How to check if the muscles tilting the head forward work normally? There is a way, you need to sit down or lie down and perform maximum head tilt. If you manage to touch the chin of the sternum, then the necessary muscles work perfectly!
It is important not only to lean forward, but also to the sides, backward - any movements of the head are functionally significant. In this article, we will look at the muscle group responsible for tilting.
Diagnostics
Specialists in applied kinesiology (a science that studies the patterns of movement of muscle groups) conduct special diagnostics to identify the norm or pathology. In the example described above, the proper functioning of the muscular structures is considered: the muscles tilting the head forward when they contract together.
But what if, when tilted, the chin remains in the air without reaching the chest? Moreover, the distance can be both insignificant and large. This means weakness of the muscles - flexors of the cervical spine.
In such cases, a person is prescribed special therapeutic exercises. It helps to build muscle strength of the deep flexors. It is performed in free sagging of the head, as well as using the technique of overcoming resistance.
Tilt function
The muscles that lower the head forward can work both singly and together. Consider in more detail their list:
- sternocleidomastoid;
- staircase (front);
- staircase (middle);
- staircase (back).
An interesting fact is that during a smooth tilt, these muscles are relaxed. The lowering of the head occurs due to the relaxation of the muscles that perform the opposite function (hold the vertical position):
- trapezoidal;
- patch;
- straightening the spine.
But if the neck vertebrae are bent at a fast pace, with effort, then the muscles that tilt the head forward are immediately included in the work.
Synergists and antagonists
Several muscles can work, performing a single action or perform the opposite. Head-ups are antagonists for a group of flexors, and vice versa.
In fact, the muscular structures that are opposite in action are intended for balance, building posture, body symmetry. In general, to keep the human head upright.
The ratio of the degree of involvement in the work of the listed muscle structures depends on the posture, movements of the shoulders, arms, and the curvature of the human body as a whole. So there is a fine "adjustment" of the mechanism of head retention, lordosis of the body region (in the region of the cervical spine) is formed.
In more detail, we will consider the muscles that tilt the head forward when they contract together.
Sternocleidomastoid muscle
This structure is paired, located on the neck left and right - on the anterolateral surfaces. Appearance - two powerful muscle formations. They extend from the mastoid process (the area of the temporal bone behind and just above the ear) to the sternum of the clavicle (each bifurcates below).
It can be said that the main work is performed precisely by the muscles described above, tilting the head forward when they contract together, and tilting the head to the sides when they contract one by one.
Stair muscles
There are several types of this group: front, middle and back. They are located under the sternocleidomastoid muscle, on the neck, left and right (on the anterior lateral surface).
Stair muscles go from the upper vertebrae (their lateral processes) and continue to the upper costal arches. They are located symmetrically with respect to the sagittal plane of the body. These are also the very muscles that tilt the head forward when they contract together and tilt the head to the sides when they contract one by one.
Unilateral movements (inclinations and turns) are performed by the staircase muscle structures not independently, but together with synergists - the muscles that raise the head (extending the cervical spine).
Movement Features
There are two physiological methods for tilting the head. They represent movements: forward and upward (relative to the frontal plane of the body), as well as in two directions (relative to the sagittal plane). It is necessary to consider these processes in more detail.
- Tilts and physiological turns of the head in different directions are performed symmetrically with respect to the sagittal plane of the body. An energetic, power jerk to the right (or left) is performed through synchronous muscle contraction - extensors and flexors. Moreover, they are located on the side of the direction of movement and are at this moment synergists.
- Perhaps the free movement of the head, it is slow, under its own weight. In this case, the muscles are not included in the work at all. And from the opposite, they begin to experience another effect - stretching, "yielding, succumbing" to the free weight of the head.
Conclusion
In cases of problems with muscles in the neck or manifestations of osteochondrosis, all kinds of pain can occur. Any of the flexors or extensors may experience a spasm as a result of sudden movement during exercise, exposure to cold, or “shaking” of the body (with whiplash injury).
In such cases, conduct healing exercises based on muscle tension (due to free lowering the head). To do this, a person alone, sitting or standing, can carry out slow movements in the right direction (opposite to pain).
In this case, the reduced structure begins to stretch and the pain gradually disappears. It should be remembered that any such procedures should be performed only with the permission of the doctor.