Home Articles Massage Health Therapy

Massage is a very effective method to treat any muscular pains and aches you might have in your body. Massage is a focused way to get treatment done especially when it comes to pain relief. Upper body pain is a very real problem for many people. Upper body includes shoulder, back and neck – often common for pains.

People who suffer from chronic pain often start off with typical medication including pain killers and ointments. But the chronic nature of the pain drives people to alternate therapies. Upper body massages include shoulder and neck massages. These massages are often a good idea to alleviate pain in the back and shoulders.

When you get a massage done, whether an upper body massage or a full body massage, you need to make sure the massage is done correctly.

• Make sure you are lying supine on the mattress, face down. You can also get the massage lying on your back but ensure that the neck is not massaged as it is a sensitive area.
• Your massage should start by slowly in a circular fashion. This is done to loosen the knots in muscles.
• Start from the temples and slowly move to the shoulders and the torso.
• Once the muscles have loosened, concentrate on the area on the upper body where the pain is located.
• Your masseuse will use circular motion to relieve your muscles of the pain.
• Your hands and elbows will then be stretched to allow for proper blood circulation.

If your pain is severe and recurrent, you should repeat your massage a couple of times. The muscle will loosen enough to help get rid of the stiffness and heal the injury, if any.

You can also try home remedies for shoulder pain which could also relieve the pain. Hot compresses with warm towels and ointments can help. Hot treatment can also be in the form of a hot shower, a hot water bag or a hot gel bag. Sometimes, instead of a hot fermentation, a cold compress might also help. Icing the muscle that has been injured is also a good way to reduce pain. People with chronic pain can also alternate a hot compress with a cold compress every 20 minutes. This method tends to discourage inflammation.

If you feel pain starting in your neck or shoulder muscles, try not to keep them too stuff. Keeping them stuff will worsen the injury and pain. Try and slowly move the muscle around gently. If the pain keeps increasing then you might want to seek the opinion of a doctor instead of trying to remedy it with treatments at home.

Reference:

1. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/massage-000354.htm

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.