Structural features
The sternocleidomastoid muscle belongs to the superficial muscles of the neck. It plays an important role in throwing back and turning the head to the sides.
This muscle is quite easy to see. It appears as a cylindrical band, like a strap, that runs diagonally from the back of the ear to the collarbone and sternum and tapers where it attaches to bone fragments.
The sternocleidomastoid muscle is part of a superficial group of muscles known as the anterolateral neck flexors. It consists of muscle fibers united in bundles and covered with their own fascia.
Reference. Fascia is a thin layer of connective tissue that covers muscle fibers, allowing them to contract separately from each other.
Muscle bundles covered with fascia are called bellies. The sternocleidomastoid muscle has two bellies, each of which performs a specific function and is attached to bony landmarks. One end of the muscle is attached to the anterior surface of the sternum, and the other is on the upper surface of the clavicle, closer to its midline.
Another end of the sternocleidomastoid muscle is attached to the mastoid process of the temporal bone. It is a bony protrusion of spongy bone tissue and includes many bone beams that are located at an angle relative to each other. There are air cavities between the beams. Such structural features significantly reduce the weight of the skull bones.
Where is the mastoid process located? It's very easy to find it yourself.
To do this, you need to touch the place behind and slightly below your ear with your fingers. Several fibers of this muscle are attached to the occipital bone, which is located next to the mastoid process.
Muscles to be pumped so that the collarbone is not visible?
What muscles need to be pumped so that the collarbones are not visible and how to do it. How to remove collarbones.
Protruding collarbones are a cause of complexes for some people. The main problem is that this is an anatomical feature of each person and the collarbone is difficult to cover with muscles. I've seen a lot of pumped-up guys whose collarbones were visible and they don't bother at all about it, because everything else is pumped up very well.
But still, there are several exercises that will help to slightly hide protruding collarbones:
1. Reverse push-ups from a bench. Find a low bench, turn your back to it, rest your hands on it and begin to perform flexion-extension of your arms.
2. Reverse grip pull-ups. Brushes together.
3. Push-ups with changing the angle of the body. To complete this exercise, we will need a wall bars or stairs in the sports town. Place your foot on the lowest step and perform a push-up. We raise our legs one by one to the next step and perform push-ups. Raises your legs to the third step from the bottom and performs push-ups. Then we lower our legs to the second one. So we do several circles up and down, doing push-ups on each step. If there are no stairs or wall bars, put your feet on the bed and do push-ups.
4. Pull-ups with a wide grip behind the head.
5. Dips. This exercise should be performed slowly, trying to get as low as possible.
6. Raising the shoulders with dumbbells or a barbell. Shoulder rotations with dumbbells and barbells.
These exercises can be performed one after another with a rest interval of 2 minutes. You need to exercise every 1 or 2 days. In the first week, complete one round of exercises. In the second week, do 2 circuits. In the third week there are 3 circles. Then you can increase the maximum to 4 circles.
After the complex, you can perform the following stretching exercises:
1. With your left hand, take your right arm just above the elbow and pull it to the left, gradually moving it further and further. Then we do the same with the other hand.
2. Place your right hand on your left shoulder and tilt your head to the right side, holding your shoulder with your hand. Stretch your muscles gradually. The same thing in the other direction.
3. Place the right hand behind the back. With our left hand we take hold of the elbow and slowly extend it in front of us. The same exercise on the other hand.
There is another way to hide your collarbones. This is straight posture. First, just go to the mirror and pay attention to your collarbones. Now stand with your back to the wall and straighten your shoulders. Now move away from the wall while maintaining this position. Look in the mirror. Firstly, the breasts visually enlarge very well. Secondly, the collarbones with this arrangement of the shoulders and back are practically invisible. Therefore, if you regularly work on your posture by performing this simple exercise, your muscles will gradually get used to this position and you will feel free in this position.
I hope that my personal experience will be useful to other people.
Functions
Contractions of the sternocleidomastoid muscle can produce different effects. This depends on the number of bundles involved in the contraction. If one abdomen contracts, the head tilts in the direction on which the contracted muscle is located. For example, when one belly of the right sternocleidomastoid muscle contracts, the head tilts to the right.
When it comes to head turns, the opposite rule applies. The belly of the right sternocleidomastoid muscle, contracting, turns the head to the left, and vice versa. At this moment, not only does the head turn, but also the face moves slightly upward. This circumstance is due to the peculiarities of the attachment sites of muscle bundles.
In the case of contraction of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, the entire head nods forward and the chin moves down. When this muscle is stretched, the opposite movement occurs: the chin rises up, the head falls back.
In addition, the sternocleidomastoid muscle is involved in breathing. It lifts the collarbones and sternum, thereby increasing the chest space during inhalation. When this muscle relaxes, the upper chest lowers, allowing air to escape from the lungs.
