The greater occipital nerve can be compressed by a tight upper trapezius or semispinalis capitis

Manual Therapy Precautions When Working the Neck

It is essential to exercise caution when working the anterior neck. However, this should not prevent therapeutic manual therapy work to the anterior neck.

Flexor Pollicis Longus – Texting Thumb

The flexor pollicis longus (FPL) is the only muscle in the human body that flexes the distal phalanx of the thumb at the interphalangeal (IP) joint. It runs from the anterior surface of the radius to the distal phalanx of the thumb, passes through the carpal tunnel alongside nine tendons and the median nerve, and is a key muscle involved in texting thumb and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Pectineus – Hip Flexor/Adductor Transitional Muscle

As a hip flexor, the pectineus is an extremely important muscle because of its involvement in the postural distortion pattern known as lower crossed syndrome. Because of the location of the pectineus medially, it is also considered to be part of the adductor group. As such, the pectineus is an excellent example of a transition muscle, being located within two functional groups.

Gluteus Medius – The Deltoid of the Hip

The gluteus medius is an incredibly important muscle. It is functionally important at the hip joint, especially with frontal-plane mechanics. And this can have implications with dysfunctional movement patterns (e.g., Trendelenburg gait) as well as postural distortion patterns of scoliosis. And just as fascinating is to see the relationship between glute medius structure and function at the hip joint and compare it to the structure and function of the deltoid at the shoulder joint. Indeed, the gluteus medius can be described as the deltoid of the hip.

Superficial anterior view of the muscles of the neck

Musculature of the Cervical Spine

To perform orthopedic manual therapy to the neck that is accurate and specific, we need to know the attachments and actions of the muscles of the neck.

cervical spinal joints - posterolateral view of the atlanto-occipital joint

Cervical Spinal Joints

The disc joint is a cartilaginous joint that is composed of outer fibers called the annulus fibrosus that encircle the inner nucleus pulposus.