The Vulcan Nerve Pinch

The Vulcan Nerve Pinch

Yep, I researched it. You never know where your 3 a.m. mind will take you, apparently mine wanted to know how to perform this famous Vulcan move. Who wouldn't want to be able to knock someone out cold with a simple touch? But is it real? Can someone actually do this?

A lot of conflicting info out there on whether it works or not. But hey, when isn't there conflicting opinions? I guess we need to do what we always do, read the info and decide for ourselves. At this point, I'm going with a firm maybe.

What it is

So, what exactly is it? Any credible Star Trek fan has seen it performed thousands of times. But do you know how it works? I found myself lacking in that department (don't tell the other trekkies), so I started there.

The Vulcan nerve pinch was a martial technique developed by the Vulcans. It involved applying pressure near the base of the neck, at the shoulder, and nearly instantly rendered the target unconscious, often so fast that the target was unable to cry out, but not always. (TOS: "Day of the Dove") Being able to perform it was seen as a mark of true Vulcanhood by some. (TAS: "Yesteryear")
In at least some cases, the results resembled an extreme trauma to the trapezius nerve bundle, as if the neuro-fibers had been ruptured. (VOY: "Cathexis")
The technique did not appear to cause permanent injury and seemed to be effective on most humanoid species. ...

Ok, this could be the real deal, no? I mean, the definition includes some science stuff in it. Trauma to the trapezius nerve bundle. Well, there is the accessory nerve that controls the trapazoid muscle at least. Allows you to shrug your shoulders and turn your head.

The accessory nerve provides motor control of the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles.[7] The trapezius muscle controls the action of shrugging the shoulders, and the sternocleidomastoid the action of turning the head.[7] Like most muscles, control of the trapezius muscle arises from the opposite side of the brain.[7] Contraction of the upper part of the trapezius muscle elevates the scapula.[12] The nerve fibres sternocleidomastoid however are thought to change sides (Latin: decussate) twice. This means that the sternocleidomastoid is controlled by the brain on the same side of the body. Contraction of the stenocleidomastoid fibres turns the head to the opposite side, the net effect meaning that the head is turned to the side of the brain receiving visual information from that area. ...

Who Invented it?

The Vulcan Nerve Pinch was an idea Leonard Nemoy came up while improvising on the set.

Leonard Nimoy was the one to come up with the Vulcan nerve pinch. In the first episode this pinch showed up, Spock was originally supposed to club evil Kirk over the head, knocking him out. Nimoy thought this was inconsistent with Spock’s personality. He felt a non-violent nerve pinch would be more fitting with Vulcan’s being able to emit energy from their fingertips; this energy when applied to the correct nerves of a human would then render the human unconscious. ...

But was there more to it then that? Is that really all that happened? I mean, did they collaborate with a neurologist or martial arts expert? Anything? Did anything other than a few minute of imaginative thought come into play here?

Not that I have found, no. This was all Leonard's idea. It seems he spent a few minutes role playing with the director and made the move up on the first episode of TOS The Enemy Within . So, that ends the whole, this is a real move that we can all learn and use on people, without getting into too much trouble thought...or does it?

I mean, if it is a made up move, it couldn't work right? Right? Well, it seems like maybe some people (one so far) are thinking that it still can. The following clip is someone who it testing it out on a few people, with a bit of success:

And, a cat using it on a dog (had to, cuz it's cute)

Wait a minute, maybe there is some validity to this famous move after all. I mean, maybe not exactly like Spock does it, but still, any variations of it would be awesome to know. I can see many real life applications I could use it for. So, I went searching....


Continued....

The Science

Yep, there have been studies done. Granted, not too many and no mainstream ones. Which, in my opinion is a tragedy...who doesn't like Star Trek? This one even mentions the Vulcan Nerve Pinch in its write up:

Star Trek lovers are familiar with the "Vulcan nerve pinch", a technique used by Dr. Spock to cause someone to lose consciousness. The technique was to pinch a pressure point at the base of the victim's neck but in fact, it's likely the pinch was in fact a trigger point (TrP) of the upper trapezius muscle. The upper trapezius muscle is the muscle along the top of the shoulder at the base of the neck (where the neck and shoulder meet).

