Muscle Review: Suboccipitals

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Sub-occipital muscle Group. Image Credit - Anatomography - CC BY-SA 2.1 jp, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27275319

Sub-occipital muscle Group. Image Credit - Anatomography - CC BY-SA 2.1 jp, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27275319

Muscle Review: Sub-Occipitals

  • Rectus capitis posterior major goes from the spinous process of the axis (C2) to the occipital bone.

  • Rectus capitis posterior minor goes from the middle of the posterior arch of the atlas to the occiput. The rectus capitis posterior minor is connected to the cervical spinal dura mater via the myodural bridge through the posterior antlanto-occipital interspace.

  • Obliquus capitis superior goes from the transverse process of the atlas to the occiput.

  • Obliquus capitis inferior goes from the spine of the axis vertebra to the transverse process of the atlas.

Conditions Specific to Suboccipitals

Occipital neuralgia - Entrapment or irritation of the occipital nerve is characterized by chronic pain in the upper neck, back of the head and behind the eyes. These areas correspond to the locations of the lesser, greater and dorsal occipital nerves.

More to Explore

Enix, D.E., Scali, F., Pontell, M.E. (2014) The cervical myodural bridge, a review of literature and clinical implications. J Can Chiropr Assoc.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24932022

Fakhran, S., Qu, C., & Alhilali, L. M. (2016). Effect of the Suboccipital Musculature on Symptom Severity and Recovery after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. American Journal of Neuroradiology.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27012296

Luedtke, K., May, A. (2017). Stratifying migraine patients based on dynamic pain provocation over the upper cervical spine. J Headache Pain.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28952052

Palomeque-Del-Cerro, L., Arráez-Aybar, L. A., Rodríguez-Blanco, C., Guzmán-García, R., Menendez-Aparicio, M., & Oliva-Pascual-Vaca, Á. (2016). A Systematic Review of the Soft-Tissue Connections Between Neck Muscles and Dura Mater. Spine.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27116115 

Simon, M. J., & Iliff, J. J. (2016). Regulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow in neurodegenerative, neurovascular and neuroinflammatory disease. Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26499397

Xu, Q., Yu, S., Zheng, N., Yuan, X., Chi, Y., Liu, C., . . . Sui, H. (2016). Head movement, an important contributor to human cerebrospinal fluid circulation. Scientific Reports.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27538827

Yuan, X., Yu, S., Liu, C., Xu, Q., Zheng, N., Zhang, J., . . . Sui, H. (2016). Correlation between chronic headaches and the rectus capitis posterior minor muscle: A comparative analysis of cross-sectional trail. Cephalalgia.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27534669

Zheng, N., Chi, Y.Y., ... Sui, H.J. (2018). Orientation and property of fibers of the myodural bridge in human. Spine J.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29477753/

Zheng, N., Chung, B. S., Li, Y. L., … Sui, H. J. (2020). The myodural bridge complex defined as a new functional structure. Surgical and radiologic anatomy.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31563971