Home / Neck & shoulder pain
Mobile bodywork · Marin & San Francisco
Stiff neck, shoulders up around your ears, a knot between the shoulder blades that never lets go. This is the most common thing people call me about. I come to your home and work on where it hurts and on what's keeping it there.
Neck and shoulder pain rarely comes from one tight muscle. Hours at a screen pull the head forward. Phones, laptops, and bags load one side. Stress makes the shoulders brace without you noticing. An old injury changes how you move, and the body works around it for years.
So the pain shows up in the neck, but the pattern often runs through the upper back, the ribs, the jaw, and the arms. Massage that only works the sore spot feels good for a day. Lasting change comes from addressing the whole pattern.
We talk through your history, then I watch how you stand, breathe, and move your head and arms. That shows me where the pattern really sits.
Neuromuscular Therapy for trigger points in the neck, shoulders, and upper back. Structural Integration to free the fascia that holds the posture in place.
When stress or bracing drives the tension, I bring in Somatic Experiencing so the nervous system can let go, not just the muscle.
You stay clothed in loose, comfortable clothes, and I don't use oils. Pressure builds gradually, and you can speak up at any point. I bring the table and everything else to your home.
Before bodywork, I spent years in technology consulting, long days at a screen. That desk time, and then a cycling accident, left me with the kind of pain I now help people with. Conventional approaches only got me so far. Structural Integration and therapeutic bodywork are what changed it, and that's what I've practiced for more than 25 years.
Neck & shoulder work
I've been to many massage therapists for my stiff, painful neck and they barely made any difference. With Thatcher, I'm seeing huge results for the first time ever. He is a gifted therapist and the best I've ever come across.
Sandra A. — Mill Valley, CAI had suffered for a month from extreme chronic pain from my neck to my shoulders. Within a day of my session, the excruciating pain I'd lived with had completely subsided. I cannot recommend Thatcher enough.
Erin L. — San Francisco, CAIt depends on how long it's been going on. Some people feel a clear difference after one session. Pain that has built up over years usually needs a short series. After the first session I'll give you an honest read and a suggested plan, with no pressure to commit.
Some spots may feel intense, but it shouldn't be more than you're comfortable with. Pressure builds gradually and follows what your body is telling us. Many people feel the tissue soften as we work.
Yes, if you have numbness, tingling, or weakness in your arms or hands, pain after a fall or car accident, a sudden severe headache, or pain with fever. Get those checked first.
Once you're cleared, bodywork works well alongside medical care.
The fastest way to reach me is by phone. Call or text, or send a message and I'll get back to you within one business day.
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