Grasping The Upper Traps

The most beautiful thing about the upper traps is that they are so gratifying to grab. There is something incredibly satisfying about giving them a good squeeze and knowing that there is a deep unravelling happening under the surface. Even watching a therapist work on a client’s upper traps can be relieving. But there’s more to these crazy tense muscles than meets the eye.

I like to think about the upper traps like a suspension bridge - the bones as the road and towers and the muscle fibers as the cables - reaching vertically, horizontally, and obliquely. But honestly, the human form is so massively more complex and intensely more impressive with its living, breathing components that the muscles themselves, in all honesty, are not at all like bridge cables. They’re more like a flock of starlings contracting and expanding in the sky. Poetic, I know. But seriously. This is what they are like.

The upper trapezius is grouped in a trio of fiber clusters along with the middle trapezius and the lower trapezius. They are all notable in their own right. But the thickness of the upper trap doesn’t exist just as a handhold. It is the mover of many a joint. It influences, in no particular order, the skull, all of the cervical vertebrae - C1 through C7, the scapula, and, of course, the clavicle. That's a lot of real estate. Which means a lot of fibers pulling in a lot of directions creating a vast range of motions that the head, neck, and shoulder are capable of achieving.

The Head and Neck Parts:

The upper trap attaches to the medial third of the superior nuchal line, external occipital protuberance, and the spinous processes of C1 through C7 by way of the nuchal ligament. Translated into English, this means that when the head and neck move, these fibers move. Translated into massage approaches, this means that compressing into or grasping the upper trap while moving the head and neck can be massively beneficial.

The Shoulder Parts:

The upper trap attaches to the lateral 1/3 of the clavicle. That’s it. I know, I know… you thought I was going to say scapula, too. Some sources do include the acromion process which is part of the scapula. And even if they don’t technically bind to the scapula, they absolutely do influence it. Could you imagine moving our clavicle without moving our scapula? That would be creepy. Translating this into massage approaches, focusing on the upper trap while moving the shoulder - more specifically scapula - yields incredible results.

The upper traps are unique, though, in their twist from the back of the head and neck to the forward facing clavicle. They flip over and change directions. It’s pretty impressive. And that's what makes them so complex, so responsive, and so unlike anything a bridge cable could do. They are not linear with movements in one plane. They are living and breathing like that flock of starlings. Bodywork here involves a lot more than just some wrenches and hydraulic jacks. It takes a calm strength and a tactical finesse.

What is most important to keep in mind when it comes to techniques here, is that, it’s not just that the head and neck rotate, extend, flex, and toss long hair around at a heavy metal concert. It is also about the scapula. This bone can elevate, depress, slide around the curve of the ribcage, and scratch a cheek when the hands are occupied with a triple smash burger. Combining the actions that each end of this muscle can be dizzying - both literally and figuratively.

It is exactly in this moment that our ability to switch from acknowledging the whole being to zooming into the minute details is our superpower. Working in tiny increments, finding angles that pay attention to every aspect of these fibers, and methodically employing both passive and active movements for the head, the neck, the clavicle, and the scapula, is the kind of bodywork that addresses a lot of previously unanswered questions.

More than cables:

The upper traps are indeed nothing without their middle and lower brethren. None of this happens in isolation. I'll be the first to admit that parsing anatomy into categories and fiber directions and attachment points can create a kind of tunnel vision that works against us. When we carve the body into labeled pieces, we risk forgetting that these pieces have never actually been separate. But I also know that focusing in on the pieces of the whole brings new perspectives. And new perspectives, in my opinion, keep us thinking and on our toes.

Looking at this group of fibers, understanding why they twist and how they move the bones they move is study in respect. We can't fully appreciate a flock of starlings until we know that no single bird is in charge. The upper traps are the same. Study the parts. Then put them down and feel the whole thing move.

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