Your complete guide to (myofascial) trigger points
Trigger points are those tender lumps in muscles that therapists find. This article covers what they are, what they do, and how they are... Read Article
Massage is good for shoulder pain, however the relief you get will vary considerably depending on the type of massage. In this article we will help you get the most appropriate massage, including effective self help options.
However, the relief from massage alone is often incomplete or temporary. This is because there are usually other issues as well, and according to a study published in the Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery (19) much medical advice and treatment you will receive is very poor, so to help you properly rid your shoulder pain we’ve included very important information on:
A review of the 12 available clinical trials of massage for shoulder pain found that general massages only gave short term relief and no improvement in function (1).
On the other hand specific massage techniques that target (myofascial) trigger points gave much better results (2–4). Trigger points are those tender lumps that therapists find. For more information please see our article Your Complete Guide To (Myofascial) Trigger Points .
There are many forms of professional trigger point therapy such as dry needling, laser and professional massage techniques. However, as discussed in our article Why do trigger points keep coming back , to eliminate trigger points you need to continue treatment for long after the pain goes. Most people do not do this with professional therapies so the pain eventually comes back. Because of this we recommend an effective self massage option. This will allow you to easily continue treatment long enough to get much more lasting benefits. To help you with this we have an article and video, both with illustrations and step by step instructions.
Massage and trigger point therapy for shoulder pain
In the next sections we will tell you about:
To understand why this is even possible you need to understand that medical journals rely on drug company advertising, and huge amounts of drug company funds are directed at influencing doctors.
Extensive scientific evidence shows that the following are major causes of shoulder pain, and the correcting them is a big help. For more information please see our article Why shoulder pain keeps coming back and what you can do about it .
Many scientific trials have shown that having a head forward posture as pictured is a major cause of shoulder pain (5–11). This causes abnormal stress on the shoulder muscles and joint. Instead of being mentioned in medical journals doctors are trained to recognise the damage this causes (eg. impingement syndromes) and treat the symptoms.
We have mentioned that treating trigger points is very effective. In a series of trials, highly credentialed scientists have found that they are are a major cause of shoulder pain, and that treating them gives excellent relief (2–4,12–15). However, as discussed above this is usually not mentioned in medical journals (16–18) hence your doctor probably will not know about it.
According to an article in The Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (19) 79% of shoulder pain suffers are still suffering after six months, and there is no evidence to support the use of most medically recommended treatments such as analgesics, NSAIDS (anti-inflammatory drugs), corticosteroids and physiotherapy.
As discussed in our article Do exercises help shoulder pain the common prescription of exercises deserves a particular dishonourable mention. In one trial of 148 patients a home exercise program actually made the shoulder pain worse (20).
DrGraeme massagers were originally built by Dr Graeme for use in his clinic, and to prescribe to his patients for additional self use at home. Now these are used by colleagues and other professionals for similar purposes. If you are a professional and wish to know more about this therapy, or possibly get a sample massager to trial please check out our practitioner page.
We are continually adding more information on research and uses. Subscribe below to have us email them to you "hot off the press".
Several years ago Dr Graeme, a Chiropractor practicing in Victoria, Australia was looking for a serious hand held massager his patients could use at home to get the extra quality massage they needed. The ones he found in the shops and on-line for home use looked nice but were not serious, and... read more
Trigger points are those tender lumps in muscles that therapists find. This article covers what they are, what they do, and how they are... Read Article
Massage is good for shoulder pain, however the relief you get will vary considerably depending on the type of massage. According to... Read Article
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