Shoulder tension
Do you carry tension in your shoulders?
It’s very common for people to suffer from shoulder tightness, especially those who work at a desk, and some people think that they just “carry tension” in the shoulders and there’s nothing that can be done about it. If this is you, read on for some tips on what you can be doing to reduce the load on your shoulders.
Although tight shoulders can be tricky once they get chronic, there’s certainly a lot you can do to relieve the tightness. It’s important that you regularly take steps to improve your shoulder tightness, as it can take time to undo the mechanical loading patterns that have led to your regular pain. Left unchecked, tightness of the shoulders may later lead to other back, neck and arm problems.
Your desk set up should be as ergonomic as possible – ask the company you work for to get an ergonomic assessment of your workstation, if you haven’t already done so.
If it’s not possible to get an ergonomic assessment, make sure you’re getting up regularly from your desk, even if just to stand up and move your arms around a bit while marching on the spot. You can follow some basic principles of desk setup too – keep your mouse and keyboard low and close to your body, make sure your feet can rest comfortably on the floor, and check in on your posture regularly to make sure you’re your shoulders are back and low, and your lower back isn’t slumped.
Treatment
Although a regular shoulder massage can help, if you have chronically tight shoulders, you should seek treatment from your Osteopath to get your body checked for the real cause – it may be the way you breathe, tight muscles in your chest, or underactivating muscles in your buttocks, low back or abdomen that are the real reason your posture is forcing your shoulders to take most of the strain. I will always consider the rest of your body when addressing shoulder tightness, and will often treat the nerves that supply the shoulder muscles to help reduce their workload. I will treat with craniosacral therapy to balance out your nervous system, assess your breathing mechanics and treat your diaphragm, and may also treat with massage, joint articulation, stretching and moving of the joints, traction and decompression techniques of the spine, and other muscle activating techniques to get your shoulders to where they need to be – far below your ears!
