Friday, July 3, 2009

Levator Scapulae Pain - A Small Muscle That Tries To Do Too Much

Car Accident Injury------------------------- Car Accident Injury


Levator scapulae is one of the muscles overly give intense neck pain after whiplash injuries due to car accidents or other trauma overly has a sudden jolt to the neck spine.

This muscle arises based on C1 through C4 vertebrae (transverse process) and attaches to the top part of the shoulder blade bone along its inner margin. Its action is to elevate the shoulder blade. It can also incline the neck to the same side. It is handed out by the dorsal scapular nerve that carries the C3 throughout C5 nerve roots, especially the C3 nerve root to the current muscle.

With problems of the levator scapulae, patients will by and large show the area of pain to be between the base of the neck and the upper and inner periphery of the shoulder blade that is spot on over the neighborhood of this muscle.

Usually, whiplash injuries involve the C7, C6 and C5 nerve roots predominantly in the cervical spine and the L5 and S1 nerve roots in the lumbosacral spine. Muscles subjected to constant lengthening contractions and supplied by these nerve roots include the latissimus dorsi (C6 through C8 nerve roots), deltoid (C5, C6), teres major (C5, C6) and triceps (C6, C7).

Car Accident Injury
------------------------- Car Accident Injury

For these muscles to function properly, the spinal muscles and the muscles issued by the L5 and S1 nerve roots that moreover subjected to constant lengthening contractions such as the gluteus maximus (L5, S1), adductor magnus (L3 to S1) and tensor fascia lata (L5, S1) have got to function properly.

When these kinds of large powerful muscles cannot function ideally in on lifting type activities especially involving the arms to be outstretched or overhead, the trapezius and levator scapulae muscles will mostly arrive to play to help out in these types of activities. Lifting type activities serves to so be performed by shoulder shrugging thus injuring both muscles.

Therefore treatments of levator scapulae must involve the trapezius, all the muscles cited above supplied by the C5 through C7 nerve roots, and the L5 and S1 nerve foundations and spine extensor muscles out of the neck to the base of the spine.

Car Accident Injury------------------------- Car Accident Injury