Trigger points are defined as hyperirritable areas of tenderness in a muscle that when pressed or pinched can cause local and/or distant referred pain (e.g., someplace else down the arm). Trigger points can be active (currently already causing pain) or latent (only painful when pressed or pinched).

The phonophoresis and pressure release techniques yielded better results than the ultrasound. Phonophoresis outperformed pressure release. The mechanisms by which these treatments work to reduce the effects of trigger points aren’t entirely clear yet.

Should you be the victim of the Vulcan nerve pinch or simply a neck pain sufferer from trigger points of the upper trapezius muscle, ask a physiotherapist to apply either or both of these treatment techniques. Experience the safe and effective relief of painful symptoms without adverse effects that phonophoresis and/or pressure release have to offer. ...

Is this proof that there is some validity to the Vulcan Nerve Pinch move? Maybe Leonard was onto something... I have to be honest, it's the only scholarly article that I ran across that at least mentions the possibility of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch being something. But more so from the treatment stand point. It doesn't say that the move is actually real.

It does mention trigger points though. Clearly stating that this is probably what Spock used to incapacitate his enemies. So, I looked and found out that there are three areas of trigger points in the trapezoid muscle. One of those areas being pretty close to where Spock performs his move:



And also, somewhere along the way I read that one of the symptoms of having a pinched nerve in that area was....vertigo and dizziness. Now, I am not saying that the move Spock did is one that would trigger that specific symptom, but you know, I want to believe. I'm not even sure that the move he performed was in the right spot! And I doubt that even if you did perform it correctly that your enemies would pass out and fall to the floor. Well, that one guy in the video above made that happen, but still, I don't think you could just do that without years of training. Or maybe that was a fake video, who knows?

Is there a possibility of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch being a "real thing"? Again, I'm on the fence. But, I know I will be trying it out the next few days on some unsuspecting targets. The worse case scenario is I get a few weird looks. The best case scenario is it actually works! Talk about a game changer...

Probably should say don't try this at home...even though I know I'm gonna.



As always, thanks for reading!

blend57

a reply to: blend57

Great thread! I love this topic.





"I'm a doctor not a brick layer."

I'm inclined to think there is something to this. I've got spondilylosis in my neck and when it flares up, if I move my head in certain ways the nerve shock can floor me. If I press my thumb in the area I can trigger the nerve so I guess a martial artist could easily do the same.

It's just like the open hand chop to the clavicle/neck junction that can knock people out if done correctly.

Unusual subject.. Well done star and flag from me..

a reply to: blend57

Spock was a lot stronger than a human so if he pinched you, you probably past out from the pain.

a reply to: blend57

I'm sorry to burst your bubbling love affair about Star Trek and the origination of neck nerve pinching to produce a unconscious state in an adversary. As an Ancient American, I, and at least my brother, vividly remember back in 1955 as our neighborhood's sole household with a TV was able to pull in snowy scenes from a Louisville, Kentucky TV station a couple of hundred miles away. (Here, already, some are going to claim what I just wrote cannot be true, but I was there in that house on many nights that wrestling shows were broadcast from that fledgling empire. The antenna was several wires on the south wall of the living room.)

Anyyway, the first we learned about this unique way to subdue an enemy was on the wrestling shows on Tuesday nights. It was a technique used by a wrestler going by the name of Farmer Brown. It was amazing how the biggest, baddest bully could be put down if Farmer Brown could get to his vantage point at the rear of the bad guy. A two-second squeeze and, Presto! the goon smacked the canvas, virtually pole-axed. I saw that move done many times before the Enterprise ever crossed the horizon. So lets not our love of Star Trek get too out of hand. OK? Reason and logic should prevail, as Spock would suggest.

a reply to: blend57

Meet Sensei Perry
The answer is yes. I have seen Perry & Roberts do things I thought were superhuman....

originally posted by: Aliensun
a reply to: blend57

Anyyway, the first we learned about this unique way to subdue an enemy was on the wrestling shows on Tuesday nights. It was a technique used by a wrestler going by the name of Farmer Brown. It was amazing how the biggest, baddest bully could be put down if Farmer Brown could get to his vantage point at the rear of the bad guy. A two-second squeeze and, Presto! the goon smacked the canvas, virtually pole-axed. I saw that move done many times before the Enterprise ever crossed the horizon. So lets not our love of Star Trek get too out of hand. OK? Reason and logic should prevail, as Spock would suggest.

