Is massage good for shoulder pain

Which massages are the most effective

In this section

• How effective are general massages?
• The effective massage treatment

The effective massage therapy

Specific massage techniques that target (myofascial) trigger points, or trigger points for short, gave much better results (2–4). These are those tender lumps that therapists find. We will give advice on these therapies in our specific advice section below.

What else you need to look at

If you have shoulder pain there are two things you need to look at in addition to getting a massage. These are:

1. There are two scientifically proven causes of shoulder pain your doctor probably will not consider, and
2. Many treatments for shoulder pain are unproven, do not work, and can even hurt you.

The two scientifically proven causes of shoulder pain your doctor probably will not consider

Extensive scientific evidence shows that the following two issues are major causes of shoulder pain, and correcting them has proved to be a big help. However, because of the influence of pharmaceutical companies these are too often overlooked by doctors, which of course means that the problem does not get better. For more information on both of these please see our guide Why shoulder pain keeps coming back and what you can do about it .

Overlooked cause two: (myofascial) trigger points

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.

Many treatments for shoulder pain are unproven, do not work, and can even hurt you

As discussed above, because of drug company influence the major causes are usually not mentioned in medical journals. Instead medical journals tell doctors to use therapies that are unproven, do not work, and can even hurt you. Needless to say if something is not doing you any good and even hurting you it is best to stop.

Exercises

While exercises are commonly prescribed, these alone do not help and in one trial one trial of 148 patients a home exercise program actually made the shoulder pain worse (20)⁠. For more information please see our guide Do exercises help shoulder pain .

Practical advice and guide

If you have shoulder pain, in this section we will give you our best possible guidance. Because we are not aware of your specific circumstances though please consider it as general advice to be discussed with your health care professional.

In this section:

• Massage for your shoulder pain
• Head and shoulder forward posture
• Exercises
• Medical treatments

Massage for your shoulder pain

As we have seen general massages are of little help, while those that target trigger points while those that target trigger points are effective. We have also see that trigger points are a major overlooked cause of shoulder pain. Please see out guide Massage and trigger point therapy for shoulder pain . It gives a full list of muscles involved and instructions on how to perform the therapy.

A key issue with trigger points is that single treatments of courses of treatments can give relief, but eliminating the problem takes a longer course of treatments. Because of this the guide gives easy to do effective self treatments.

Head and shoulders forward posture

If you have a head and shoulder forward posture as shown above it will continue to cause abnormal stress on your shoulder joint and muscles. This cannot usually be corrected by taping, exercises or a conscious effort to stand straight. For details on how this is dealt with please see our guide What are misaligned vertevrae .

Exercises

The key issue with exercises is that problems (eg. the head and shoulders forward posture) cause shoulder joints to work abnormally. Exercises cannot correct this function as long as the causative problem remains. The correct way is to first correct the cause of the incorrect function to allow the joint to work normally, then if necessary use exercises to help rehabilitation. Some professionals such as the US National Academy of Sports Medicine (21) recognise and advise this, but too many doctors and physios do not. For more info please see our guide Do exercises help shoulder pain .

Medical treatments

Because of prescribing regulations we cannot advise people to stop taking medications, but we can advise that as discussed above most medical treatments for shoulder pain are un-proven, do not work, and can do harm.

References

1. Kong LJ, Zhan HS, Cheng YW, Yuan WA, Chen B, Fang M. Massage therapy for neck and shoulder pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Evidence-based Complement Altern Med. 2013;2013(Feb 28).
2. Sergienko S, Kalichman L. Myofascial origin of shoulder pain: A literature review. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2015;19(1):91–101.
3. Hains G, Descarreaux M, Hains F. Chronic Shoulder Pain of Myofascial Origin: A Randomized Clinical Trial Using Ischemic Compression Therapy. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2010;33(5):362–9.
4. Bron C, De Gast A, Dommerholt J, Stegenga B, Wensing M, Oostendorp RAB. Treatment of myofascial trigger points in patients with chronic shoulder pain: A randomized, controlled trial. BMC Med. 2011;9.
5. Jcu R, Sakthi D. Clinical assessment of subacromial impingement-which factors differ from asymptomatic population. Musculoskeltal Sci Pract. 2017;27:49–56.
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12. Gordon CM, Andrasik F, Schleip R, Birbaumer N, Rea M. Myofascial triggerpoint release (MTR) for treating chronic shoulder pain: A novel approach . J Bodyw Mov Ther . 2016;20(3):614–22.
13. Hidalgo-Lozano A, Fernández-De-Las-Peñas C, Alonso-Blanco C, Ge HY, Arendt-Nielsen L, Arroyo-Morales M. Muscle trigger points and pressure pain hyperalgesia in the shoulder muscles in patients with unilateral shoulder impingement: A blinded, controlled study. Exp Brain Res. 2010;
14. Van Den Dolder PA, Roberts DL. A trial into the effectiveness of soft tissue massage in the treatment of shoulder pain. Aust J Physiother . 2003;49(3):183–8.
15. Perez-Palomares S, Oliván-Blázquez B, Arnal-Burró AM, Mayoral-Del Moral O, Gaspar-Calvo E, De-La-Torre-Beldarraín ML, et al. Contributions of myofascial pain in diagnosis and treatment of shoulder pain. A randomized control trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2009;10(1):1–7.
16. Burbank KM, Stevenson JH, Czarnecki GR, Dorfman J. Chronic shoulder pain: Part I. Evaluation and diagnosis. Am Fam Physician. 2008;77(4):453–60.
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20. Gleyze P, Georges T, Flurin PH, Laprelle E, Katz D, Clavert P, et al. Comparison and critical evaluation of rehabilitation and home-based exercises for treating shoulder stiffness: Prospective, multicenter study with 148 cases. Orthop Traumatol Surg Res. 2011;97(8 SUPPL.).
21. Clark MA, Lucett SC. NASM Essentials of Corrective Exercise Training. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2011.