If the relationship between the head and the body were the same as when crawling on all fours, the head would be rotated ninety degrees, with the face looking straight up towards the sky. However, when standing, the head rotates to face forward. Therefore, the upper trapezius has much less tension in a standing position compared with lying on the stomach or crawling on all fours. A forward head posture comes from an upper trapezius that is not too tight but too flaccid. As years pass, the upper trapezius becomes even more and more slack, and the head slides increasingly forward on C1. The Twist and Turn trapezius exercise in Part Two of this book helps to bring the head back into better alignment because it stimulates all three parts of the muscle.
Based on years of experience in my private clinic, and contrary to widely accepted medical practice, I believe that dysfunction of CN XI, which innervates the trapezius and SCM muscles, is involved in migraine headaches. Migraine headaches are tension headaches, and there are four kinds, each caused by a different pattern of tension in either the sternocleidomastoid or trapezius muscles. If you are having a migraine, look at the four drawings and see if you recognize which pattern of pain (in red) has been plaguing you. Because these parts of the muscles are innervated by CN XI, the first step in treatment of migraines is to establish proper function of CN XI using the Basic Exercise (see Part Two). Then find the appropriate trigger points (TP), each marked by an X, and massage these for a few minutes until you feel relief.
