According to the professionals at Oasis Wellness Centre & Spa, massage therapy has the ability to help relieve your stress, tension and pain, including persistent shoulder pain. This therapy benefits your upper trapezius, rotator cuff and rhomboid muscles. At the same time, it relieves pain and tightness in these areas by increasing the muscle temperature, improving blood flow and relaxing tension.
Massage therapy techniques best suited for shoulder pain relief include:
Acupressure
Acupressure is often part of a shoulder passage. It is performed using the fingertips and thumb on specific trigger points and knots in the muscles. While acupressure increases blood flow to the shoulders during treatment, pressure placed on the muscle knots restrict blood from flowing to these painful areas. As a result, the knot breaks down and softens.
Upon release of the pressure, the body’s immune system is triggered to repair the region. This further encourages blood flow to your shoulders, carrying more healing nutrients and oxygen to the affected areas.
Kneading
Kneading is an effective method for shoulder pain relief. This type of massage is performed using fists or flat hands. Through the kneading process that involves squeezing and pulling on the muscles, blood and lymph flow increases. The friction created from these movements also raises the muscles’ temperature and improves elasticity, thereby improving flexibility. As a result, you can expect a decrease in your shoulder muscle pain, tension and tightness.
Effleurage
Effleurage is a relaxing shoulder massage technique that uses fingers and flattened hands. The pressure your massage therapist applies can vary according to their style and your preference. But this method works very well for stress relief, as well as relief of pain and tightness.
As with other methods, this massage technique increases the shoulder muscles’ temperature through the friction caused by rubbing the skin. This action also increases blood flow throughout the body. As a result of the improved blood circulation and higher muscle temperatures, your shoulder muscle elasticity improves. This reduces muscle tension and tightness. It also improves lymphatic circulation, which works to remove waste products and toxins from the body.
Skin Rolling
Skin rolling is another effective technique for the relief of shoulder pain. This massage method involves picking up your skin and rolling it between fingers and thumbs. It provides tension and stress relief within your muscles, also improving lymph flow and blood circulation. As mentioned above, improved lymph flow also improves how the body rids itself of waste products and toxins held within tissues and muscles.
Trigger Pointing
Trigger pointing during shoulder massage involves the placement of pressure on trigger points found deep in the middle of muscle fibres. If not treated, these trigger points cause shoulder pain. The pressure applied to the points softens knots that lead to pain in your upper back region. Also, because of the pressure placed on trigger points and blood flow restriction to the region, softened knots form. The ischemic reaction of the restricted blood flow triggers your body’s natural healing process as soon as the pressure is released and blood flow returns. In fact, the body increases blood flow to these areas to provide nutrition and oxygen for better health and strength.
Multiple Methods of Massage for Shoulder Pain Relief
As you can see from the above methods, there are multiple ways to relieve your shoulder pain using massage therapy. Simply talk openly with your masseuse about your pain and ask them to apply appropriate techniques. They may use one method during your massage or multiple methods in a combined approach.