Muscle · Neck

Longus colli

Musculus longus colli

Longus colli is the long, deep flexor lying directly on the front of the neck vertebrae, running the whole length of the cervical spine and down onto the first three thoracic ones. With longus capitis it makes up the deep neck flexors. It does not pull the head forward — that is the sternocleidomastoid's job. It flattens and controls the curve of the neck from the inside, segment by segment, which is the deep half of a chin tuck and the low-load postural endurance the neck needs to hold itself up all day. It cannot be palpated: it lies behind the windpipe, the gullet and the carotid sheath. Momentum's chart lists the deep neck flexors as inhibited rather than tight, which makes this a muscle to train rather than to release.