How To Give A Shoulder Massage

Ever wondered how to give a shoulder massage?

At least once in your life, someone must have asked you to give them a shoulder massage. Or even you might have asked your friend or perhaps a close one. While as easy as it sounds, there are some specific rules to follow and things to keep in mind.

For example, pressing on the wrong pressure points might harm the person receiving the massage.

This blog will give you details on steps followed by a professional masseuse.

Moreover, you will also learn the necessary steps if you cannot afford to go to a professional and wish to do it yourself at home.

Before diving into the steps, let me tell you the good side of getting a shoulder massage.

Benefits of Getting a Shoulder Massage

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Shoulder massage, like any other massage therapy, comes with tons of benefits. First of all, it helps the body to relax both physically and mentally. It also aims to reduce pain in the shoulder as well as in the neck and enhance blood circulation.

Moreover, shoulder massage helps to deal with stress.

Shoulder Massage Enhances Blood Circulation

A shoulder massage will definitely help strengthen your blood circulation. This improvement also results in healthy muscles. Due to improved blood circulation, muscles get more oxygen and nutrients, keeping the muscles hearty.

Healthy muscles mean efficiently removing toxins and waste products from the blood. As a result, blood circulation remains intact.

Reduction in Neck and Shoulder Pain

On the other hand, a shoulder massage can lessen pain by breaking up the signals sent to the brain; these signals usually tell the brain that you are in pain. When the brain does not receive the signal of pain, you feel your body’s pain reduced.

However, reduced pain is not the only advantage of these stopped signals; it also helps to relieve tightness in muscles.

Reduces Muscle Tightness and Improves Poor Posture

Sitting in front of a computer can make your neck and shoulder muscles sore, causing them to tighten and restrict mobility. You might even have trouble sleeping or a hunched back.

A shoulder massage can help you fix this. Massaging creates tension and an increase in temperature in muscles. This also increases elasticity, thus less muscle tightness and tension. Hence, flexibility and movement also improve, decreasing pain and improving your posture.

Gives a Sense of Relaxation and Calm

Stress causes pressure on your neck as well as your shoulders. When you are more stressed, the level of Cistol is more in your body. A shoulder massage increases the Serotonin and Dopamine level and helps the client to calm down.

Cistol level also decreases; as a result, the client feels mentally relieved, and muscle tightening loosens. Finally, you feel pleased and stress-free.

Now you might wonder how a professional massage therapist gives such good massages.

Steps Involved in a Professional Shoulder massage

1. The first thing you have to do is to let your client sit facing backwards, then position yourself above the client. Make sure to leave a bit of space; otherwise, your client might get uncomfortable.
2. Start applying light downward pressure using your fingertips in small circles on the sides of the neck. To do this, start from the client’s hairline, then continue to the shoulder and back. Keep doing this for a while. Then place your palms on the shoulder and press your thumbs up the skin.
3. As you know, the tension in the shoulders causes stress. To loosen the tension in muscles, using the side of your hands, you can do chopping movements starting from one side of the shoulder and ending on the other.
4. Using your fingertips, massage the side of the neck, moving up and down the neck with little pressure.
5. Keep repeating steps 4 and 5 and apply more pressure to those areas with the most tension until your client feels amazing.
6. With every shoulder massage, a scalp massage is a must! It will help your client feel more relaxed. Then, massage the scalp using your fingertips and cover the whole head (back, forehead, top etc.)

Warm towels (optional)
While this step is optional, you can still put on a warm towel to make your client feel relaxed after a wonderful massage session.

Giving Shoulder Massage at Home

Once you know the correct technique to give a shoulder massage at home, you can easily give it to anyone who asks for it. Still, if the person asking for it has been suffering for a long time or looks in more pain than usual, they should go to a professional therapist.

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Following these three easy steps below, you could give a shoulder massage easily at home:

1. Start by positioning yourself behind the person you will be giving the shoulder massage to. Then firmly press your forearm on their shoulder, applying pressure by pushing down.
2. Using both hands, form a “C” shape, then grip the neck at the back. Move your fingers in tiny circles and up-down the neck.
3. The last step would be to place each hand on each shoulder and squeeze. While doing this, the trapezius muscle is released.

Giving Yourself a Shoulder Massage

You might feel pain in your neck and shoulder after a tiring day from slouching in front of your computer or studying for coursework. All you crave is a shoulder massage, then.

If there is no one around to give you a shoulder massage, don’t worry. Instead, you could give yourself a shoulder massage to temporarily ease the pain.

Just follow these simple steps to help you:

• The first thing to do would be to sit straight or stand straight and stretch your body.
• Next, drop your shoulders and ease your chin to your chest.
• Stretch your neck.
• Place your fingertips firmly on the back of your neck to relax your muscles.
• Then, slowly roll your shoulder back and forward. 

You can repeat these steps if necessary.

The Takeaway 

A good shoulder massage makes up your day and relieves the shoulder and neck from all the tension built up from working so hard. Even though it might seem like a piece of cake, you should thoroughly know how to give a shoulder massage before offering someone else this service.

But once you get the gist, it will help you improve your posture and give you a sense of calm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What causes knots in your shoulder muscles?

– When a muscle has been disturbed by a repetitive action, a muscle knots.

Q: Can massaging a knot make it worse?

– No, massaging a knot can help increase blood circulation and relieve tension.

Q: Can massage help a torn rotator cuff?

– Yes, a massage will definitely help with the injuries of a torn rotator cuff as it reduces pain and inflammation. Eventually, making the muscles lose.

Q: What are the four areas of manipulation in massage techniques?

– The four areas of manipulation in massage techniques are effleurage-(light or deep stroking), petrisage-(kneading), tapotement-(gentle slapping), and friction

Q: How do you romantically massage a girl?

• You can try adding fragrance to your room or even use essential oils for your massage.