“My shoulder hurts so much I don’t know how I’m going to work today!”
Tom Lurato, the owner of Salon of Fashions in NJ, was in such severe pain that holding his arms up to cut hair made him feel like knives were being stabbed into his shoulder joint. Not only was it affecting his ability to work, it was also preventing him from playing handball, a sport he enjoys for both exercise and emotional release.
Shoulder pain is a common condition in the beauty industry since your arms are always being raised as you wash, cut, color, and style hair; give facials, or do the long process of applying acrylic nails. Every day you are repetitively straining the muscles that give your shoulder the ability to have the greatest range of motion of any joint in your body.
The muscles that give the shoulder its mobility are prone to tension as you hold your arms up for many hours throughout the day. Each muscle pulls in a different direction, and when they become taut from repetitive strain they pull on the joint, preventing you from moving freeing. Plus, the spasms, which are knots in the muscle fibers, will cause you to feel pain that is often a distance from the spasm.
The photo above shows a spasm (shown as a circle) and the pair referred area (shading). For example, the blue circle at the front of the left shoulder will refer severe pain to the dark shaded blue area of the shoulder, and will also cause pain and discomfort along the entire blue shaded area. And the yellow circle on the left back, close to the armpit, will refer pain from your mid-back, up to your shoulder, and all the way down to your hand.
You feel the pain in the shaded area, and you rub where it hurts. However, since the source of the pain is the spasm, you don’t get relief.
As you continue to work the tension spreads to your neck and down your back. Ultimately you are hurting so much that you dread the day, and your face will show your pain.
Previously, sufferers’ options were limited. In my clinical practice, I’m constantly working with individuals who are suffering from repetitive stress injuries, such as shoulder pain, hand and wrist pain/numbness and even carpal tunnel syndrome. Since 1989 I have developed many self-treatments that are effective and easy-to-do, and most important, you can stop the pain FAST.
Secrets to New Self-Treatment Techniques
- Locate muscle “trigger points” (or tension points) that need release,
- Treat tension points with targeted, focused pressure.
- Use self-treatment techniques to lengthen & flush toxins from injured muscles
For shoulder pain, the good news is that by simply using your fingers or a tennis ball and some focused self-treatments, you can quickly and easily get relief while preventing the condition’s return.
Julie Donnelly, LMT is an internationally recognized expert in repetitive strain injuries. She is a licensed massage therapist, with an office in Sarasota, FL and Nanuet, NY. She is the author of seven books, including her newest book Treat Yourself to Pain-Free Living - Discover the Secret of Why You Hurt and How to Stop It. Julie is the developer of the Julstro Self-Treatment System, including the Julstro System for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Wrist & Hand Pain. For more information visit http://www.julstro.com.