Whether you’re 17 or 70, when you come to see a massage therapist, the problem is usually muscle tension.

You may have over exercised, or exercised without a thorough warm up,

you may have pulled a muscle doing a movement you dont usually do, or when your body is under excess tension,

you may have been standing, sitting or walking without your posture being aligned, or

your stress levels may have increased and the potential energy has been stored within your muscles ( often neck and shoulders).

 

Massage helps to reduce the pain by soothing and stretching the muscles. A good massage therapist will spend time conducting an in depth consultation prior to treatment. This will include your medical history, your lifestyle, and habits. In addition to the physical therapy, I often provide ideas on how to adapt aspects of lifestyle to help alleviate these muscle strains in the future.

 

One of the most common ailment I see is pain around the shoulder blades ( trapezius and rhomboids).

This is common for many people due to sitting in a slouched position with shoulders forward. Think about this for a minute. …. yes that’s most of the time for lots of us. Activities such as sitting at a computer, using mobile technology devices, driving a car all typically see us in this position.

When our shoulders roll forward, our rhomboids stretch and cause pain. At the opposite side, our pectoral muscles contract.

In order to alleviate this pain, We can stretch our pectoral muscles which will allow our shoulders to sit more squarely and balanced.

 

Simple Pec stretches:

Stand in a doorway with one leg in front of the other.

Place your hands in the frame at right angles to your body.

Turn your hips away from one arm and then the other. Only stretch a little more than is comfortable. Hold for ten seconds each whilst breathing in and out. ( Don’t hold your breath).

 

I have found that most rehab exercises only work if we remember to keep doing them every day.  This can be most effective if you choose a doorway that you see daily, say the bathroom or the bedroom. And every time you move through the doorway you stretch.

 

Good luck .

 

Lower back stretches.

The second most common difficulty that I see at Indigo Spring, is Lower back pain. This can stem from a number of sources. Weak core muscles, bending and lifting and poor posture, are just some of them. Whilst I recommend seeing a massage therapist to assess the specific problems, working on your core muscles will always help.

 Here are a few to get you started. My favourite entry level strwetch for those of you who rarely strtch at all, is the Cat Cow . Here they call it Cat / Camel.

On hands and knees, align knees elow hips and hands below shoulders.

Breath in and look towards your knees, squeezing in your tummy and pelvic floor (the muscles used to stop you wetting or messing yourself ) and arching your back. Breath out and lift your chin to the sky.

Repeat these slowly , paying attention to you spine as it rocks back and forth.

 

Good luck.

 

What Id like you to take away from this article, is that you can help yourself alleviate pain by stretching. It can be simple and effective if done daily. MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF @ INDIGO SPRING

Hope to see you again soon at Indigo Spring.

Remember if you are too far from our clinic, I do offer an online consultation service.