How to Relax the Neck and Shoulders With Fibromyalgia

If you've been diagnosed with the stress-related condition known as fibromyalgia, chances are your neck and shoulders feel pain and stiffness, especially after waking from sleep. Massage therapists who treat patients with fibromyalgia spend a good deal of time trying to relax the pressure points around the neck and shoulders. They do this by designing a home exercise regimen that aims to remove tension in these areas. Most of the exercises take less than 30 minutes.

Instructions

• 1

  Make changes to your daily routine at work or at home. If you spend long hours sitting in front of a computer or standing at a work station, force yourself to take a 10- or 15-minute break every few hours. This gives your neck muscles a chance to relax. It's even more helpful to do this by taking a brisk walk, which can improve your circulation.

• 2

  Focus on stretching your neck while either standing or sitting. Your goal is to stretch your cervical spine (the seven vertebrae at the base of the skull) so that it becomes more pliable, which helps stop pain from tension around the neck and shoulders.

• 3

  Perform exercises to stretch your neck. Move the neck upward as high as you can go while relaxing your face and jaw muscles. Remain in this position for several seconds.

• 4

  Work the muscles in your head by slowly tilting the head to each side until you feel a stretch. Don't allow your shoulders to move; allow your head and neck to do all the work. Hold that position for about five seconds.

• 5

  Move your head forward until you feel a stretch at the back of your neck. Hold this position for three to five seconds, then move your head backward as far as it can go. Again, hold the position for three to five seconds.

• 6

  Roll your head slowly in a complete circle. Do this twice in one direction and then twice in the other direction.

• 7

  Loosen your shoulders by pushing them up and holding the position for five seconds. Then push them back, holding at five seconds. Lower the shoulders to their normal position and repeat the exercise 10 times.

• 8

  Push your right shoulder as high as it can go while allowing your left shoulder to sink into a relaxed position. Hold the position for 10 seconds. Then repeat with the left shoulder.