DIY Acupressure | Shoulder blade | Rhomboid pain relief

DIY Acupressure | Shoulder-blade / Rhomboid pain relief

What is acupressure? Well it's simply a method of relieving problems in the body through applying pressure to key points. Many ancient forms of healing especially far eastern practices, employ acupressure work, often using intricate body charts to map energy pathways and locations. The body is teaming with pressure points, so which one to choose?? Well without an advanced knowledge of pressure points, we can begin by simply listening to our body. We all know what feels good and offers relief in terms of touch, therefore this is a good starting point for any DIY massage. What is interesting to note is that often more than one point when pushed, might offer relief to the same area so if you want to take a more holistic approach to your DIY massage, I would sensitively follow any pain signal and apply finger/thumb pressure along any particular nervous or muscular pathway.  For example, pain in your hand might be relieved by squeezing or applying pressure to various points along the lengths of your forearm or even in various crevices in the wrist. Which might actually reveal that you are experiencing "referred pain", i.e. the problem stems from elsewhere. Incidentally finger or thumb pressure is Shiatsu in it's simplest form. In Thai massage the therapist might offer pressure using palms, knees, feet, elbows & forearms!

So how does one sort out hard to reach areas in the shoulder blade/ rhomboid area?...

With the help of this marvelous little invention:

Hand Star Massage Tool

This is a Thai Hand Star Massage Tool. Usually carved from rosewood and is designed for the hand. However, I discovered that this beautifully smooth acupressure tool is a brilliant substitute for deep acupressure relief in the shoulder blade/rhomboid region.

 key knots/trigger points where pressure is warranted

This diagram shows where pain is often referred; the shoulder-tops, neck & base of skull

Method:

First lay flat on the floor. Clothed or topless. Face up.
Place the star on the floor or mat, positioning it in the correct spot between your shoulder blade and spinal column (the fleshy area).

Simply use your own body weight to achieve the desired pressure.

By elevating the hips into the bridge position and shifting your weight,  you can deepen your DIY acupressure treatment. Sometimes lying flat on the star is enough.

It may take a couple of goes to get the star in the right spot but once you hit the right spot, it will become your new friend!

Do this slowly and carefully as you can exert quite a lot of pressure, which is bliss for some people, but can result in injury if you get carried away!!

Alternatives:

If you don't want do a Google search and shop online for one of these toys, you can achieve similar convenient results with any small solid object. Please don't use anything remotely fragile or likely to break. Opt for a misshapen pebble or a jagged stone, bare in mind anything jagged must be  wrapped in cloth to soften the edges to prevent injury or tearing to clothing.

Have a go and feel the relief!

 

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