[griping, health]

[wispfox]

My muscles tend to get really irritable about a week before my monthly massage. With variation on just how irritable, of course.

Usually, this means neck/shoulder/upper back area, as it appears to be where I carry my tension.

For some unknown reason, this time through, my left shoulder/neck is exceptionally irritable around my shoulder blade, such that my range of motion when turning my head to the left isn't as far as it ought to be, and I can't do a normal head circle (a neck loosening move I try to do with some regularity). I can't figure out how to stretch it out, much to my frustration. It was somewhat better (but the apparent source of the problem refused to go away) after metahacker (one of brynndragon's two nifty roommates. In theory, there is a third, but I'm not sure I've met the third roommate. That, or I just don't remember them due to insufficient interaction) kindly massaged at it for a while.

There were far too many parentheticals in that last paragraph.

I'm suspecting that - as with most of the time when I get nasty cricks in my neck/shoulders - there isn't much to be done. Massages help, but don't make it go away. Same with muscle relaxants and pain meds. IIRC, they goes away on its own, although I'm never sure why, or why they happen.

And, much as it feels like something needs to crack, cracking my neck (which tends to happen whether or not I try to cause it) seems to only make it worse.

I hate my muscles. I wish they would stop randomly getting irritable! (not that this a new behavior; I can't remember a time when they _didn't_ do this)

Comments

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

As best as I can pressure point myself, yes. But I only know pressure points instinctively (which is better than not at all), and it's hard to do it effecitvely on myself!

[randysmith]

You might want to check out a shiatsuist, then. psongster has one she's reasonably happy with, if you want a recommendation. There are times when pressure points work wonders. Other times they don't do much, admittedly, but it's probably worth checking out if this is in the first class.