Suboccipital muscles are very very important because of the relationship of the occiput to
the atlas. So what are the ways that we're going to release the suboccipitals? Rather than just
randomly digging in the posterior occipital atlantal membrane, which is right in here,
the soft spot... you never want to just be doing random work in the posterior occipital atlantal
membrane. Because why? Cranial nerves. Vascular. You got the vertebral artery pumping up through
there. You've got spinal nerves. So you want to stay out of that area. So, what you do - the first
thing you do when you work the suboccipitals is locate the spinous process of C2. C2 is the
most important vertebra in the neck, because of its transitional forces that connect from below
and above to the cranium. We want to always use that as a landmark. So, the first thing I do
is make sure know where I am when I'm doing suboccipital work and make sure it's not just
some random deep tissue release in there. So I find C2. The places that I want to go with the
C2 - first of all I want to go straight up, a little bit to the right and to the base of
the skull. I'm right there at the base of the skull and my thumb is pointing that direction.
Toward the table. And that is what muscle? Rectus Caipitis Posterior Major. That is the major head
extensor. Head on neck extensor. So then, I just want to come right next to it with my other thumb.
And what muscle am I on now? Rectus Capitis Posterior Minor. Now if this Rectus Capitis
Posterior Minor is tight and fibrotic, then you definitely want to get in here and do this work.
Sometimes, however, it is flacid, weak, and has no tone at all. You have to be careful because
it does attach into the dural membrane, and so we want to make sure that we do not
loosen it or try to release it if it's already flabby. Ok, so we go in, I'm on his right
side rectus capitis posterior minor, rectus capitis posterior major with my right - thumbs
pointing toward one another. I get my left elbow braced against my body. My hands are
around his head, so I'm securing his head. I am going to ask him to gently cock his chin up.
Lift his head up. And when he does, he fires the suboccipital muscles and I resist on a count of 5.
Two - Three - Four - Five. And I ask Luke to cock his head back again. Two - Three - Four - Five.
And relax. And when he does, I take up the slack and put him into a little more flexion, because
that's what they're doing. They're extending the head on the neck and we want them to release
and allow for a little flexion to get rid of the forward head postures that we see in our society.
Now just move along the occipital ridge. I'm getting splenius capitis, semispinalis capitis,
longissimus capitis is of course hidden underneath the sternocleidomastoid attachment over here.
We're going to get that too, though. But I just slide along and ask Luke to just lean back against
me. He'll feel my efforts, where my force is and he'll just push back against me. And I resist. And
then when he relaxes, we just loosen the muscles. As they stress, the golgi tendon organs are under
tension. And what does a golgi tendon organ do when it's under tension? It resets its own
muscle link. It not only resets its own muscle link, but it also resets the muscle link of its
synergistic stabilizers. In other words, all the other muscles that do the same action.
And it also facilitates its antagonist. So, any time you're doing golgi tendon organ work,
you're not helping release its own muscle, but it's also the other muscles that do the same job
along this occipital ridge that cause forward head posture. And it also strengthens the antagonist
muscle. It facilitates or strengthens the muscles that are weak on the other side.