Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/87297
FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY Client Homework— Child's Pose with Head Rotation 1. Kneel on the floor with knees about shoulder width apart. 2. Place palms on the floor about shoulder width apart. 3. Exhale, sit back on your heels, and lower your chest toward the floor. 4. Relax your neck, shoulders, and arms, elongate the spine, and let your head rest forward. Palpating the Splenius Capitis Positioning: client supine. 1. Sitting at the client's head, place both hands palm up under the client's neck. Locate the spinous processes of the upper thoracic and lower cervical vertebrae. 2. Slide laterally into the lamina groove. 3. Follow oblique muscle fibers on the same side toward the mastoid processes. 4. Resist as the client looks up and rotates the head to assure proper location. 5. Pull your arms in toward your knees and gently turn your head to one side to increase the neck stretch. 6. Repeat on the other side by turning your head to the other side. Editor's note: The Client Homework element in Functional Anatomy is intended as a take-home resource for clients experiencing issues with the profiled muscle. The stretches identified in Functional Anatomy should not be performed within massage sessions or progressed by massage therapists, in order to comply with state laws and maintain scope of practice. Christy Cael is a licensed massage therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist. Her private practice focuses on injury treatment, biomechanical analysis, craniosacral therapy, and massage for clients with neurological issues. She is the author of Functional Anatomy: Musculoskeletal Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Palpation for Manual Therapists (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009). Contact her at functionalbook@hotmail.com. 50 massage & bodywork november/december 2012