Relief from Shoulder and Neck Pain

Tension and stress is often experienced in the neck and shoulders. With the advent of computers and video games, that pain occurs more often as people hunch over their keyboards for prolonged periods of time. The discomfort can easily lead to intense long-term pain that lowers the quality of life.

Prevention is the key, which takes minor effort on your part. Stretching your muscles, taking rest breaks, paying attention to proper posture are a few ways to alleviate the build-up of pain. In addition to that, reflexology can be helpful.

When reflexing tense areas in the neck or shoulder, consider any tenderness to be nature letting you know where to spend extra time. Keep in mind there is a difference between “good hurt” and “bad hurt.” The good hurt is when you want to keep on going because you are accessing the pain for release. The bad hurt is when you are tensing against the pressure, and your muscles will push back at 2,000 pounds per square inch; thereby, creating a harmful situation where you can get more hurt.

Tenderness is a sign of congestion that has accumulated around nerve endings in the reflex areas of the shoulder and neck. Congestion occurs due to trauma or stress. Through gentle reflexing, you break down the congestion to allow bioelectric flow to return to normal levels, helping the body to heal itself.

In reflexology, a complete map of you body is reflected in your outer ears, feet, and hands. Using the Flocco Method of integrating foot, hand and ear reflexology, you can work on the neck and shoulder reflexes in each part of the body to alleviate pain. In the case of the shoulder, it could be structural damage such as a torn muscle or vertebrae that is out of alignment. If pain persists, please consult your physician.

Shoulder pain can get specific depending on where it actually hurts, which informs the points to reflex in your feet, hands, and ears. The pain could be located in the shoulder joints, shoulder blades, muscles between the shoulder blades, the area above the shoulder blades, upper back, base of the neck, or the muscles above the collarbone.

A reflexologist could do more pinpointed work to address the specific location of shoulder pain. If you are practicing self-reflexology, pinch the groove just above your outer earlobe with your thumb and index finger. Then gently rotate your fingers in a slow circular motion in the groove.

To address shoulder pain in the hands, reflex the back of your hands, in the grooves between the bones. Place the thumb of your other hand on the palm, and the tip of your index finger in the groove. Use a gentle rolling motion to travel along the fleshy area, moving toward your wrist.

Shoulder reflexes in your feet, like in the hands, is found in the grooves between the long bones. Rest your ankle on your knee, use your thumb as leverage on the bottom of your feet, and the tip of your index finger on the top of the foot between the grooves. Use a gentle rolling motion to travel along the fleshy area, moving towards the ankle.

Neck discomfort can be alleviated by reflexing the lower half of your thumbs and fingers. In your feet, reflex all the way around each part of the toes, focusing on the lower half of each toe. In the ears, neck reflexes are found above the ear lobes, at the point farthest from your face, at the base of the hard cartilage.

Reflexology is a simple, easy way to self-heal. It is convenient and easy to simply hold a reflex point to promote relaxation. Everyone has neck or shoulder pain. By reflexing those points in the feet, hands and outer ears, you can help prevent discomfort and pain from building up.

Footnote: Information in this article based upon Bill Flocco’s articles, “What a Pain in the Neck!” published in Los Angeles Resources 1998; and “Shoulder Pain? Get Relief…Naturally,” published Fall 1989.