Platysma: Pain Pattern and Treatment
The platysma is a thin sheet of muscle in the skin of the front of the neck, running from the upper chest to the jaw and the corners of the mouth. It tightens the skin of the neck and pulls the mouth corners down in a grimace. Its documented pattern is unusual: a prickling, hot-needle sensation on the skin over the lower jaw, the chin, and the lower cheek, superficial rather than deep. It is the muscle behind a jaw that prickles when the dentist, the ENT, and the MRI have all found nothing. It relates to the sternocleidomastoid page, which it covers.
Attachments and action
Origin: The fascia over the upper parts of the pectoralis major and deltoid, below the collarbone.
Insertion: The lower border of the jaw, the skin of the lower face, and the muscles at the corner of the mouth.
Action: Draws the corners of the mouth down and tenses the skin of the neck; it assists in opening the jaw.
Where the pain is felt: Over the lower jaw, the chin, and the lower cheek on one side, as a prickling on the skin. Sometimes the upper chest below the collarbone.
Common causes: Grimacing and clenching; a habit of tensing the neck under stress; cold wind on the neck; whiplash; a shirt collar or scarf that rubs; heavy neck exercise; a long period of crying or coughing.
Patients say: "It prickles, like needles on the skin of my jaw." "It is on the surface, not inside." A jaw that tingles when I tense my neck. "Everyone has looked and found nothing."
When to get evaluated: Jaw or chin numbness that is new and one-sided, especially with a tooth problem or a lump, needs medical evaluation. Prickling on one side of the face with a rash, or with weakness of the face, needs medical assessment for shingles or a nerve problem before anything else.
How this muscle is examined and treated
Examination has you pull the corners of the mouth down hard, which raises the sheet in the neck, then pinches and rolls the muscle between the fingers for the band that reproduces the prickling over the jaw. Needling here addresses the sheet in the front of the neck, very shallow. Assessment and treatment happen in the same visit.
Related conditions
Neck & Cervical PainHeadaches & MigrainesChronic Pain Patterns
This page is educational. It describes muscle referral patterns commonly associated with pain; it does not diagnose your condition. Individual patterns vary. For evaluation of your specific pain, see a licensed clinician. Seek immediate medical care for emergencies. Eugene Baek, L.Ac. · New Jersey License 25MZ00080600