Rectus capitis posterior major and minor

Anatomy

Rectus capitis posterior major

Rectus capitis posterior minoris

Referred pain pattern

Muscle type

• Postural
  • Shortens when overactivated

Symptoms

• Less suboccipital space
• Headache along temporal region towards eye
• Cervicogen headache

Muscle attachment zones

Videos

Short version

Detailed version

Notes of clinical importance

• People experiencing neck pain have shown a fatty degeneration and atrophy of the rectus capitis posterior major and minor muscles, visualized by MRI
• Atrophy of these muscles reduces the signal of important proprioceptive information which they transmit, which may destabilize postural balance

Myofascial lines

Dorsal line:

• Epicranial fascia
• Rectus capitis posterior major and minor
• Sacrolumbar fascia/erector spinae
• Sacrotuberous ligament
• Hamstrings
  • Biceps femoris
  • Semitendinosus
  • Semimembranosus
• Gastrocnemius and soleus
• Plantar fascia