Experiencing tight shoulders can cause pain, stiffness, and potentially limit your ability to carry out daily activities. With so many potential catalysts for tight shoulders, finding ways to relieve shoulder tension is on the forefront of many people’s minds on a regular basis. Today, we’re taking a look at what causes shoulder tension, how to relieve shoulder tension at home, and a few tips for how to potentially prevent it from returning. Read on and see what may work for you.
What Causes Shoulder Tension?
Shoulder pain affects an estimated 18-26% of all adults at any point in time. Being so common, it’s no wonder that there are a plethora of potential catalysts. One of the biggest parts of learning how to relieve shoulder tension at home, however, is identifying the source of the problem.
A few common causes of shoulder tension include:
- Poor posture such as hunching over at your office desk
- Stress and anxiety which causes you to subconsciously tense your shoulders and neck
- Injuries from overtraining or not training correctly
- Overexertion during daily activities (such as lifting something heavy incorrectly)
In addition to these sources, other factors that may play into your need to release shoulder tension include age and chronic health ailments like arthritis flare ups or fibromyalgia relief.
How to Relieve Shoulder Tension
Whether you need to learn how to relieve shoulder tension due to work related stress, anxiety, a hectic schedule, sports injury recovery, or chronic health conditions, there’s no doubt you want relief as quickly as possible. After you’ve identified the source of the problem, finding ways to release shoulder tension doesn’t have to be too difficult. In many cases, a few simple lifestyle adjustments may make all the difference in the world.
Some potentially effective methods for how to relieve shoulder tension include:
- Practicing yoga or other movement-based exercises
- Doing neck stretches
- Shoulder exercises to loosen your muscles
- Neck and shoulder massage
- Applying heat therapy
Practicing Yoga for Shoulder Tension Relief
Many people seeking to learn how to relieve shoulder tension at home could benefit from practicing yoga or other movement-based, low-impact exercises. Yoga is a physical activity that focuses on stretches, poses, and meditative breathing to relax the mind and body. Recent studies have shown its positive impact on psychological health, which may lead to physiological benefits, too. In this way, it may improve both your physical and mental well-being, helping to relieve shoulder tension while also managing stress levels and reducing anxiety.
If yoga isn’t your thing, you may also consider other low-impact movement exercises like tai chi, instead. Regardless of which movement exercises you do, you may find incorporating them into your regular routine could effectively release shoulder tension and help prevent it from returning.
Neck Stretches to Release Shoulder Tension
Whether you’re looking for how to relieve shoulder tension at home or seeking techniques you can use anywhere, neck stretches may be the way to go. Neck stretches can be especially helpful in situations where you may not be able to get up and move around as easily, like during the workday or at an event.
One of the easiest neck stretches you can do follows these steps:
- Slowly lean your left ear toward your left shoulder
- Gently deepen the stretch by placing your left hand on the right side of your head and lightly pulling toward your left shoulder
- Hold for 5 seconds and repeat on the other side
While you may have been in a gym workout or dance class where the instructor has told you to roll your head all the way around to loosen your neck, experts have agreed that may actually do more harm than good. Instead of being an effective way to relieve shoulder tension, rolling your head in a complete circle may constrict blood vessels supplying blood to your neck area and putting unnecessary pressure on your cervical spine.
Shoulder Tension Exercises to Loosen Muscles
It goes without saying that one of the best ways to learn how to relieve shoulder tension at home is by learning some shoulder tension exercises to loosen your muscles! You don’t need a home gym or fancy equipment to release shoulder tension this way. In fact, you could enhance your experience by combining techniques like doing shoulder tension exercises from a luxury massage chair to really loosen your body and provide relief.
The easiest and most common shoulder tension exercises is a shoulder roll. Follow these simple steps:
- Keeping your arms and hands relaxed, roll your shoulders forward for a count of 10
- Reverse the process and roll your shoulders backward for another count of 10
It’s that simple! You may want to repeat the whole process at least two more times in order to maximize its potential effectiveness.
Neck and Shoulder Massage
Without a doubt, one of the most effective methods for how to relieve shoulder tension at home is often a neck and shoulder massage. Experts agree that getting a regular massage may be an effective way to maximize their results and keep your body in top condition. Instead of trying to fit in regular appointments with a massage therapist (when a hectic schedule is already a source of your muscle tension), many are turning to the benefits of massage therapy at home using a luxury massage chair.
From 3D massage chairs with body scanning technology to 4D AI massage chairs that provide a custom experience each time to meet your needs, the benefits of owning a massage chair are many. These incredible chairs have evolved to eliminate differences between using a massage chair vs human massage to provide you with potential health benefits such as:
- Shoulder tension relief
- Better blood circulation
- Faster bodily healing
- Deeper relaxation
- Stress management
- More restful sleep
Using a massage chair is also a great way to improve posture and alleviate negative health conditions it may cause such as shoulder tension and back pain. Other massage chair features like chromotherapy and heat therapy that may help release shoulder tension effectively, as well.
With so many potential benefits of massage chairs for health, there’s no reason to suffer from shoulder tension at home. These tools help release muscle tension and boost your overall well-being on your schedule and at your need.
Applying Heat Therapy to Relieve Shoulder Tension at Home
Last, though most certainly not least, on our list of methods for how to relieve shoulder tension at home is with the benefits of heat therapy. There are two kinds of heat therapy you may use: moist and dry.
Dry heat therapy includes tools like heating pads, heat lamps, and luxury massage chairs with heat therapy features. Applying moist heat therapy to release shoulder tension includes options like taking a warm shower, using a sauna/hot tub, applying gel packs, or using warm damp towels.
Using heat therapy as a method for how to relieve shoulder tension at home may help in a variety of ways including:
- Improving blood circulation for faster healing
- Fighting inflammation and swelling
- Loosening muscles and preventing stiffness
Once more, you may find combining tools like a full body massage chair with heat therapy features could relieve muscle tension and prevent it from recurring more effectively than you imagined. The larger heat therapy application of a massage chair may prove to be more efficient than smaller heating pads or simple warm towel wraps.
We hope this guide has given you a few ideas for how to relieve shoulder tension at home. Before you begin any home treatments, it’s important to consult your doctor to ensure it's safe for you to do so. Once you’ve been given the go ahead, choosing a massage chair may be the most effective and efficient way to combine multiple methods to release shoulder tension and help prevent it from recurring. Try these methods out and see which works best for you.
To learn more about the benefits of owning a massage chair, check out these additional resources:
