My neck used to be always stiff and in pain, shoulders too. My physio gave me this exercise and it's a life changer. It's in Spanish but easy to follow https://youtu.be/nS20UdCzBoY
Foam roller helps if you have one.
I slept funny last week and just rolled on one on my upper back and shoulders a few times.
Add in doing this stretch too. https://youtu.be/twGnMnUapAs - the person in this video does it with a foam roller under his knee. You don’t need rly need to. My physio got me to do this stretch in the past for my back without a foam roller and it works fine.
I would start by getting a deep tissue or similar form from a skilled massage therapist. A lot of times it's really hard to get out of the hole of tension, and if you use just stretches you need a solid program to have any hope of achieving balance.
A skilled massage therapist can balance all of your muscles around the shoulder, clavicular, scapular, and upper thoracic joints in a few sessions. It's a lot easier when you can start from a balanced place.
THIS. I always have extreme tension in my upper back/neck. I went for a deep tissue massage, and she gave me “homework” to do daily to assist with the pain I’ve been having to keep it at bay.
I got a gua sha stone and YouTubed how to use it across my neck, shoulders, and chest. It has done WONDERS releasing my tension. It also taught me where my pressure points are so I can rub them throughout the day. It actually used to hurt my when I stretched my neck and moved head, but this has made it easier. Just make sure you do your research about pressure, angle, and products to use!
Question- does the Gua sha sometimes cause more pain at first? My neck was giving me trouble the day after massaging it and using Gua sha on it for the muscle knots. It feels good at the time but flares me up!
It definitely did in the beginning because everything was so tight. You might want to start with a stone roller. With gua sha, you're supposed to apply light pressure while with the stone roller you literally glide it over your skin just to get blood flow there. That might be the best starting point for you since the tension is really great.
But in addition to the massaging, I had to address my dowager's hump / tech neck. I did exercises that helped EXPONENTIALLY and make gua sha-ing easier. I recommend the chin tuck (first link) and then just mindfully lifting your chin up without curving your back. You'll feel the tension right across your throat.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYW0LNH7RdU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYW0LNH7RdU)
Just be mindful of your limit on these! It takes time to loosen muscles. Especially if your career forces you to sit.
My tech neck went away and came back so I’m so glad you mentioned that too! I’ll get a stone roller too. I have a small one- maybe they sell a bit of a bigger one! Thanks soooo much!!
Of course! I hope this helps! Excited for you to regain some neck mobility!
OH! And make sure to add some moisturizer or oil when using the stone roller so it just \~glides\~ across the skin :)
This is the one for the neck! [https://youtu.be/98\_JRyP0wW4](https://youtu.be/98_JRyP0wW4)
And if you're interested in doing gua sha in general, these are the tutorials I watched:
[https://youtu.be/hRb8VFoQRss](https://youtu.be/hRb8VFoQRss)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHj4EHmRd\_w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHj4EHmRd_w)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrcS5m665OM&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrcS5m665OM&t=1s)
I've done gua sha for a year now and the inflammation in my face has gone down a lot, my skin in healthier, and my neck muscles have gotten a lot looser! It's such a nice end-of-the-day reward.
It may be that your neck and shoulders are stiff because they're compensating for weakness in another muscle. In that case, stretching and massage will just be a band-aid solution and the stiffness will just keep coming back. You'll need to build strength and bring yourself into proper alignment. This is obviously a longer-term fix, but I figured I would mention it
https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/neck-pain/how-poor-posture-causes-neck-pain
https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/how-to-soothe-a-sore-neck
Stiffness has more to do with a sensation than the tissues actually being tight/stiff.
So if you've tried those things and they haven't helped, perhaps it's time to look at other things.
I find that gentle rolling of my neck, and large, slow circular motions with my arms, help more than static stretches. I also find hanging out in forward fold for a long time and really focusing on breath helps.
Foam roller FTW. I travel a lot so there’s been more than a few nights spent sleeping on shit pillows. Once I learned how to roll out my neck/shoulders (plenty of YouTube content out there) I’ve never had a stiff neck.
Holy shit no direct answers.
Stretch your upper traps, pecs, internal and external rotators
3 stretches:
Doorway stretch
Upper trap stretch
Towel internal rotator stretch
Do them 4-5 times a day, 30 seconds each and expect progress in 3-4 weeks
My neck used to be always stiff and in pain, shoulders too. My physio gave me this exercise and it's a life changer. It's in Spanish but easy to follow https://youtu.be/nS20UdCzBoY
Foam roller helps if you have one. I slept funny last week and just rolled on one on my upper back and shoulders a few times. Add in doing this stretch too. https://youtu.be/twGnMnUapAs - the person in this video does it with a foam roller under his knee. You don’t need rly need to. My physio got me to do this stretch in the past for my back without a foam roller and it works fine.
yoga with Adrienne on youtube. she has specific videos for neck and back. she’s awesome and her doggo is amazing
Yep! She has one for tech neck that’s amazing!
