| All of us suffer from neck and shoulder pain from time | | | | shoulders and is more proactive as you can practice it |
| to time. No matter what the cause, sleeping in a bad | | | | anytime, anywhere. If you get in to the habit of doing it |
| position, cricking with a sudden movement, general | | | | regularly you will find that many of the shoulder muscle |
| stress or sitting in front of a computer for too long, it | | | | pains previously experienced will disappear completely, |
| can be very distracting and if it does not get better, | | | | be much moderated and occur with much less |
| downright painful. It doesn't have to be that way and I | | | | frequency, if at all. So it is worth learning. |
| am going to give you three massage tips you can | | | | To begin, in a sitting position, with your hands in your |
| carry out on yourself to relieve these pains in a few | | | | lap, grasp one wrist with the other hand. With your |
| minutes. | | | | eyes closed and looking straight ahead as if you were |
| The first concerns neck pain involving those long | | | | looking at your own back, imagine a horizontal line |
| muscles that run up either side of your neck from | | | | between your shoulder blades with arrows at each |
| behind your jaw bone up behind your ear until it finally | | | | end thrusting outward as if they are spreading the |
| disappears into a narrow vee of bone in your skull. | | | | shoulder blades. This is what you need to achieve, |
| That final point is almost level with the top of your ear. | | | | spreading your shoulder blades outward. Push your |
| Run your thumb slowly up that muscle until you are | | | | elbows forward slightly and begin to work the muscles |
| able to pinpoint it exactly. When stressed, this muscle is | | | | high up in your back in an outward spreading motion. |
| tender all of its length, in which case you can slowly | | | | This will feel quite strange to begin with as nothing |
| move your thumb along it with a screwing motion and | | | | seems to work. You will jiggle your shoulders and roll |
| pressure to suit, to relieve the pain. Very often it is | | | | them around to no effect. Keep your shoulders |
| most tender right at the very top of the vee. If this is | | | | absolutely still. You will need to persist over and over |
| so, you can press your thumb into it as hard as you | | | | and work those muscles in all sorts of directions until |
| dare, pushing into it, and hold the pressure for say thirty | | | | you click on the right one. When you find the right |
| seconds or so and then release really really slowly, just | | | | combination you will suddenly find that you can push |
| as slowly as you can. Repeat several times or as | | | | those muscles outward along that imaginary line quite |
| many as you wish. | | | | easily and with quite an amount of pressure. This |
| The muscle will of course remain tender for a time, but | | | | opens up your whole shoulder blade area and with |
| you will find you can move your neck more easily and | | | | practice and in time you will find that upper back |
| you will get relief from the pain. | | | | muscle pain will pretty much, if not completely, |
| Now, moving to your shoulders, once again, those long | | | | disappear. |
| muscles running up behind each of your shoulder | | | | I mentioned earlier that this is a proactive technique in |
| blades can be really annoying when sore. You can get | | | | that if you practice regularly it will keep that area of |
| relief by doing the following. Lean forward in a sitting | | | | your back in a more relaxed and healthier state so |
| position at your desk placing both of your elbows on | | | | that you will prevent muscular pain rather than fixing it |
| the surface. Flop your hand over the shoulder where | | | | once it arrives. |
| the pain is. For example, if the pain is in your right | | | | Once you have mastered the technique you can |
| shoulder use your left hand, leaning on your right arm, | | | | practice anywhere. For example, standing with hands |
| and if in the left shoulder use your right hand leaning on | | | | clasped in front of you, hands in your pockets, grasping |
| your left arm. Feel right down the muscle as far as | | | | a horizontal bar, both hands on the top of your steering |
| you can reach and dig around with your finger tips until | | | | wheel when driving, sitting anywhere, the list is endless. |
| you find it exactly. You will surprise yourself as to just | | | | The key to all this is to keep your muscles relaxed and |
| how far down you can reach. Using the soft pads of | | | | happy and the beauty of these three techniques is |
| you fingers commence massaging in a circular motion. | | | | that you can do them all yourself. You can do them in |
| Work your way slowly up the muscle all the way to | | | | a few minutes, you do not need to go to a |
| the top or where the pain runs out. Repeat as many | | | | professional and if you work on them in a pro-active |
| times as you wish or you feel some relief. | | | | way they will go a long way toward keeping your |
| This practice is probably not as good as getting a | | | | shoulders and neck in a relaxed and healthy state so |
| professional massage, but it is something you can do | | | | that pain in those areas will be largely pre-empted. |
| on your own and in a few minutes only, that will give | | | | Much of your earlier muscle pain will disappear and if |
| you relief until you can get treatment or it subsides of | | | | your muscles are relaxed and happy, then so will you |
| its own accord. | | | | be. |
| The third technique is the real killer, to do with the | | | | |