In this video, we're going to go over the neck and shoulder
pain muscle and how to release it for instant relief. Stay
tuned.
Hey, everyone. Dr. Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in
Saint Joseph, Michigan. In this video, we're going to go over
easy exercises that can offer both quick and long-lasting
relief for muscle pain in the neck and the shoulder and to
keep it simple, we're going to focus on the two main
instigators of pain in this area which would be the levator
scapulae and the upper trapezius muscles. These exercises are
going to help lengthen and more importantly strengthen these
muscles. Each exercise works just a little bit differently, to get the
best results go through them all use what works best for you
and as a side note I am getting over a cold so my voice is
probably going to sound a little bit hoarse in this video
so with that being said let's get started so one of the
biggest causes of neck and shoulder pain is because of
muscle knots spasms and trigger points here's a really easy way
to release those and get some quick relief I call this one
the two finger method because all we need are two fingers
whatever side that you're having the most amount of pain
let's say it's a side. Take two fingers on the other side and
make a hook. Let's start off by targeting the upper trapezius
muscle and then we'll move on to the levator scapula. So,
take your two fingers and press right over the muscle on the
top of the shoulder into the side of the neck. What you want
to do is explore the whole area until you find that one spot
that is just pinpoint for tightness or pain. If you do
have a muscle knot or spasm, it's going to be pretty easily
found. It usually feels like a big bump or a mount or even
like a roll of dough right on the top of that muscle and it's
usually very sensitive. Once you find that, what you're
going to do is take your fingers and hook right before
the spot of the spasm or the tightness. I usually like to
start a little bit more towards my upper back because what I'm
going to do is go from my back to my front while I do this.
So, apply enough pressure into that muscle to the point where
it's going to be a comfortable self massage but not causing
any discomfort. Once you're in that position, what you're
going to do now is hook and now roll or scrape forward towards your
chest. As you do this, you're really going to be able to dig
into those muscle fibers and just roll right over that
muscle. I like to do this for about 15 to 20 times. So, with
each repetition, dig in there just a little bit more. This
usually feels really really good. Afterwards, see how you
feel. If it's nice and relaxed, you can switch over any spot
that's needed including into the neck right here or towards
the other side but if you have one spot that just doesn't want
to release, this is how you can take it to the next level and
dig into those muscles a little bit more. So, instead of
hooking and going from your back to your front, attack it
at different angles. So, go side to side with it. You can
also do a circular massage. What you want to do is just
attack those muscle fibers at different angles until you find
the one that just offers the most relief but if you really
want to take this one to the next level, what we need to do
is activate the upper trapezius so we can really dig in there.
So, a really easy way to do that is just to do that hooking
motion but shrug that shoulder upward towards the ceiling as
much as you can until you feel that muscle on the top of the
shoulder into the side of the neck start to fire once you
feel that dig into it at that point so do your hooking motion
circular motion whatever works for you this becomes sensitive
very quickly so build into this movements very very slowly if
you really want a deep intense stretch with the self massage
you can do this instead of shrugging up let's shrug that
shoulder down as much as we can. While I do this, I try to
just reach towards the floor and also drive my shoulder
blade, the tip of my shoulder blade down towards the floor as
much as I can and then from here, I'm going to take my ear
on the other side and just tilt it towards the other side
shoulder. You're going to feel a deep stretch form from the
side of the neck into the top of the shoulder. Once you feel
that, then, dig into those muscles. This usually feels
really really good. So, give that one a try. So, let's move
on to the levator scapulae. This movement is very very similar
to what we just did. So, with the levator scapula, you tend
to get a little bit more pain from the top of the shoulder
blade into the side of the neck towards the back of the ear.
So, if that's the case, like it's right in this area, give
this one a try. So, again, let's say that we have it a lot
on our left side. Take two fingers and hook right over the
spot of tightness in the side of the neckboard towards the
top of the shoulder but for this one, only go towards the
back of the neck, don't go over the front of the neck. We're
going to apply enough pressure in there and then what I'm
going to do is slowly turn my head to look towards the other
side shoulder. So, I'm looking all the way towards my right.
