Remedial massage techniques to help neck pain
Posted on: 25 January 2016
Neck pain can be caused by accidents and trauma but can also be caused simply by poor posture or overuse. Many people find that massage can be a great way to relieve neck pain and get more mobility in your neck. Here are some remedial massage techniques you can try at your desk to try and get some relief.
Roll your head
This is a hands free stretching exercise using the counterweight of the head to help mobilise the neck. To start with you gently push your ear towards your shoulder on one side until you feel a gentle strain, then you slowly roll your head forward so that your chin rolls toward your chest and then continue to roll your head towards the other shoulder. You can keep repeating this exercise and hopefully you will feel both some relief from any tension as well as extra mobility in your neck.
Assisted massage
Try placing a tennis ball into a long athletic sock with knots on each side to limit movement of the ball or knot a large scarf several times to create a round knot in the middle of the scarf. Hold your device with both hands and place behind the neck and roll up and down the neck to roll the round shape around the neck. This can help to relief neck pain and can be useful for people who have limited control of their hands, such as arthritis sufferers who often have the most severe symptoms in the hands.
Climb the ladder
Take both of your hands and find the base of skull, where the head connects to the neck and gently rub each hollow at the base of the skull. After a few second move your finger down a few centimetres and keep massaging. Make sure that your fingers stay on each side of the neck to help move the soft tissue around. You can keep going as far down the neck as you need (or can reach), as each person may experience their pain in a different location.
If you find that self massage does not give you enough relief and mobility, then it may make sense to head into a massage therapist or physiotherapist for some extra remedial massage. A professional masseuse can often get additional results as they are in a better position to access the neck, as well as practice in advanced massage technique.
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