| Latin | Musculi scaleni |
|---|---|
| Origin |
|
| Insertion |
|
| Action |
|
| Nerve | Ventral rami of the cervical spinal nerves (C3–C8) |
| Name | Greek skalenos, 'uneven'; the three muscles on each side are different lengths. |
Palpation
- Client supine; sit at the head of the table and turn the head slightly away from the side you are working.
- Find the back edge of the sternocleidomastoid just above the clavicle, then slide the fingertips back off it into the posterior triangle.
- Feel gently for firm bands running down towards the first rib, in front of the levator scapulae and trapezius.
- Ask the client to sniff in sharply; feel the scalenes tighten as they lift the first rib.
The scalenes lie at the side of the neck, behind Sternocleidomastoid and in front of Levator scapulae. Because they lift the upper ribs, they work with the sternocleidomastoid as accessory muscles of breathing, especially during deep or effortful breaths.
Local precaution: the brachial plexus (the nerves to the arm) and the subclavian artery pass between the anterior and middle scalenes. Keep pressure light and brief. If the client feels tingling down the arm, or you feel a pulse under your fingers, move off the spot.
The sources disagree on the details. Wikipedia gives the nerve supply as C3–C8, while Gray’s (1918) gives C2–C7. For the posterior scalene’s origin, Wikipedia gives C4–C6, while Gray’s gives “the lower two or three cervical vertebrae”.