I started a new thread for this as it deserves to be its own topic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kyoun1e
Has anyone self massaged their scalenes with any success?
I have an appt. with a massage therapist Monday. That's an eternity from now in my mind.
I've been looking at Youtube videos and attempting self massage myself. Combining the massage with the usual scalene stretches seems to work for short term relief. Of course, once you stop the pain returns. It would seem you really have to beat these muscles up repeatedly to actually "lengthen" them.
KY
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This is huge on my list. I tried a few months back. First attempt was great! I had more circulation through my arm and hand. Felt nice and warm. And more sensation in my fingertips. You can test your sensitivity before and after trying something by lightly scraping your thumbnails across your fingertips. I learned this during my appointment with Dr. Gelabert when he examined me.
Man, I thought that was by breakthrough to "90% better" which is my goal. The effect reset overnight.
On my 2nd attempt, I gave myself an awful flare up that lasted the rest of the day and night, and prevented me from doing anything. Ug.
Working on the scalenes requires digging into your neck and knowing what you're pressing on. I probably did something stupid the 2nd time like work on my brachial plexus instead of my anterior scalene.
There's also questions about which approach to take. Rub up and down vs. across the muscle. Rub in circles vs. straight lines. Don't rub; just press. How long to do any of this for.
I took a break from that to work on some other things, like trying variations in inversion, using iPosture and doing Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to let go of past anger which would surface up to distract and stress me. These things have had utility, but I still need more scalene relief.
I plan on returning to the scalene attempts in a few weeks.
Like you, I have been getting my tips off youtube. One musician suggested lying on your back so you could relax your neck; I agree.
Somewhere I read a massage therapist saying that she got better results just pressing on the scalenes instead of any kind of movement. I lost the reference.
Also, I was prying my anterior scalene towards my center and pusing my medial scalene towards the outside, with the goal of making the thoracic outlet space larger.
So yeah, I would like to work up to something that looks like:
1. massage the scalenes (and scm and whatever else)
2. gentle neck stretches
3. shove the first rib down
I hope all that helps in some way.
As people gain experience and tips about self massaging the scalenes, please post them here.