A person can get a concussion in many different ways. Just like all the different ways a concussion can occur, it can affect a large array of different muscles in your body. As a massage therapist, I try to work with all of these muscles when treating a person with a concussion to make sure that we are finding and addressing any cause of their issues.
Most people that come to me with a concussion complain about headaches and loss of vision. What muscles can I work on to help with these issues? There is a long list of them that I will recap below, but the main thing to know is that they are not all just in the neck, where we may assume the trauma was or the injury is located. Your doctor and massage therapist will decide where the massage is needed based on the injury and pain location after your concussion.
Neck
If you think of a person in a car accident, getting hit from behind, the neck will definitely be the place to start. The head likely was pushed one way or the other, and then moved back and overextended in the other direction. This would cause obvious trauma to those neck muscles. I would take a moment to feel all of the muscles in the neck, to determine where to most time is needed. It is likely that there will be one side much tighter than the other. This is common with concussions and our goal will be to lessen the tension on this side. The pain and headaches are likely because this side is pulling everything over and causing stress on the spine.
Some of the muscles in the neck:
Sternocleidomastoid – Front of neck
Scalene – Side of neck
Levator Scapula – Back of neck and into the back
Splenius Cericis and Capitis – back of the neck
Occipital – back of the neck
Jaw
The jaw is a common area to find extremely tight muscles after a concussion. The problem is these tight muscles will cause a lot of issues. They can pull your jaw out of line, cause headaches, tooth grinding, pain, and even eye problems.
Some of the muscles in the jaw:
Temporomandibular joint muscles (TMJ)
Masseter
Buccinator
Pterygoid
Front of shoulders
I feel it is also important to check the muscles in the front of the shoulders. These muscles can get very tight and cause you to slump and roll your shoulders. If you do this, you will cause more strain on your neck and increase the time needed for healing. You may have also injured these muscles during the injury.
Some of the muscles in the front of your shoulders and chest are:
Pectoral – front of the chest
Deltoid – front shoulder
Upper-mid Back, back of Shoulders
Your upper back is another place that can trigger headaches and can easily tighten after a concussion. With the movement, your body went through during the incident causing the concussion, your upper and mid-back likely twisted, and the muscles tightened in response. The levator scapula that runs up your neck starts here, so it is important to address this area. Tightness in and around the shoulders and spine is going stop you from having good posture and this will affect how you sit at your desk while working, how you stand, and ultimately, how you feel!
Some of the muscles in your upper-mid back are:
Trapezius – large muscles from mid back up your neck
Rhomboids – mid-back and up
Longissimus Dorsi, Spinalis Dorsi – along the spine
As you can see, there are a lot of muscles for a massage therapist to consider when treating a concussion. It is important that you see a massage therapist with experience and education. Here at Opp Family Chiropractic, we routinely meet with the doctors to discuss the patients and treatment plans. This is a huge benefit to our patients and to our massage therapist!
Emily, Massage Therapist