People with neck and shoulder issues often have their pain return before their next massage appointment. Work, play and children all make demands on the body. A dull ache can quickly turn into a burning pain especially while doing household chores, yard work, playing on the computer or any of the other million things you do in a day.
What can you do between massage therapy treatments to help take the edge off your neck and shoulder pain? Here are some ideas.
1) Take a Break
Take short breaks as often as possible if your job requires you to sit at a computer all day. Move your neck and shoulders around and get your stretch on. Ideally, get up and move around a bit. But even if you’re chained to the desk, you can squeeze in a little Deskercise into your day to stay loose.
2) Involve the kids
Have a short yoga break together! There are plenty of videos made specifically for kids, and the yoga poses are just as beneficial for adults. Bonus: you can spend some quality time with the kids and do something good for yourself at the same time.
3) Heat it
Just 10-15 minutes of heat on your shoulders can make a huge difference in how your tissue moves and feels. You don’t need a fancy heating pad, you can DIY that.
4) Self-massage
Try it! It feels great and you might be surprised how much it helps! It’s not complicated, just grab a tennis ball or lacross ball and check out these techniques.
5) Choose the right pillow
You spend about a third of your time in bed, so be sure it’s comfortable for your neck. Side-sleepers, back-sleepers and stomach sleepers all have different needs. The right pillow at night can make a huge difference and help you feel better the next day.
A few minutes of self care every day, little changes, can make a huge difference in how you feel.
See you at your next appointment 🙂