The sternocleidomastoid muscles are mirrored on both sides of the human neck. Normally, their length and contractility are the same on each side.
There are congenital and acquired pathological conditions in which the structure of the right and left sternocleidomastoid muscles will be different. One of these pathological conditions is congenital torticollis.
This is a hereditary disease that is characterized by different lengths of muscle bundles in the muscle in question: the head is constantly in a state of rotation in any direction. This pathology is congenital and can be treated surgically.
Additional ways to make protruding collarbones
In order for your collarbones to be visible and your body to look attractive in general, you need to adhere to a healthy lifestyle.
To become the owner of a thin and graceful neck, it is important to follow a balanced diet. Basic recommendations:
- Enrich your daily diet with lean meats, fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains and dairy products.
- Meals should be fractional, you need to eat small portions. The optimal frequency of meals is at intervals of 3 hours.
- Fatty foods cannot be completely excluded; saturated and polyunsaturated acids are extremely important for a woman’s body. In the first case, it is simply enough to monitor the amount of food consumed.
It is recommended to eat from small plates. A plate completely filled with food will create the feeling that the portion is sufficient to satiate you.
Water is vital for optimal functioning of the body. A sufficient amount of purified water keeps the skin hydrated and prevents dehydration and premature aging. Liquid plays a major role in removing poisonous substances from the body - toxins, waste, heavy metal compounds, and if it is deficient, the body almost completely loses the ability to lose weight.
It is also important to study the composition of the drinks and juices you consume. Drinks without sweeteners should be a priority. It is better to give preference to fresh vegetables and fruits rather than juices.
You should refrain from drinking drinks that can lead to dehydration, such as various energy drinks, coffee and alcohol.
To speed up and consolidate the desired result, it is recommended to do a honey wrap with cling film, mud masks with a high concentration of minerals in the composition and do a high-quality massage or self-massage of problem areas. Excellent results can also be achieved by regularly taking a contrast shower. The combination of cold and hot water helps to normalize and increase blood circulation, due to which fat accumulations are broken down faster.
Regular cleansing of toxic substances will have a beneficial effect on a person’s well-being and will make the body more toned, the skin radiant and healthy, and the collarbones more visible. Enemas made from decoctions of medicinal herbs, especially chamomile, as well as special cleansing teas, are excellent for this.
Once a week, it is recommended to arrange fasting days for yourself, which allow the organs of the digestive tract to fully rest from digesting heavy foods. To normalize bowel movements, it is better to enrich the diet with fresh vegetables and fruits.
For transformation, it is important to work on your psychological state. From time to time you need to allow yourself to be weak and defenseless, and not pull everything on yourself and rely solely on your own strength. Regular repetition and sincere belief in positive affirmations will also make a good contribution.
Causes of pain and inflammation
Why does the sternocleidomastoid muscle hurt? The main cause of pain is the appearance of an inflammatory reaction. For muscle pain, this reaction is called myositis.
Myositis is an inflammation of one or more muscles, which is characterized by pain, redness of the skin, and increased local temperature. During illness, the muscle is increased in volume, its contractility is sharply reduced.
The main causes of inflammation of the sternocleidomastoid muscle include hypothermia, bruises, sprains, excessive muscle tension, micro-tears, etc.
One of the most common causes of neck pain is hypothermia of the neck muscles. The sternocleidomastoid muscle belongs to the superficial muscle group and is most often damaged. Drafts especially contribute to this type of damage.
Excessive muscle tension can also be considered a common cause of inflammation. This is facilitated by constantly holding the head in the same uncomfortable position for a long time. In this case, muscle spasm occurs, which leads to increased energy consumption in muscle cells.
A product of incomplete oxidation—lactic acid—accumulates in the fibers. In large quantities, it “clogs” muscle fibers, which is why pain appears in the muscle when trying to make movements.
With a sharp blow, fast and strong movement, hematomas and micro-tears can form in muscle tissue. Movements in the muscle become painful; upon palpation, sharp local pain is noted, and sometimes swelling at the site of injury.
In addition, inflammation in the muscle can be caused by various viruses.
Sternocleidomastoid muscle: functions
Contracting independently, it ensures that the head is tilted towards the working fibers while simultaneously turning the head in the opposite direction. If the muscles on both sides tense, the neck and head straighten, it is possible to tilt the head back and move it forward, bend the neck and control it back to its original position.
And also, together with the trapezius muscle, it helps to hold the head (just imagine how difficult this is, because the average weight of an adult’s head is more than three and a half kilograms!) in a fixed, stable position while simultaneously working the lower jaw. For example, when chewing or talking.
