Acupressure Points for Neck and Shoulder Tension

If you work at a screen, your tension has a pattern, and it is remarkably consistent from person to person: the base of the skull, the ridge of the shoulders, and the strip between the shoulder blade and the spine. Here is where those spots are and how to approach them.

One hard rule before anything else: work the back and top of the neck only. Never the front, and never the sides, there are major blood vessels and the carotid sinus there, and neither pressure nor electrical stimulation belongs anywhere near them.

The base of the skull

Run a thumb up the back of your neck until you hit the ridge of bone where your skull begins. Just below that ridge, in the hollows either side of the spine, is the spot nearly everyone finds tender after a long screen day.

Work the hollows, not the spine itself. This area is sensitive, so start low: the setting that felt right on your shoulder will usually be too much here.

The top ridge of the shoulder

The midpoint of the ridge between the base of your neck and the tip of your shoulder: the classic spot people grab when someone says "you're carrying a lot of tension". It is usually the single tenderest point on a desk worker.

This is thick muscle, so a broader head and a slightly higher intensity suits it better than a fine point.

Traditional caution: this point is conventionally avoided during pregnancy. That advice comes from tradition rather than trial evidence, but combined with the general rule that pregnant people should not use an electrical stimulation device at all, it is not a distinction you need to worry about, just do not use one.

Between the shoulder blade and the spine

The strip of muscle along the inner edge of the shoulder blade is where "I slept badly" tension collects. It is also the classic spot you cannot properly reach with your own hands, which is most of why a 170 mm handle is useful.

Work along the inner edge of the blade, staying off the spine itself and off the blade's bony ridge.

The web of the hand

Not a neck point, but worth knowing, because it is the one you can use at your desk without anyone noticing: the soft web between thumb and index finger. Squeeze it and you will find the tender spot immediately.

It is a small area over bone, so use a low setting and a short stint.

Also traditionally avoided in pregnancy, same note as above.

A ten-minute round

1. Base of the skull, both hollows: 60 seconds each, low setting.
2. Shoulder ridge, both sides: 90 seconds each, broader head.
3. Inner edge of each shoulder blade: 90 seconds each.
4. Web of each hand: 30 seconds each, low setting.

That is roughly nine minutes and covers the whole desk-tension pattern. Do it once in the evening rather than twice as long once a week.

When to stop and see somebody

Neck pain that radiates down an arm, comes with numbness, tingling or weakness, follows an injury, or wakes you at night is not a self-massage problem. Put the device down and book an appointment.