The Diamond Muscle

You're lifting those cereal boxes to the top self, you throw backpack on to your bed, or maybe you’re a lifter doing some hang cleans. In any of these movements the trapezius muscle is highly engaged. The trapezius is the muscle mostly referred to as the “upper back.” The name trapezius comes from trapezoid, you know, a diamond shaped quadrilateral. Also, the trapezius maybe larger than you think it is. It covers the entire area from the top of our necks all the way down the middle of your back, extending out the ends of our shoulders.

This muscle is most commonly referred to as the “traps.” Raise your shoulders up and down, squeeze your shoulder blades together and raise your arms above your head. By doing this, you be able to feel most of the range that your traps have. The traps are extremely important in most daily movements. Without a trapezius, wouldn’t be able to hold our heads up! The traps are extremely important in maintaining posture and stabilizing the torso.  However, the name “traps” usually only refers to the upper trapezius, which are visible from the front. The traps are actually divided into three different sections, (in anatomical terms) superior, intermediate, and inferior; or the upper, middle, lower sections of the trapezius. These sections work in tandem with one another in order to control our arms. Yes, the traps actually have a major part in moving our arms. They do this by contracting and pulling your shoulder blade in. From there, it allows for rotation as the arm begins to move.

The traps work closely with the deltoid, or the shoulder muscle, to allow us to throw.

However, because the traps are so highly engaged with our arms, having weak traps can lead to some serious problems. Like I said earlier, the traps are what allow us to keep our heads up. Having weak traps will generally result in neck pain. When we have are holding something heavy above our heads, the traps are actually bearing most of the weight. Doing this for an extended period of time will eventually fatigue the traps. When that happens, the other muscles of the neck and the much deeper back muscles have to actively engage in order to make up for that weakness. If the traps are weak for a long time, those deeper muscles will be continually flexed, leading to muscle pain and soreness.

This concept can actually be applied to most muscle pains. For example, this is why we get shin splints. Most people that have anything to do with running have dealt with shin splints before. Shin splints are a result of over working the calves. When the calves become tired, the muscle of the shin (tibialis anterior) has to make up for that weakness. This is similar to my problems. Through physical therapy, I’ve learned that I have extremely weak hip muscles. In order to make up for that weakness, my feet and lower back have been taking much of the strain.

 So the traps are actually very important to everyday movement. So if you suffer from neck pain or other forms of upper back pain, you may need to exercise your traps. This can be done in the forms shrugs, cleans, or any type of overhead press.