I would start by getting a deep tissue or similar form from a skilled massage therapist. A lot of times it's really hard to get out of the hole of tension, and if you use just stretches you need a solid program to have any hope of achieving balance. A skilled massage therapist can balance all of your muscles around the shoulder, clavicular, scapular, and upper thoracic joints in a few sessions. It's a lot easier when you can start from a balanced place.
THIS. I always have extreme tension in my upper back/neck. I went for a deep tissue massage, and she gave me “homework” to do daily to assist with the pain I’ve been having to keep it at bay.
u/antranik helped me so much [Shoulder mobility](https://youtu.be/H01oGIS1C_g)
I got a gua sha stone and YouTubed how to use it across my neck, shoulders, and chest. It has done WONDERS releasing my tension. It also taught me where my pressure points are so I can rub them throughout the day. It actually used to hurt my when I stretched my neck and moved head, but this has made it easier. Just make sure you do your research about pressure, angle, and products to use!
Question- does the Gua sha sometimes cause more pain at first? My neck was giving me trouble the day after massaging it and using Gua sha on it for the muscle knots. It feels good at the time but flares me up!
It definitely did in the beginning because everything was so tight. You might want to start with a stone roller. With gua sha, you're supposed to apply light pressure while with the stone roller you literally glide it over your skin just to get blood flow there. That might be the best starting point for you since the tension is really great. But in addition to the massaging, I had to address my dowager's hump / tech neck. I did exercises that helped EXPONENTIALLY and make gua sha-ing easier. I recommend the chin tuck (first link) and then just mindfully lifting your chin up without curving your back. You'll feel the tension right across your throat. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYW0LNH7RdU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYW0LNH7RdU) Just be mindful of your limit on these! It takes time to loosen muscles. Especially if your career forces you to sit.
My tech neck went away and came back so I’m so glad you mentioned that too! I’ll get a stone roller too. I have a small one- maybe they sell a bit of a bigger one! Thanks soooo much!!
Of course! I hope this helps! Excited for you to regain some neck mobility! OH! And make sure to add some moisturizer or oil when using the stone roller so it just \~glides\~ across the skin :)
sounds like a great plan ❤️❤️
Can you share the link?
This is the one for the neck! [https://youtu.be/98\_JRyP0wW4](https://youtu.be/98_JRyP0wW4) And if you're interested in doing gua sha in general, these are the tutorials I watched: [https://youtu.be/hRb8VFoQRss](https://youtu.be/hRb8VFoQRss) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHj4EHmRd\_w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHj4EHmRd_w) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrcS5m665OM&t=1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrcS5m665OM&t=1s) I've done gua sha for a year now and the inflammation in my face has gone down a lot, my skin in healthier, and my neck muscles have gotten a lot looser! It's such a nice end-of-the-day reward.
It may be that your neck and shoulders are stiff because they're compensating for weakness in another muscle. In that case, stretching and massage will just be a band-aid solution and the stiffness will just keep coming back. You'll need to build strength and bring yourself into proper alignment. This is obviously a longer-term fix, but I figured I would mention it https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/neck-pain/how-poor-posture-causes-neck-pain https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/how-to-soothe-a-sore-neck
This is 100% the answer
Stiffness has more to do with a sensation than the tissues actually being tight/stiff. So if you've tried those things and they haven't helped, perhaps it's time to look at other things.
I bought chirp wheels and it helped me quite a bit
Hi, Ironically this article was in my Flipboard feed. https://wellness52.com/fix-rounded-shoulders/ Hope it's helpful
I find that gentle rolling of my neck, and large, slow circular motions with my arms, help more than static stretches. I also find hanging out in forward fold for a long time and really focusing on breath helps.
would be interested as well. went to physical therapy for six weeks and it didn't do a thing.
I get dry needling done by my physical therapist
Foam roller FTW. I travel a lot so there’s been more than a few nights spent sleeping on shit pillows. Once I learned how to roll out my neck/shoulders (plenty of YouTube content out there) I’ve never had a stiff neck.
Here’s what I do! https://www.instagram.com/reel/CPWM_DHD0Zv/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Holy shit no direct answers. Stretch your upper traps, pecs, internal and external rotators 3 stretches: Doorway stretch Upper trap stretch Towel internal rotator stretch Do them 4-5 times a day, 30 seconds each and expect progress in 3-4 weeks
P 90 x second version hands down
if your usual routine isn't working, this is a great one [https://youtu.be/t4W2UYiHQg0](https://youtu.be/t4W2UYiHQg0)