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List of Partners vendors. The trapezius muscle is a large muscle bundle that extends from the back of your head and neck to your shoulder. It is composed of three parts:. The trapezius, commonly referred to as the traps, are responsible for pulling your shoulders up, as in shrugging, and pulling your shoulders back during scapular retraction.
As mentioned above, the trapezius muscle is divided into 3 areas: The upper fibers, the middle fibers called the middle trapezius , and the lower fibers called the lower traps. In other words, each area does something different. The upper trapezius arises from your occipital bone in the back of your skull and the nuchal line in the back of your neck.
The muscle also has attachments to the spinous processes of cervical level one through six via the ligamentum nuchae. Attachments of the lower fibers of the trapezius arise from the spinous processes of cervical seven through thoracic level The muscular fibers of the triangular-shaped traps travel to insert on the spine of the scapula and the acromion of the scapula. They also attach to the outer one-third of the clavicle or collar bone.
Nerve innervation to the trapezius muscle is interesting, as it is served by a cranial nerve. This nerve called the spinal accessory nerve, or cranial nerve XI, arises from your brain stem and travels from your skull down to the trapezius muscle, providing motor input.
The trapezius muscle acts as both a posture stabilizer and a movement muscle. Common actions you may recognize in which the trapezius is involved include shrugging your shoulders, tilting, turning and extending your neck and keeping your shoulder blades down your back. Upper Trapezius. The upper trapezius, the part that goes across the tops of your shoulders, can elevate or bring up your shoulder girdle.
It also helps extend, tilt, and rotate your neck, which has the effect of bringing your head back, to the side, and turning it. The rotation function takes the head into the opposite side to which this neck and shoulder muscle is located. While the elevation of the shoulders is the official action of the upper trapezius muscle, this is not always a good thing. If you work at a desk, or your job involves a lot of driving, you likely know this firsthand.
When the shoulder girdle is pulled up in a constant and chronic way, it leads to misalignment that can make the upper traps chronically tight. The result may well be a pain, limited movement and a loss of neck flexibility. Together with the lower traps, the upper trapezius also helps rotate your shoulder blade upward.
This movement occurs when you lift your arm up to the side, providing your shoulders, neck, and upper back are in good alignment and your muscles are flexible. Middle Trapezius. The middle trapezius helps bring the shoulder blades back, toward the spine.
Again, if you sit at a desk or drive all day, this may prove a handy move for preventing or managing excessive kyphotic posture in that area. The middle trapezius also helps stabilize the shoulder during certain arm movements. Lower Trapezius. And finally, the lower trapezius muscle is tasked with the upper and mid-spine stabilizing action of bringing the shoulder girdle down. Since the trapezius is such a large muscle that covers so many areas, it stands to reason that it would be injured easily.
And a trapezius injury can be a real pain in the neck—literally. What cause trapezius pain? Trapezius strain is the most common injury to the muscle and can occur by all kinds of trauma, including car accidents, whiplash, or contact sports. People who lift weights or carry heavy objects for a living are also more likely to develop a trapezius strain. Common symptoms of a strained trapezius are stiff, aching neck with dull pain and tightness in the upper portion of the back, as well as acute pain that is commonly described as feeling like knots.
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Use the links at the bottom of any email to manage the type of emails you receive or to unsubscribe. See our privacy policy for additional details. Welcome to the Visible Body Blog! Learn Muscle Anatomy: Trapezius. Trapezius Muscle Actions The trapezius is involved in quite a few actions, mostly because it is present in more than one body region. Trapezius Attachments The trapezius has multiple origin and insertion points—it's simply too big not to.
The functions of the trapezius are diverse and are best understood by actions of the individual bands of muscle fibers within the trapezius. The superior fibers typically act upon the scapula by elevating it as in shrugging or by bracing the shoulder when a weight is carried. When other muscles hold the scapula in place, the superior fibers of both trapezius muscles can extend the head at the neck by pulling the occipital bone closer to the scapula.
The middle fibers work to retract and adduct the scapula by pulling the shoulder blade closer to the spine. The inferior fibers depress the scapula by pulling it closer to the inferior thoracic vertebrae.
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