What's the best treatment for tight muscles from this list?

[wildnfreee]

I've got really tense upper back, neck and shoulders. I'm not in horrendous pain or anything but it's pretty stiff. It's caused by nighttime bruxism which I'm trying to sort out and probably my poor posture and sitting at a desk all day.

To help loosen the muscles/ knots I'm thinking of trying out some treatments but don't have the money to try them all so which one would be best from these:

Sports massage
Acupuncture
Cupping
Osteopath

Anything else?

Personally I'd say the sports massage out of those, but really you need to see a physio

Night guard for your teeth

Then anything massage related

I'd try a sports massage first but a good physio would be better than any of them.

The sports massage place I was thinking of going to - they are physiotherapists so thats 2 in one

sports massage and/or physio.
and magnesium supplements.
and keeping warm.

@RedCarsGoFaster

Night guard for your teeth

Then anything massage related

I have a night guard but it doesn't actually stop the clenching at night.

Have you considered Botox for the bruxism? It's helped mine massively. It's not stopped the shoulder and neck tension though as I have two separate, but kind of linked issues. I go for regular sports massage for the shoulder and neck tension, but I actually think acupuncturist is more useful, I just enjoy the massage more.

*acupuncture

Yoga and osteopath would be my suggestion

I would say osteopath but the best massage I ever had - which resolved decades of upper back tension in one go - was a shiatsu (sp?) massage.

Sports massage / physio

Yoga. There are various options I have tried and the best for me is this one:

I am also a jaw clenching desk jockey.

Physio then buy yourself some hotteez heat pads from the Amazons

My oestopath does massage and acupuncture so you could tick 3 off with one visit.

I'd say sports massage but also look at self-care.

Fixing the causes is essential or you'll keep throwing money at therapy - a mouth guard to prevent bruxism, good ergonomic setup at work etc. Reduce stress, increase relaxation, try meditation (without being goal-focused). Also learn self-massage with a tennis ball or backnobber (see YouTube for info) so you have some control over the tension yourself.

Good luck :)

Have you tried yoga? Seriously it’s very useful for learning to relax muscle groups.

(Also, there is a growing school in dentistry which thinks mouth guards actually make teeth grinding worse … )

Get a cheap foam roller and start rolling it's life changing also CBD cream helps

Shiatsu was great for me too. But you can get a long way with an absolutely zero cost option of gentle stretching. Absolutely nothing intense or painful - just sit quietly on the floor or a chair and tilt your head slightly in any direction. When you feel a very gentle stretch in your neck or back or face, stay in that position for a few minutes. Then tilt your head gently in a different direction and do the same. Repeat for as long as you have the time! You can experiment with different tilting angles until you find the ones thst make the most difference for you. When i have neck / head / back tension I can do this for half an hour at a time - just incredibly small gentle stretch holds - and it makes a world of difference. You can also stretch your mouth open (again only until you feel a gentle stretch - don't force anything) and hold that which can be really great for jaw tension.
Best of luck OP - I completely sympathise. It's awful. I hope you get some relief soon.

Free weights. Dumbbell/ barbell exercises for me are the most effective long-term for neck and shoulder tension.

@Jamnotjelly

Shiatsu was great for me too. But you can get a long way with an absolutely zero cost option of gentle stretching. Absolutely nothing intense or painful - just sit quietly on the floor or a chair and tilt your head slightly in any direction. When you feel a very gentle stretch in your neck or back or face, stay in that position for a few minutes. Then tilt your head gently in a different direction and do the same. Repeat for as long as you have the time! You can experiment with different tilting angles until you find the ones thst make the most difference for you. When i have neck / head / back tension I can do this for half an hour at a time - just incredibly small gentle stretch holds - and it makes a world of difference. You can also stretch your mouth open (again only until you feel a gentle stretch - don't force anything) and hold that which can be really great for jaw tension. Best of luck OP - I completely sympathise. It's awful. I hope you get some relief soon.

Thank you for that - will definitely give that a go.

Yoga or see a physio and ask for appropriate stretches.

Similar but for glutes here.

Physio plus yoga! I do Yoga with Adriene nightly and it helps a lot x

@StCharlotte I really hope you find it useful - daily gentle neck stretching has hugely reduced the frequency and severity of my tension headaches, I really wish someone had told me about it 20 years ago!! You can also add in some bigger movement stretching eg arms above head, side bends etc, but again, do it slowly and organically so you stop wherever you feel a stretch and hold it as long as it feels good - that way you don't risk injuring tight muscles by overstretching, plus you can just learn to feel where are the best stretches for you.

Gentle twists can also be good - eg cross your arms across your chest with hands on the opposite shoulder and then do a slow (gentle!!) rocking twist back and forth.

Walking unencumbered (no backpack, no shpulder bag, don't hold your phone etc, so your arms and back can move naturally) is also really therapeutic for stiff backs if you can manage it.

Get a massage gun! So much better than a foam roller. You just need someone to do it for you if it’s your back/ shoulders. It has different attachments for different areas/ muscle types. Game changer!