You didn't burst my bubble as you put it. I appreciate the additional information actually. So, if I read right, this move was called the two-second squeeze back then? Is there another term or more information you could provide so I can research it further?

Thanks for the comment and info!

originally posted by: Tarzan the apeman.
a reply to: blend57

Spock was a lot stronger than a human so if he pinched you, you probably past out from the pain.

This is true...

It is not possible for a human to perform the Vulcan nerve pinch.

When performing the maneuver, Vulcans make use of two attributes humans lack:

1. Their superior physical strength.
2. Their psionic capabilities.

The latter is the most important....

In that same link someone gives directions on how a human can perform a variant of it.

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: blend57

Great thread! I love this topic.

Thank you. Just was up and looking for something to do. I'm not a die hard fan of Star Trek, but I do watch it from time to time, so, I'm sure I got some things wrong. I appreciate the comment though.

Black Medicine: The Dark Art of Death was published back in 1978. It has some information about that particular pressure point:
(p.25)

Dr. Mashiro mentions a jab or gouge in this area. Not necessarily a pinch.

-dex

a reply to: blend57

Kirk had a 'nerve pinch' move too. Some episodes he disables opponents with a quick Karate chop to the back of the neck. A blow there on the nerve bundles accomplishes the same thing.

Significant hand strength would be needed to carry the same effect with a pinch as demonstrated in the YouTube
Possible but not really practical because subjects won't stand still long enough (except for TV and demonstrations). Kirk karate chop scene

a reply to: intrptr

Getting bapped in the back of the neck is pretty debilitating. Ive seen people black out from it briefly. Apply chop to the spot on the back of the neck where the barber cuts the hairline.

The police are taught a Brachial nerve stun which is when you use your forearm as a club and sink it down onto the sensative spot on the trapezius just above the collar bone. Feels like a jolt of electricity shooting down the length of your body.

The vagus nerve is used a lot in grappling to create pain compliance. Just dig your wrist bone or thumb knuckle in there while trying to choke out the guy or hold him restrained.

A modest hit to the inside of the biceps will cause that arm to go numb and feel like its burning red hot for a few seconds. Enough to stun the guy so you can move in on him.

But the most straight forward way to drop someone is to use the palm of your hand like a slap and smack the base of the jaw near he mastoid process/ascending ramus.

a reply to: blend57

There is basis in fact: karate pressure points... And cutting off or preventing oxygen to the brain by closing off blood flow to it.

a reply to: BASSPLYR

But the most straight forward way to drop someone is to use the palm of your hand like a slap and smack the base of the jaw near he mastoid process/ascending ramus.

"On the button".

Another if close in, like while grappling and unable to strike, is to place one palm on top of the head and the other alongside the jaw, then pull forward and twist the head simultaneously.

Thats a death blow so be careful how hard and fast executed.

a reply to: blend57

Yes, there are trigger points. I have had anesthetic injected in all of them because I have a bone spur in my C5-C6 nerve canal that tends to pinch the hell out of the nerve that runs through it and that irritates and causes a lot of pain through my left shoulder. This, in turn, tends to trigger lots of migraines.

So my former neurologist, a migraine specialist, used to drop shots of local anesthetic down on all of those trigger points, the ones you show there, and others across the base of my skull and my temples on both sides of neck, head, and back all at one sitting.

The idea was to keep the nerve from getting inflamed from the pinch.

It wasn't a pleasant procedure, but it worked. I'd only be sort of sore for a couple days instead of lingering, screaming pain for up to three months and no migraines.

a reply to: ketsuko

I'm getting botox every 12 weeks now in all those trigger points too, got bone spurs and fibro along with the regular arthritis. Worked great for 3 sessions but the last lot did jack.

Im wondering if she gave me a placebo to see if the
Previous ones effect was psychosomatic lol

What about the karate chop to the neck?

Cracks me up every time -



The BBC has been running Star Trek digitally remastered reruns so I was watching them a couple months ago..

The new Star Trek series Discovery has made its debut on CBS All Access. It's not bad. Nice scenery/sets, effects and makeup. Some of the story plots need a little help though..