Scalene Muscles: How to stretch and release the scalene muscles to solve neck pain, TMJ and jaw pain, rib pain, and shoulder pain.
- Tara Lee Clasen
- Jul 28
- 9 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
The shape of the cervical spine is (in-part) determined by the health of the scalene muscles. How does this happen? It is such a simple concept: because of their location, from the tips of the cervical vertebrae to the tops of the first two ribs, tight scalene muscles pull the neck—the cervical spine—forward.
Scalene muscle dysfunction causes neck pain, head pain, TMJ pain, whole jaw pain, rib pain, and shoulder pain. This post will teach you how to stretch your scalene muscles. But first, lets talk about why this is so important:
We have more or less been taught that arthritis just happens. Not the case. Tight, tense, hypertonic muscles, muscles that have forgotten how to relax, muscles that are on guard and chronically inflamed muscles compress the joint space, causing dysfunction first, pain second, and then third, degenerative changes followed by more pain.
This said, pain is an experience happening inside the brain, and not every brain will signal pain. Some women will not experience pain until after significant degeneration occurs. We must be honest about why this is: the regular medical system is not set up to evaluate the physical structure proactively and prevent these injuries from occurring. The now injured person should not blame themselves.
Many of us are somewhere on the scalene dysfunction and pain scale. And to reiterate: this will go unnoticed during your regular doctor’s visit. Which is just fine. We need other types of medical care, but we must realize that our muscles and joints didn't just develop pain overnight. They were hypertonic—holding to much tone and tension—for a while and this went unnoticed. Now a one-time event, such as a whip lash, will influence the shape of your spine but only if you were not given the proper physical medicine afterwards. The event lived on in repeat inside your tissues.
If you reach the point of pain or loss of blood flow or nerve pain down the arm, your scalene muscles have been tense and pulling for a while. When we ignore our scalene muscles for long enough, the health consequences can be serious and affect every aspect of our lives—I am not over exaggerating!
Know this: it is only with gentle and consistent self-love—in the form of neck therapy, stretches, and breathing—that these muscles will take on a new shape, holding onto less tone and tension.
KEEP READING for stretches that help with neck pain, head pain, TMJ pain, full jaw pain, rib pain, and shoulder pain.
To read more about the scalene muscles head to my other post now:
To heal—to stay healthy and pain free—you must develop a relationship with your scalene muscles.
Below are some stretches that will lengthen your scalene muscles. Before you begin—or if you are just getting started—spend some time thinking about the causes of your tight scalene muscles. Have you been shortening them for the last 20 years with strained forward head posture? Are you currently tightening them, looking down, chin down or strained forward?
Healing takes time and gentle understanding. Don’t get your scalene muscles worked on in a few bodywork sessions, do a few stretches and think, well that did not work, there must be another reason I am having pain. To aid the long-term health of your neck, you must develop a relationship with your scalene muscles. Throughout the day you consider them, pausing, notice how in that moment you can soften them, and allow them to lengthen.
Healing is having a relationship with your muscles.
This is especially true if your job—which you spend many hours repetitively doing—or your art, or looking down at kids, or other activity is placing you in a position where these muscles have become strained. Yes, posture will help; an ergonomic workstation. But you also need to surrender to the idea that you need to set aside intentional time to stretch them.
And when you stretch them, you are not just trying to force these muscles to let go. As you create changes, you are teaching them to be in a healthy relationship with the other surrounding muscles. You need them to be working; you just need them to be less hypertonic, less “on,” less guarded.
You cannot force any muscle in your body to guard less. Your actions remind the muscle it can feel safe, and then the changes occur.
Also, if tight scalene muscles affect the shape of your cervical spine, the spine itself will need to shift for the scalene muscles to feel safe. That is the healing cycle. Slowly as the muscles and joints find a new holding pattern, more safety becomes possible.
Move forward not just to get out of pain but move forward because you know and want an increased sense of awareness. Awareness heals your neck, TMJ, and full jaw pain!
The do’s and dont’s of stretching your scalene muscles.
Do's
Use your breath slowly and intentional
While you stretch, breathe gently down the spine, into your low belly, side ribs, low back, and pelvic floor
Before you begin, notice the position of your feet and your hips and your shoulders
Notice if your collar bones are pulling forward. Right now, you may not be able to draw your shoulders back, they may always seem rounded. That will change. But before you stretch, you will want to “open the chest,” as best you can, while still feeling comfortable
If you are especially rounded forward in the shoulders, consider opening the front of the shoulders before stretching your scalene muscles
If possible, check your posture in the mirror. Not judging—just noticing
Use your hand on the head as a guide or to apply a gentle“assisted release technique”
Repeat this stretch with consistency
Use general caution if you have laxity in your connective tissue or joints. Hypermobile? Learn how to stretch within your “safe container”
Remind your self of this stretch time and time again
Dont's
Do not stretch without noticing how you are standing or sitting
Don’t use your hand on the top of the head to pull down. At most, your head is receiving the weight of the hand, there is no pull
Don't force a stretch or rotate your head into a position where you feel more than a gentle stretch.
Don't do this stretch while staring at your computer screen. Please close your eyes and breathe or move the eyes in the same direction you want the muscle moving towards.
Don't force yourself to do this stretch if you are feeling dizzy. If you suffer from dizziness (which you have had checked out) you can do this stretch on the floor. Explained below.
Do not do these stretches if your symptoms increase.
Scalene Stretches
The scalene muscle stretches when performing its opposite actions. When you stretch the scalene muscles:
1) You laterally flex the neck
2) Rotate the head slightly upwards
3) Extend the neck
4) And lastly, as you do these motions, you work with your body mindfully and gentley explore your range of motion.
Again, to read about the muscle in more detail, head to my other scalene post HERE.
Scalene Stretch One:
The Basic
Relax your shoulders
Gently allow your head to flex laterally. This means bring your ear towards your shoulder
Lightly place your hand on top of your head. Do not pull. You will feel the stretch increase
Next, while flexing laterally, gently rotate your head, chin towards the ceiling.
Last, gently extend the neck, which means tilting the neck, adjusting the back of your head and neck backwards over the shoulder
Use your hand to increase your stretch as needed, but more is not better; do not pull hard . You can also use the hand simply to guide and not apply any weight at all.
Scalene Stretch Two:
Rib Variation || Arm Anchor
This stretch is exactly like the first one, but you are anchoring the opposite arm.
The first rib can get “pulled up” because of tight scalene muscles. When working directly in this area as a practitioner, you can feel a lack of adaptability. The first rib will feel locked in place but is supposed to have a little give.
Lets say the problem is the left rib: to help depress the left first rib back down, you can either place the left hand on the ground (if seated) or let it drop by the side (if standing). Then laterally flex (a ear-to-shoulder bend) the neck to the right using the right hand to guide the top of the head. With the left hand and rib anchored, you laterally flex, rotate, and extend to the opposite side.
To increase the draw down on the rib, you can anchor the left arm (or the rib side you wish to depress), let's say by holding onto the bottom of your desk or chair, and then take your head into the range of motion, the stretching movements.
Scalene Stretch Three:
Rib Variation || Feel the Space
This is again exactly like the first stretch ("The Basic") but you take that opposite arm—opposite to the side the neck is laterally flexing towards—and you allow it to gentle float in space.
Gently move the arm back and forth and really notice how it feels. Pause in areas that feel healing. Healing does not have to mean painful or that the motion is being forced. Healing is a sense of safety or even a "hurts good" feeling.
You could even move the arm into the areas where you feel no stretch or stress at all. Find areas that feel "restful" or "calm" or relaxed.
Allow your arm, neck, and jaw to feel safe.
Scalene Stretch Four:
The Basic with Active Release
You can also do this variation with the “Arm Anchor.”
While gently placing your hand on top of your head, perform "The Basic" scalene muscle stretch. Now, do not pull down with the hand but push into your hand with your head.
While in a gentle scalene stretch position, you are activating your muscles, pressing into the hand.
Inhale and as you exhale, relax the neck muscles and allow them to stretch slightly deeper than before.
Do not just pay attention to the neck, but feel the first rib move down as everything lengthens out.
Scalene Stretch Five:
Take Your Torso Out of It
Worried about being dizzy? Or concerned about your hip and shoulder positions? Take this stretch to your yoga mat and lay on the ground.
In the lying position, with the back of your head resting on the ground, perform lateral flexion, rotation, and a somewhat active extension. It will be a "somewhat" active extension because—you are lying on the ground—and therefore can not extend the neck backwards. The floor will stop you. You are gently pressing your head into the yoga mat. You do this to your comfort level.
My favorite for last!
Scalene Stretch Six:
Completely Active Stretch
Use your intuition and express a side of you that “flows.” Flow into lateral flexion, rotation, and extension, and then without pausing reverse and flow back to neutral. Repeat this active stretch—and strengthening exercise—10-15-20 times in a row, remembering to breathe while you do.
When we hold our breath, we create the tension that we are trying to solve.
If you have joint instability or connective tissue laxity, use caution and experiment with what is best for you.
You can also make these motions micro-motions.
Those with connective tissue disorders must create a safe container. More on this in another post!
Yoga Postures that Heal the Scalenes Muscles
Check out my advice for the healing the anterior neck and the scalene muscles with yoga Fish Pose and restorative yoga HERE
Product Advice
If you have neck pain, TMJ pain, jaw pain, upper rib pain, upper thoracic spine pain, ear pain, and more, here is a simple and inexpensive tool that I recommend. When you use this, you will be in neck extension, thereby opening the scalene muscles. Reversing “computer posture and tech neck."
Want to Know More?
I have more posts coming soon, including detailed posts on stretching the scalene muscles.
Check out my books on health and wellness!
The Elemental Woman
A Conversation for the Modern Western Woman Inspired by the Healing Wisdom of the Ancient Eastern Sage
Food & Mood Journal
A tracking guide to connect the food you eat, the emotions you feel, and increase the feeling of deep self-love
Mindful Movement Journal
A tracking guide to connect the motions you make, the emotions you feel, and increase the feeling of deep self-love
Basic Ayurveda
The Elemental Woman Supplement Guide
About the author:
Since 2004, Tara Lee Clasen has been assisting women on their healing adventures. As a woman-focused physical medicine provider, also trained in Eastern medicine, she knows transformation is possible and knows that with reflection and self-love, your future is full of bright possibilities.
Comments