Treatment
To begin treatment correctly, it is necessary to make a correct diagnosis. Before using methods for treating myositis, you need to make sure that the pain is muscular in nature and there is no damage to nearby organs. To do this, you need to seek advice from a specialist.
Important! Do not self-medicate. If pain occurs, contact a specialist immediately.
Treatment of muscle inflammation must begin with determining its cause.
If the cause is an infection, then antibacterial drugs are prescribed. Only a doctor can select them. In addition, this group of drugs is available only with a doctor's prescription.
If the pain is associated with hypothermia, sprain or overstrain, the main method of treatment is to relieve the symptoms of inflammation in the sternocleidomastoid muscle. To do this, you can use NSAIDs or combination drugs with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory components in the composition.
Reference. NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are a group of drugs that have the ability to reduce the symptoms of inflammation to varying degrees.
Today, many combination drugs have appeared in the pharmacy chain, which contain various NSAIDs with beneficial effects expressed to varying degrees. These include “Pentalgin”, “Nurofen”, “Next”, “Ibuklin”, “Spazmalgon”, etc.
Drugs in this group quickly relieve pain and spasms, have an anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effect. With prolonged use, they can cause adverse reactions such as damage to the mucous membrane of the stomach and duodenum, kidneys, and the development of allergic reactions, including bronchial asthma.
For muscle pain, it is better to use selective NSAIDs. They quickly reduce inflammation without causing the side effects typical of non-selective members of this group.
The group of selective NSAIDs includes nimesulide and meloxicam. These substances selectively block the synthesis of the enzyme responsible for triggering the inflammatory response (COX-2). They reduce pain, temperature and redness. The course of treatment with this group of drugs is 3-5 days. If symptoms of inflammation persist after this period, be sure to consult a doctor.
External means
There are also local methods for treating muscle inflammation. For this, various warming compresses and ointments are used. It is better to use ointments and gels with an anti-inflammatory or analgesic component in the composition.
Important! Warming ointments should be used with extreme caution. With prolonged and frequent use, heating the neck area can cause pathological changes in the cervical lymph nodes, which contributes to the appearance of symptoms of systemic inflammation (fever, chills, body aches, headache, changes in blood and urine tests, etc.).
A good way to locally treat muscle pain is a compress with the drug Meloxicam. This is a combined solution for external use, which contains menthol, novocaine and anesthesin. Together they help reduce pain, reduce inflammation and quickly cool the skin over the inflamed muscle.
The drug does not have a systemic effect, since it is almost not absorbed into the blood. According to the instructions, it should be rubbed into painful areas 2-3 times a day for a long time until the pain goes away.
“Ketonal cream” is another popular drug for reducing pain in muscles and joints. The active ingredient here is ketoprofen. This is a representative of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Despite the fact that it is non-selective, it causes almost no side effects characteristic of this group of drugs. This is due to the fact that topical agents are almost not absorbed into the systemic bloodstream, but only work in a specific area.
Today there are many drugs for topical treatment of pain and inflammation. To understand the peculiarities of the action of each of them, carefully read the instructions for use, remembering to consult a doctor.
Massage
In addition to drug treatment, you can use methods that relate to physiotherapy. One of the main ones is massage of the inflamed muscle.
What is important to know when performing a massage of the sternocleidomastoid muscle on yourself:
- You cannot immediately forcefully knead an inflamed, unheated muscle. It is best to start with light stroking movements, then move on to more intense stroking. This will help you warm up the muscle fibers, which will facilitate better removal of lactic acid from them.
- After you have warmed up the muscle, you can move on to kneading the deeper muscle layers.
- You need to complete the massage with light stroking movements.
It is recommended to do it continuously or in courses of several days. This way you can achieve faster results.
Exercise frequency
Like all muscles, the shoulders and chest cannot be trained very often: muscle fibers need time to recover and increase their volume with a reserve.
For the body to have time to rest, it needs at least 30-36 hours. This is why it is not recommended to do strength training more than three times a week.
It is very important to observe frequency: do not alternate colossal loads over several days with long rest on the weekend.
Therefore, the best option is to take breaks of one or two days between workouts. For example, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Or on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The duration of the workout should be 70-90 minutes. It is not recommended to overload your muscles by training for too long - this will only completely exhaust your body.
If you do not have enough time for sports, you cannot increase the frequency of training: you are allowed to reduce the activity time to 45-50 minutes.
Remember: it is strictly forbidden to “save” time on warming up! Warming up before the main load will increase the effectiveness of the exercises and reduce the risk of possible injuries. how to pump up your shoulders and pectoral muscles Strength program
Prevention
The main method of preventing muscle pain is the rational use of the capabilities of the human body. Avoid drafts, staying in one position for a long time; in the winter, do not give up scarves and closed collars. This will help you avoid local hypothermia and inflammation of various muscle structures.
There are special sets of exercises that help relax an overstrained muscle and prevent further damage and inflammation in time.
These exercises are aimed at maintaining normal blood flow in the muscle and timely outflow of lactic acid:
- After a long stay of the head and neck in an uncomfortable position, it is necessary to make several movements in the sternocleidomastoid muscle. To do this, slowly turn your head to the right and left, then tilt it forward. Repeat several times. Important! You can't throw your head back too much. This can reduce blood flow to the brain and cause fainting.
- After performing active movements, it is recommended to stretch the muscle fibers. To do this, turn your head to the side and put a little pressure on your chin, applying pressure in the direction of turning your head. Repeat the same movement on the opposite side.
Performing unloading exercises will help improve blood circulation in the neck muscles, relieve spasm and help reduce pain in the sternocleidomastoid muscle.
What you need to know before starting training
So, how to pump up your pectoral muscles at home? In order not to harm your health and not discourage physical exercise for a long time, remember a few simple rules.
- Before you start studying, look in the refrigerator. Poor nutrition can ruin all your efforts, and you will need to eat right so that subcutaneous fat does not interfere with the growth of muscle mass.
- Training should be done regularly.
- While paying attention to the pectoral muscles, do not forget about other muscle groups. An inflated upper or lower chest will not look aesthetically pleasing with thin legs.
- You will have to gradually increase the load - only its systematic progression ensures muscle growth and strength potential.
- For home workouts, choose sports equipment whose characteristics are easily adjustable.
If you are the happy owner of a large living space and can afford to purchase professional sports equipment for training, then the problem of home strength gymnastics is significantly simplified. However, most city apartments don't have space for a home gym, and you'll have to tackle the challenge of building muscles using what's on hand.
All three exercises are suitable for increasing breast mass. Including one of these in beginner training is a must. As for the “sweater”, this is not the same table as for breast expansion. It targets the small pectoral muscle and stretches the intervertebral joints, which helps increase chest size. The “pullover” can be performed with outstretched arms and with withered arms.
They are similar to bar exercises. What can be done with a bar can also be done with dumbbells. Moreover, they allow a wider range of motion than a bar, making them a good alternative. In addition to the three types of pushes and sweaters, three types of manual disassembly are performed using a dumbbell, from a horizontal ladder on both slopes. The flyer works mainly on the outside, but in the top position it also affects the inside. In the tilt characteristics, the top chest is actively loaded and the back is down, respectively.
Anyone who decides to do bodybuilding at home needs to purchase:
- A collapsible pair of dumbbells;
- Collapsible bars (preferably in a set with a wall bars);
- Adjustable bench.
Collapsible dumbbells are the main equipment for training, which allows you to adjust the weight of the load from 5 to 25 (max. – 45) kg. Training with dumbbells is a good replacement for exercises on parallel bars or an adjustable bench. The main exercise with dumbbells is the bench press and bench fly.
When pressing on the leg, in addition to the chest, the shoulders and triceps are included, and in the case of a flap, only the chest is included. The burst is mainly for the table, and the flashes can also serve to form a chest. And for the sweater, you can do it with either two dumbbells or a two-handed dumbbell. Again you can do this by raising or extending your arms.
To load the chest, two machines are used - the portal trousers and the prying machine. They hand-pick flush-like hands. On the contrary, machines provide constant tension in the chest. Apart from them, other muscles are not involved in movements. Machine exercises are suitable for building muscles. If you are an enthusiast and you like to try, you can try doing a "pullover" on the bottom leg if you have the right handle. You have a lounger at your foot, lie down on your head and start. Skipper will maintain constant tension in the chest and can be a good alternative to bars and dumbbells.
Bars are great for home training of a large muscle group, including the chest, abs and arms.
You will need an adjustable bench to change the load during training - by changing the angle of its inclination, you can change the levels of load on the chest muscles. Instead of a bench, a strong construction board is also suitable, which should be placed at one end on the corner of the bed or chair.
Exercises for the chest have some subtleties of execution. As you have seen, the shoulders and triceps are involved in the movement. If you don't execute properly, you can get them to work mostly and the chest should be low. Tips for proper operation to avoid problems. If you narrow your grip, you'll load more of the triceps and your chest will benefit a little from the exercise. The ideal grip is one in which your forearms are parallel in the bottom position.
Press the weight with your chest, not your arms. Use the weapon only to support weight. Otherwise, you won't be taxing your pectoral muscles. In the contracted state, you can hold for 1-2 seconds to “squeeze” the muscle. Try to feel how they are crucified. This stretching is not insignificant as it also stimulates muscle growth and maintains flexibility.
