Muscles
Suboccipital Group Trigger Points
Symptom Area: Head and Neck
Suboccipital Group Trigger Points are explored here through their location and referred pain pattern. Muscle knots is an everyday term used for tender muscular spots; myofascial pain describes pain involving muscle and its surrounding connective tissue. Four small muscles between the occiput and upper cervical spine; fine-tune head position and proprioception.
Where you feel it
When the Suboccipital Group holds active trigger points, you usually notice it as headaches or migraines. Where the pain spreads: A 'headache inside the head' — diffuse pain through the skull behind the eye. What often sets it off: Forward head posture, sustained extension (looking up), screen overuse, whiplash.
Overview
Four small muscles between the occiput and upper cervical spine; fine-tune head position and proprioception. Trigger points here are common in everyday and athletic populations and frequently contribute to the referred pain patterns described below.
Trigger point locations
Deep to the upper trapezius, just below the occiput.
Referred pain pattern
A 'headache inside the head' — diffuse pain through the skull behind the eye.
Palpation & testing
Palpate the muscle belly along its accessible course. Reproduction of the patient's familiar pain on palpation supports involvement.
Common causes
Forward head posture, sustained extension (looking up), screen overuse, whiplash.
Self-care & clinical treatment
Chin tucks, suboccipital release with a ball, eye-tracking exercises. Clinically: gentle manual release and needling.
Treatment protocol
For Suboccipital Group, the general protocol applies: sustained pressure release on the taut band, then stretch and active movement in the newly gained range.
Position and palpation: Palpate the muscle belly along its accessible course.
Regional precaution for clinicians: In the neck and jaw, needle placement must respect the carotid sheath, the external jugular vein, the vertebral artery in the suboccipital region and the lung apex behind the lower scalenes and the medial supraclavicular fossa.
Primary Symptoms
Secondary Symptoms
Often confused with
These muscles cause the same primary symptoms, so they are checked together:
Related muscles in this region
Related articles
- Why pain spreads: satellite trigger points, and whether deactivating one quiets its neighbours
- The headache that arrives at the end of the day: a suboccipital and trapezius treatment plan
- Dizziness when you turn your head: the neck trigger points that imitate a balance problem
- Waking up with neck pain: which trigger points your sleeping position keeps active
- Trigger points and tension-type headache: what studies found
- Headaches or Migraines: which trigger points cause it and how to treat them
References
- • Travell & Simons — Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction
Medically reviewed by: Marco Aruffo — physiotherapist since 2006, specialised in myofascial pain · Last reviewed:
