Wake Up Stiff and Achy in Your Neck and Shoulders?
Shiatsu is the Japanese form of acupressure that I practice. In it I assess the areas along the meridians or chi pathways that need adjustment and I carefully apply pressure to restore energy flow.
A very common problem is waking up with a stiff neck or aching shoulder. It’s a terrible way to start the day. It can happen from sleeping deeply with an arm wedged under your head, or it might happen because you have the wrong pillow. I’ve also seen many people over the years who wake up this way because they sleep with their pets and don’t have enough room in the bed for everyone.
One study followed a group of men and women complaining of neck and shoulder pain upon arising in the morning. Specific shiatsu points were treated in the study to determine if shiatsu might lessen discomfort in much the same way as an anti-inflammatory might.
The results showed that applying pressure to several gall bladder points and a number of other points proved quite effective.
You might wonder why a meridian called gall bladder would help with neck and shoulder pain. It’s because this meridian passes through the gall bladder organ but is actually more connected with flexibility of muscles and tendons than with functioning of the gall bladder organ. The gall bladder meridian runs beside the ear, up and around the skull, down to the base of the skull, down to the center of the shoulder and across to the side of the ribs, all the way down the side f the leg, exiting through the 4th toe. When you visualize the tension caused by neck and shoulder pain, it’s easy to imagine why working points on the side and back of the head and down the side of the body would be helpful.
Gall bladder meridian