Trapezius muscles are the large sized muscles in human body which covers a large area beginning from occipital bone and extending to lower thoracic vertebrae and alongsidecovers to the shoulder blade or scapula.
Major function of trapezius is to rotate or move scapulae and support both arms. There are 3 major functional areas which are as follows;
I) Superior Functioning Area
This part helps in maintaining arms’ weight on body.
II) Intermediate Functioning Area
This part draws back scapulae.
III) Inferior Region
This area helps in rotating as well as depressing scapulae.
The traps are flat, smooth and 3-sided muscles which enable them to cover 3 body areas i.e. shoulders, thorax and back area of the neck.
Origination, movement or rotation of shoulder blade, which is commonly known as scapula, is possible with acting of upper and lowers parts of traps which enable this process as the upper part functions to raise shoulder and supports to control the weight. Whereas the lower part draws back shoulder blade to descending position, and when both of the parts work together, they enable scapula to move toward body and help head to draw to backward position.
As mentioned above that the main function of traps is to help in moving the neck, head and shoulders into different directions, it is really important to know what could be the effects of traps on neck and other areas.
The looseness or tightness of trapezius muscles directly affects flexibility of neck and those who have to sit for long hours in front of computer screen or at the work desks or drive on longer routes usually have problems and upper muscles on shoulders become painful or sore.
Neck and shoulder massage to bring relief is very popular and the main reason of its popularity is its effectiveness and the simple ways to do it.
Massage is a good practice which can provide great relief, but you must know that your traps should be trained properly so they don’t get injuries in future. For this purpose, you can use various exercises and yoga stretches which will help you in making your traps healthier, stronger and bigger and some of the exercises will also help in increasing flexibility.
Doing stretching is considered to be another effective way to deal with the tightness of upper trapezius muscles and the best thing about these stretches is that you can easily perform them at the comfort of your own home without going to a fitness gym or hiring the services of a professional fitness expert like total gym models for home.
How to Stretch Upper Trapezius Muscle?
Thirty seconds would be great enough for a stretch for one side and this can be performed 3 times a day.