The TuneUp Program

trapezius

Trapezius is the large external muscle that covers most of the back of your shoulder, neck and upper back. It's upper fibres run from the back of your neck down on to the scapula, they are active in shoulder elevation and lateral flexion of the neck. When you grab the large mucle on the top of your shoulder you've got the upper trapezius. The middle fibres pull your shoulder back while the lower ones pull it down and are involved in scapula rotation.

Tension in it's upper fibres has the effect of pulling your shoulders forward and down like they're carrrying a heavy weight. This common postural presentation and the fact that it is such a large muscle, covering smaller structures with more specific actions, means that it is included in most upper body treatments.

If you're carrying your instrument on a strap over your shoulder it'll be trapezius that is taking the load. The best remedy for this is to open your chest so that your shoulder is not protruding forward, this will transfer the load onto your skeleton which is much more equipped to handle it. The postural strategies in the relaxation section will help out with this.