As we age our senses typically become less alert, attune, or diminished. But the good news is that this does not have to be so. I am going to share with you in this blot post a few facts about the deep neck muscles that will bring awareness to the connection between the Pilates method of exercise and your senses. I am not claiming that Pilates will “cure” poor vision, hearing etcetera that is the result of true “issues” in the eyes and ears. I wear glasses and I always will no matter how much I practice Pilates. But I am going to suggest that practicing Pilates regularly can help overcome the poor effect that aging and poor posture has on our senses. Here we go…
Just like the Multifidus in the back (discussed in the previous blog) is responsible for balance, body awareness, spinal health, and proprioception.…the deep neck muscles are responsible for proprioception of the head and neck. For discussion in this blog I am just going to call the group of muscles, the deep neck muscles. It isn’t necessary for you to know all the names of these small muscles in order to appreciate their valuable role in your health. You can look at the photo to see them.
Just like the Multifidus in the back (discussed in the previous blog) is responsible for balance, body awareness, spinal health, and proprioception.…the deep neck muscles are responsible for proprioception of the head and neck. For discussion in this blog I am just going to call the group of muscles, the deep neck muscles. It isn’t necessary for you to know all the names of these small muscles in order to appreciate their valuable role in your health. You can look at the photo to see them.
These deep neck mulches are responsible for proprioception (knowing where you are in space) of the head and neck. “Proprioceptors are specialized sensory receptors on nerve endings found in muscles, tendons, joints, and the inner ear. These receptors relay information about motion or position and make us aware of our own body position and movement in space. Proprioceptors detect subtle changes in movement, position, tension, and force, within the body” (verywell.com). In order to give you some perspective, the deep neck muscles have about 36 proprioceptors per gram and the gluteus maximus has .7. That’s about 50 times more proprioceptors in the deep neck. What does this mean to you? It means that the deep neck muscles are responsible for awareness, position and posture for the head and neck. Since our eyes, ears and nose are in our heads, the posture of the head is very important for the health of your senses.
Furthermore, I learned from Positive Health Online that the deep neck muscles are so closely related to vision that you can feel them activating just by moving your eyes. You need sensitive fingers to feel this but give it a try… “Close your eyes and then turn your eyes to the right and left while your other fingers keep your head from moving. You will feel those little muscles changing tone under your thumbs (MBs note: fingers work better because your thumb’s pulse can interfere with feeling these muscles slight movements)even though your head is not moving. These little primary muscles are responding to your eye movements. Look up and down and you will feel other muscles within this set engage in a similar way. Try to move your eyes without these muscles moving and you will find that it is impossible. They are so fundamentally connected that any eye movement will produce a change in tone in these sub occipitals.It appears that the hearing and vision senses are intimately affected by the state of these deep sub occipital muscles.” (positive health online).
It is so vitally important as we age and at any age that we train the deep neck muscles, but also the bigger neck muscles so that we can have a balance of good proprioception and strength to keep our senses strong and alert and our head and neck in good posture.
I fear that young people are getting “old” too quickly because of “text neck” and “desk neck”. That is why at Marlborough Pilates Studio Plus our tag line is “more than just a workout”.
Furthermore, I learned from Positive Health Online that the deep neck muscles are so closely related to vision that you can feel them activating just by moving your eyes. You need sensitive fingers to feel this but give it a try… “Close your eyes and then turn your eyes to the right and left while your other fingers keep your head from moving. You will feel those little muscles changing tone under your thumbs (MBs note: fingers work better because your thumb’s pulse can interfere with feeling these muscles slight movements)even though your head is not moving. These little primary muscles are responding to your eye movements. Look up and down and you will feel other muscles within this set engage in a similar way. Try to move your eyes without these muscles moving and you will find that it is impossible. They are so fundamentally connected that any eye movement will produce a change in tone in these sub occipitals.It appears that the hearing and vision senses are intimately affected by the state of these deep sub occipital muscles.” (positive health online).
It is so vitally important as we age and at any age that we train the deep neck muscles, but also the bigger neck muscles so that we can have a balance of good proprioception and strength to keep our senses strong and alert and our head and neck in good posture.
I fear that young people are getting “old” too quickly because of “text neck” and “desk neck”. That is why at Marlborough Pilates Studio Plus our tag line is “more than just a workout”.
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