a must and patients need to make sure that they avoid the triggers that can cause their health problems such as awkward head postures. Along with exercise, yoga can be an excellent way to relax, especially if your muscles are tensed due to stress. The same applies for massage, which can be used alone or in combination with all of the above for better results.

After a few massage sessions most people see a lot of improvement and if you also choose to incorporate some relaxation massage in your remedial massage routine you will see amazing results when it comes to the anxiety or stress you were experiencing. Massage is a great way to avoid getting too stressed and a good way to manage your overall health. For the sternocleidomastoid muscle, massage can help patients get rid of pain and especially cure the debilitating headaches that might cause them a great deal of distress along with other of the nasty symptoms mentioned above.

If you suspect your pain and discomfort symptom might be coming from your sternocleidomastoid muscle, a remedial massage Gold Coast offers may be able to help. Click and visit www.remedialmassage-goldcoast.com.au to see what they can do for you.

Pain Relief Massage Clinic
192 Brisbane Road, Arundel Gold Coast QLD 4214 Australia
Phone: (07) 5537 7886