Many folks wonder if massage will ease their neck pain. Often such discomfort is accompanied by RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) pain in the arms. Sometimes there’s numbness in the fingers too. In other words, the type of scenario that’s built up from long, stressful hours at the desk.

In this situation massage will certainly help. But to get even MORE out of your massage, check out these easy ways to ease neck, shoulder and arm pain.

1. Move
Neck pain and shoulder stiffness are often caused by a very simple reason – lack of movement. So move! Slowly shrug and rotate your shoulders, turn your head left and right, look up and down. Do it all sloooowly. Feel it!

2. Drink water
Our bodies get dehydrated working all day long. This makes the muscles stiffer than normal – our bodies need water to lubricate movement – so drink.

3. Have regular breaks
Combine a ‘movement break’ (see number 1) with a ‘water break’ (see number 2) in your daily routine. Every 20 – 40 minutes. Eventually it will become second nature. When it does become second nature even the male of our species is able to multi-task, often stretching the shoulders AND looking at the computer screen at the same time. C’mon fellas – lets show those girls our multi-tasking ninja moves.

4. Have a hot bath
Heat from the water will bring fresh blood to the stiff areas. It will lengthen and loosen tight muscles and allow more movement. But don’t fall asleep, wake up in a cold bath and be back at square one ;-)

5. Stretch
Think of pussycats. Do they need stretching manuals? Do they ‘time’ their stretches? No. They ‘feel’ what’s going on in their bodies. If it feels nice – they carry on. If it hurts, they stop. Feel it. Learn about your body. Don’t be intimidated by it. It’s yours!

6. Get a massage
Even if you’ve done all of the above, and you’ve persuaded your other half to give you a shoulder rub, the chances are (especially if you’ve left it too long) you’ll need a professional to get into those difficult spots. Go to a sports and remedial massage therapist. Make sure they’re reputable and qualified. If you live in the UK make sure they have a BTEC qualification and are a member of the Institute of Sports and Remedial Massage. If the therapist has a website check out their testimonials before you book.

A good therapist will be able to show you all of the techniques described above, and more (although we reckon you can probably manage the bath on your own. And the glass of water for that matter).

Please note: If you think you may have an injury or anything more serious than work posture-related stiffness and pain, please consult a medical practitioner immediately.