Standing, sitting, or lying supine
Anterior to the patient.
Please sit down. May I touch the bones on the sides of your neck? (and point to the area).
Guide the patient to sit down. From the mastoid processes of the skull, move your fingers slightly anteriorly and inferiorly. Gently palpate the bony prominences on the sides of cervical vertebra 1. The transverse processes are most prominent in people with little neck musculature and feel similar to round bony knobs. Often these areas are tender.
VH - Skeleton of the spine and head, anterior view
On one side, add the splenius, semispinalis, mulifidus, rotators, intertransversarii superior oblique and inferior oblique of the suboccipital triangle muscles