Have you ever wondered why the place you feel pain or tightness isn’t necessarily where the problem starts?
Our muscles rarely work in isolation. Every movement we make involves a whole network of muscles, fascia, joints and connective tissues working together — some contracting, some lengthening, some stabilising and others assisting the movement.
Muscles have opposing partners
Most of our muscles work alongside an opposing muscle or muscle group — often called an antagonist. When one muscle contracts to create movement, its opposing muscle generally lengthens or relaxes to allow that movement to happen.
Some familiar examples are:
Biceps and triceps
Quadriceps and hamstrings
Calf muscles and tibialis anterior
Core muscles and erector spinae
Pectoralis major and the mid and lower trapezius
I could go on and on!
But I want to talk about two particular relationships that I see frequently in my practice.
Your neck and your head position
The sternocleidomastoid (SCM) is a strong muscle at the front and sides of your neck. It helps with neck flexion and rotation and, like all muscles, works as part of a wider system with the muscles at the back of the neck.
Think about how much time we spend with our heads moving forwards and downwards — looking at phones, working at screens, reading, driving or slouching on the sofa.
Over time, this position can contribute to the SCM becoming shortened and tight, while other muscles around the neck and shoulders have to work harder to support the heavy head.
This can contribute to tension around the back of the neck and shoulders and, for some people, discomfort that extends into the jaw or headaches. Muscle tension around the neck and jaw can also be associated with symptoms such as ear or facial discomfort.
You may remember me talking about this in my “Heavy Heads” article.
Another relationship I frequently see involves the hip flexors, particularly the iliopsoas muscles. These are less obvious muscles because they sit deep within the body at the front of the hip and pelvis.
Our hips are held in a flexed position when we sit. So, if we spend a lot of time sitting — especially if we sit for long periods without changing position — the hip flexors remain in a relatively shortened position.
If these muscles become tight or overactive, they can influence the position and movement of the pelvis. This can, in turn, affect how the lumbar spine moves and how the muscles around the lower back are recruited.
So, once again, where you feel the tightness isn’t necessarily where the story begins.
So far, I've talked about muscles contracting and their opposing muscles relaxing or lengthening. But our muscles are much more clever than simply being “on” or “off”.
Muscles work in different ways depending on what we are asking our bodies to do.
They can contract and shorten (concentric contraction), but they can also remain active while lengthening (eccentric contraction).
Think about lowering your arm after a bicep curl. Your biceps are still working, but they are lengthening as they control the downward movement.
The same happens when we walk downhill. Our quadriceps are working eccentrically to control our descent and our forward momentum.
This is one reason downhill walking can sometimes be challenging for the knees — the quadriceps are working hard to control the movement and they cross the knee joint.
Our muscles also work isometrically to stabilise and hold positions.
And importantly, one muscle doesn't act alone.
Every movement we make is a whole-body adaptation.
Some of you will have heard me talk about fascia before.
Fascia is a network of fibrous connective tissue that surrounds, supports and separates the muscles, organs, bones, nerves and other structures within our body.
I often describe it like this:
"If you could strip away the skin, we would be left wearing a big yellow-looking onesie. "
That “onesie” is our fascia! It forms a continuous, 3D network throughout the body, helping to connect and support everything together.
You may have heard fascia described in terms of a tensegrity system — essentially, a system of tension and structural integrity. It continually adapts to the demands we place upon our bodies.
Those demands might come from:
Over time, this position can contribute to the SCM becoming shortened and tight, while other muscles around the neck and shoulders have to work harder to support the heavy head.
This can contribute to tension around the back of the neck and shoulders and, for some people, discomfort that extends into the jaw or headaches. Muscle tension around the neck and jaw can also be associated with symptoms such as ear or facial discomfort.
You may remember me talking about this in my “Heavy Heads” article.
Your hips and your lower back
Another relationship I frequently see involves the hip flexors, particularly the iliopsoas muscles. These are less obvious muscles because they sit deep within the body at the front of the hip and pelvis.
Our hips are held in a flexed position when we sit. So, if we spend a lot of time sitting — especially if we sit for long periods without changing position — the hip flexors remain in a relatively shortened position.
If these muscles become tight or overactive, they can influence the position and movement of the pelvis. This can, in turn, affect how the lumbar spine moves and how the muscles around the lower back are recruited.
So, once again, where you feel the tightness isn’t necessarily where the story begins.
But muscles don't simply switch on and off
So far, I've talked about muscles contracting and their opposing muscles relaxing or lengthening. But our muscles are much more clever than simply being “on” or “off”.
Muscles work in different ways depending on what we are asking our bodies to do.
They can contract and shorten (concentric contraction), but they can also remain active while lengthening (eccentric contraction).
Think about lowering your arm after a bicep curl. Your biceps are still working, but they are lengthening as they control the downward movement.
The same happens when we walk downhill. Our quadriceps are working eccentrically to control our descent and our forward momentum.
This is one reason downhill walking can sometimes be challenging for the knees — the quadriceps are working hard to control the movement and they cross the knee joint.
Our muscles also work isometrically to stabilise and hold positions.
And importantly, one muscle doesn't act alone.
Every movement we make is a whole-body adaptation.
This is where fascia comes in
Some of you will have heard me talk about fascia before.
Fascia is a network of fibrous connective tissue that surrounds, supports and separates the muscles, organs, bones, nerves and other structures within our body.
I often describe it like this:
"If you could strip away the skin, we would be left wearing a big yellow-looking onesie. "
That “onesie” is our fascia! It forms a continuous, 3D network throughout the body, helping to connect and support everything together.
You may have heard fascia described in terms of a tensegrity system — essentially, a system of tension and structural integrity. It continually adapts to the demands we place upon our bodies.
Those demands might come from:
Sport and exercise
Our jobs and repetitive movements
Injury
Illness
Recovery
Being stationary for long periods
Our everyday postural and lifestyle habits
And fascia isn't exactly the same everywhere in the body.
Think about the fascia underneath your feet. It needs to help us bear weight and absorb and transfer forces every time we stand and walk, so it has very different demands placed upon it compared with the fascial tissues around the shoulder, where we need a huge amount of movement and mobility.
So what does this mean when you feel “tight”?
Because our fascial system is continuous throughout the body, the area where you feel tightness or restricted movement may not necessarily be the only area involved.
Your body constantly adapts.
A restriction somewhere can change how you move elsewhere. A muscle may become overworked because another area isn't moving or stabilising as effectively. You may compensate for an old injury without even realising it.
Over time, these adaptations can contribute to the feelings of tightness, fatigue, restricted movement or pain that we experience.
This is why I don't always treat exactly where you tell me it hurts.
Looking beyond the area of pain
As a Sports Massage and Remedial Therapist, and having also studied Myofascial Release Therapy, my treatments are focused on working with your fascial system — and, of course, that includes your muscles.
When I'm assessing you, I'm not just thinking about the one muscle that feels tight or the one place that hurts.
I'm observing how you move, looking at how different areas of your body interact and considering what might be contributing to what you're experiencing.
That might mean treating an area away from where you feel the pain.
As always, treatments are individualised to you. We all move differently, have different lifestyles and different histories, so treatment is adapted to suit you and your objectives for treatment.
Nicky Holbrook
September 2026