PAIN IN THE NECK-HELPING YOURSELF WHEN YOU’RE ALONE
Now although massage usually works best when you’re being soothed by the hands of someone you know and trust — and even better when it’s someone you love—it’s perfectly possible to give yourself fingertip massage of the forehead, if you’re all on your own when a headache begins. If you sit in your most relaxed position, you’ll probably find that you can soothe quite a lot of pain away. It’s also possible to massage your own scalp. This usually works best if you make the skin move under your fingers.
Stiff necks and aches at the nape of the neck are rather more of a problem, of course, because you can’t massage your own spine. If your shoulders are stiff and aching, you can ease a lot of tension by rotating them gently round and round. Imagine you have a pencil stitched on to your shirt so that it lies neatly along the shoulder seam, and you’re using it to draw a circle in the air. Rotate one shoulder and then the other. Make sure your shoulders have dropped into their most relaxed position.
Pain at the nape of your neck can be eased in a similar way by rotating your head, rolling it slowly and gently round and round and at the same time massaging the top of your spine with a gentle pinching movement between thumb and fingers. Start at the nape of your neck and gradually move higher and higher up your spine until you reach your hairline. Both these exercises should help you to be aware of the places where your spine and shoulders are too tense for comfort, and help you to relax them into an easier position.
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