Trigger point · Neck

Levator scapulae TrP1

The stiff neck. This is the point behind the complaint 'I woke up and I can't turn my head' — it sits at the angle of the neck, where the levator scapulae emerges from underneath the upper trapezius, and it refers to exactly that spot plus a spillover down along the inner edge of the shoulder blade. The give-away is the movement, not just the pain: the levator's own action is to turn the head toward the same side, so the motion it most painfully restricts is turning to look over that shoulder. A client who rotates their whole trunk to reverse a car rather than turning their head has usually met this point. It is the second most common neck point after the upper trapezius and it is routinely mistaken for it, because it lives directly underneath it.