You should feel a really good activation of those neck
muscles but this is how we're going to take this one to the
next level. Let's hold this and now take our chin and take it
down towards our armpit right here. We call this one the
armpit sniffer for good reason. You should feel that deep
intense stretch from the bottom of the ear into the side of the
neck towards the top of the shoulder blade. At that point,
hook into those muscle as much as you can, attack them at
different angles and do that nice circular motion but go
through all of these movements if you find that one just helps
you out a little bit more at that point throw more
repetitions in until everything is nice and loose this one I'm
going to joke and call Doctor Rose Miracle neck and shoulder
pain relief exercise it's one that I personally use anytime
that I have a lot of tightness because it can offer quick
relief great part is you can do this one standing or seated
just have very good upright posture, have your back as
straight possible. Take your hands, kind of overlap them
like this, almost kind of like a big fist and you're going to
put that right up against your chest. Just gently press your
hands right into your chest. With your elbows, you want to
wing them backward like this driving your shoulders back at
the same time. I focus on trying to pinch my shoulder
blades with this one as much as I can. You should feel a really
good activation of the muscles around the shoulder blades into
the upper back working towards the shoulders. You're going to
hold this position and now take it to the next level by
shrugging upward like this. So, shrug those shoulders upward as
much as possible. This will help activate the upper
trapezius muscle. So, at this point, you should feel it all
across the upper back into the shoulders into the side of the
neck but we're not done yet. We're going to take this one to
even the next level by now tilting our head towards one
side. So, take your ear towards one side as much as you can
until you feel a deep intense stretch form on the other side
of the neck. So, I feel it a lot on my right side. I try to
hold this one comfortably for three to five seconds and then
slowly repeat on the other side. Do this one for about 10
to 15 repetitions on both sides and with each repetition, try
to build in to adjust a little bit more. Afterwards, see how
you feel. If everything is nice and loose, you're good to go
but you can throw in as many repetitions as you like. You
can also instead of doing a tilting motion, you can start
to rotate and turn your head from side to side it will help
target the muscles a little bit more you can also intensify
that upper trapezius stretch by tilting like this and then
rotating your chin upward towards the ceiling so if you
tilt towards your left and rotate up towards the ceiling
you're really going to feel it right there on the top of the
shoulder so next let's move on to the levator scapula since
we're already in a very good position to stretch that muscle
out I'm going to do what is called the classic armpit
sniffer so for this one let's get back into our very good
upright posture. Whatever side that you're having the most amount
of tightness or pain. Let's say it's your right side. Slowly
turn your head to look over the other side shoulder as much as
you can until you feel a gentle activation of the muscles right
here in the neck. Once you feel that, you're going to take your
hand on the other side, hook the back of your head and now
gently pull your chin down towards your armpit. Now, you
see why we call this one the armpit sniffer. You should feel
a deep intense stretch from the bottom of the ear into the side
of the neck towards the top of the shoulder blade in the upper
back usually feels really really good hold this one
comfortably for 20 to 30 seconds and do nice slow
control breathing let out as much tension as you can from
there relax and then repeat this three to five times with
each repetition try to build into it just a little bit more
and I do recommend throwing in a couple repetitions on the
other side just to keep everything nice and loose if
you're looking to get long lasting neck and shoulder muscle
pain relief, you have to make the muscle stronger to support
this area. Here's a really easy exercise that you can do daily
that doesn't require any equipment. I call this one the
shoulder arc. Also we need is a smooth wall or a door. Let's
start off by facing that wall and get pretty close to it.
You're going to take your hands and make a hitchhiker sign with
your thumbs pointed away. Just press your fist right into the
wall and then slide them upward as much as you can. My hands
are roughly about shoulder-width apart. What you want to focus on doing
is driving through your shoulder blades and shoulders
during this exercise. So, just shrug upward as much as you can
until you feel a really good activation of the muscles
around the shoulder blades into the shoulder into the bottom of
the neck. Once you feel this, you're going to take that to
the next level by now lifting your hands off of the wall and
then just taking your thumbs backward as much as you can.
Again, trying to move through your shoulders and shoulder
blades. In this position, you're going to feel a ton of
muscles start to fire in the upper back around the shoulder
blades into the shoulders into the bottom of the neck hold
this one comfortably for 3 to5 seconds and then relax on the
next repetition what you're going to do is instead of going
straight up angle your hands slightly off to the side and
then repeat again driving upward like this and then
lifting off you're going to notice it targets the muscles
just a little bit differently so keep doing this over and
over again in as many different positions as possible until you
go all the way off to the side like this and then working
downward towards the floor. What you're going to find is
that one certain position just offers the most amount of
relief. Maybe it's targeting tightness. Maybe it just feels
really really weak. At that point, treat it like your weak
link and throw more repetitions in until it feels like it's
nice and loose or you got a really good workout. If the
exercises help, please support the channel by giving this
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or questions, please leave them below. I'll get back to you as
soon as I can. Thanks for watching.