4 Ways To Reduce Shoulder Tension, Part 2
When your shoulders are tense, sore, and achy, it can be challenging to perform everyday activities. Shoulder pain comes in all forms and ranges in pain levels from a dull ache to excruciating chronic pain that lasts for months or longer. Many things contribute to shoulder pain, including occupation, lifestyle, health conditions, stress, anxiety, injuries, and more. Fortunately, there are many ways to find relief for shoulder pain without having to rely on prescription medications or undergo invasive shoulder surgery (unless recommended by your medical provider, of course).
In part one, we share four tips for relieving shoulder pain, which included:
Daily stretching
Creating an ergonomic workspace
Finding ways to de-stress
Today, we’ll pick up where we left off last time by offering four more ways to ease shoulder pain. Contact Remedi Spa in Staten Island to book an appointment for one of our relaxing spa treatments to help alleviate tension and stress.
Four Shoulder Pain Remedies
Cold Therapy
Part of what causes shoulder pain is inflammation, the body’s natural response to injury and infection. Inflammation is typically associated with injuries, muscle spasms, fatigued muscles, and irritated joints. The best way to treat inflammation is using cold therapy. This can be in the form of an ice pack, a cold compress, or even a bag of frozen vegetables. Cold therapy reduces inflammation and swelling in the shoulder joint and muscles. Apply your preferred cold pack to sore shoulders for 20 minutes, remove, and repeat as often as you need.
Heat Therapy
Heat therapy effectively soothes and relaxes tense, tight muscles that contribute to soreness and stiffness. Whether you use a moist or electric heating pad, a heated gel pack, a hot water bottle, or if you prefer to soak your muscles in a hot bath or shower, the heat can alleviate pain and increase flexibility. It’s important to note, however, that if you’re experiencing inflammation and swelling, it’s best to avoid heat and, instead, rely on ice. Heat will aggravate inflammation, which can actually intensify the pain.
Be Mindful of Purses and Backpacks
Carrying a lot of weight on one or both shoulders regularly can cause and aggravate shoulder pain. For us ladies, we tend to carry just about everything we could possibly need in our purses — you know, just in case. Backpacks are another culprit for causing shoulder pain. Try to reduce the weight carried in your purse, backpack, and even an over-the-shoulder duffel bag to prevent or reduce shoulder pain. Switch shoulders from time-to-time to avoid putting too much stress on one shoulder.
Book a Deep Tissue Massage
A therapeutic massage is one of the most effective ways to alleviate shoulder tension and reduce pain. While any type of massage is great for improving circulation and releasing tension, a deep tissue massage is a stronger, more focused massage modality that addresses issues in the deeper muscles. This treatment is ideal for releasing tension, tightness, and strain in the shoulder, neck, and upper back muscles.
Ready to experience natural shoulder pain relief? Contact Remedi Spa to book a healing massage in Staten Island.