Many folks wonder if sports massage or deep tissue massage will ease their neck pain. Stiff neck and shoulders are often accompanied by an 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 sports massage will certainly help. But to get even MORE out of your sports massage, find out how to relieve a stiff neck and shoulders in 6 easy ways.
How to relieve your stiff neck and shoulders
1. Move
Stiff neck and shoulders 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 and then slowly bring your chin to your chest. Do it all very sloooowly. Try to be kind and gentle to yourself, and really feel it! Maybe you could check out another one of our articles explaining why do my neck and shoulders hurt?’
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 ;-)
stiff neck and shoulders. ©Hisashi 2008
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!
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6. Get a sports 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) your stiff neck and shoulders will mean you 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 Level 4 or 5 qualification and are a member of a contactable professional organisation. If the therapist has a website check out their testimonials before you book.
Our Sports Massage therapists can help you with these techniques
A good sports massage 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).
If you are looking for a massage in London then our team at City Sports Massage London have many years of experience giving the best treatment for stiff neck and shoulders. In fact it’s our specialty!
Please do remember that reading an article cannot replace the benefit of a face-to-face consultation. If you are in any doubt about the cause or nature of your stiff neck and shoulders, or numb or tingling fingers, you should always consult your Doctor, or a medical professional.