If you’re wondering whether a good massage might help relieve your shoulder pain, then you’re in good company. Along with back pain, two of the most common reasons our patients enquire about massage are to relieve their shoulder and neck pain.
What are the common causes of pain and tension around the shoulder?
If you haven’t experienced a specific injury to your neck or shoulder, then a frequent cause of shoulder pain is due to muscular fatigue and localised points of tension from repetitive movements or long periods of inactivity sitting at a desk or driving. This is a really common complaint and the symptoms can creep up on you overtime, until suddenly you can find yourself restricting your movements or moving your arm differently to avoid triggering pain.
Our shoulders are also a place where many of us carry our emotional stress. During times of prolonged stress – at home or in the workplace – muscle tension can build up around the shoulder blades causing pain, restriction and sometimes headache.
Is massage good for shoulder pain what are the benefits?
Massage is a fantastic way to relieve shoulder pain, so along with gentle exercise and stretches, I highly recommend finding the best massage therapist near you to discuss an appointment.
Massage techniques like deep tissue, trigger point therapy or myofascial release all help to improve blood flow, interrupt and supress pain signals to relieve pain, improve soft tissue elasticity and reduce muscle tension, reduce inflammation, reduce stress and promote healing. Afterwards your muscles will feel looser and more relaxed, posture often improves and you should feel like you can move more freely without restriction or stiffness.
Stress also affects both your body and your mind and muscle tension – often around the shoulders – is one of the most common physical signs. Massage around your shoulders reduces the production of the stress hormone cortisol and boosts production of serotonin (the ‘feel-good’ hormone), so it will help your body to manage stress and loosen those muscles where we often carry tension.
What types of massage are the best for shoulder pain?
Our massage therapist will assess you careful and often combine a variety of remedial techniques to tackle upper back, shoulder and neck pain including deep tissue, trigger point therapy, acupuncture, skin rolling, frictions and sports massage.
Muscle pain, tension or tightness around the shoulders, upper back and neck are the main reason our patients generally request shoulder massage but there are many other painful shoulder conditions that will all benefit from massage. Frozen shoulder, shoulder impingement and rotator cuff injury all lead to muscular pain around the shoulder which can be improved by massage treatment.
Are there any good stretches or exercises which will be helpful to relieve pain between massage appointments?
We often recommend simple strategies, stretches or exercises to complete between your appointments at our massage clinic in Cambridge.
There’s often be a close link between shoulder pain and upper back stiffness. So a programme to keep your upper back moving well might be recommended to work on between your treatments. If you sit a lot at work then some simple stretches you can complete at your desk might also be helpful.
If you have shoulder impingement the ‘press and hold’ muscle exercises – these are often called isometrics – might be suggested.
Pendulum exercises are useful for all types of shoulder pain but most frequently for frozen shoulder.