I have pain in my neck/sholder which hurts primarily in the morning and subsides the more I move my arm. What kind of masage will help?

Answer 1

I would suggest an upper body deep tissue massage.  I would also suggest doing some stretching. Taking a hot shower right before bed followed by a neck roll stretch should help.  The neck roll is just a bath towel (small) folded in half lengthwise and then rolled.  Lay on the floor and place the towel under your neck for about 10min.   This will help elongate the muscles in the front of your neck and restore the natural curve in your spine.  Being a primarily computer society, we look down at computer and other electronic devices which shortens these muscles and adds extra pressure and stress on the neck and upper body.

Answer 2

You need to evaluate where exactly the pain is coming from. Is it primarily muscular, or is it in the should joint or spine (neck area). Is it shooting pain, or pain from stiffness when you try to move it? Is it a dull ache? Morning pain that subsides as athe day goes on and with movement is often arthritis which causes some inflammation and can press on nerves. Until you find out what is actually causing the pain, I would stay away from deep tisue and instead go with either traditional Swedish massage or Shiatsu. If the cause turns out to be muscular, then deep tissue could be used. If it stems from arthritic issues or even something like buritis or nerve impingment I would stick with the gentler modalities. You can also try alternating heat and cold (about 6-8 minutes each) in the area that is painful. Heat relaxes the muscles and cold dulls the pain, but applying either one for too long beceoms counterproductive.