It’s all connected.
How many times have we heard that?!
And as we work on our clients more and more, we know it’s true.
Tight neck muscles, in particular, are known to affect shoulder and arm pain, headaches, and TMJ Dysfunction. Of course, the shoulder and jaw muscles also have an effect on the neck, too.
Whether it’s impingement on one of the brachial plexus nerves, nasty trigger point referral patterns, or the never-ending myofascial tug-of-war on shared bones…it’s all connected.
Take my neck…please!
I’ve had a few traumas to my neck years ago, including a couple car accidents and an intense body surfing injury in Australia.
And my posture – well, I’ve typically done the chronic forward-head syndrome that many in our sedentary culture do.
Actually, I’ve often wished I could trade my neck in for a new one. Maybe, someday we’ll be able to do that.
In the meantime, our best bet is good neck work from a good massage therapist that knows how to really work the neck.
Sure, you can get a chiropractic adjustment, and that’ll help for awhile. Depending on how long your neck has been tight, it might last awhile – or it might last five minutes. The tight muscles often just pull the vertebrae right back out of place.
Various other modalities can help, too. But it’s not until a well-trained massage therapist gets in there and loosens up the muscles, lengthens all the surrounding fascia, and mobilizes the joints that you get lasting relief.
The problem is that many massage therapists do not know how to work the neck muscles fully. They might do a little effleurage or friction, but they barely scratch the surface.
Some therapists don’t work the neck at all!
I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to go into a session wanting some relief from neck soreness and walk out feeling like you’ve wasted your time.
Do you know what I’m talking about? Have you ever experienced that?
That’s why I developed my sequence of Direct-Indirect Technique™ CEU classes for the Shoulder-Arm, Neck, TMJD, and Headaches.
These techniques have been tested in over 7,000 sessions with clients, and they are extraordinarily beneficial. The feedback from clients has been tremendous! They come back and refer their friends and family. How good is that!
I’m on a mission to train as many massage therapists in these techniques as possible – mostly for selfish reasons – I want some good neck, jaw, and shoulder work wherever I go! 🙂
The unselfish reason is that I know these techniques work – I’ve had numerous massage therapists e-mail me or call me months after that classes, telling me how much they use them with their clients and the success they’re having.
Stay well,
John