I am sorry to hear you are suffering for 15 years with neck & shoulder pain. Every second of every day... I know what that means.

When I had money, I would treat myself to a good massage which felt great and was relaxing - but - only gave very short-lived relief. I would say please go harder/deeper in those bad areas but the massage therapists always said no that too deep would just make me sore, etc. But I just didn't believe that and knew that 'for me' I needed more.   They are so wrong!  Most massage/muscle work never goes deeper than the top layer of muscle... as you say it is relaxing but not therapeutic.

In the meantime, the very deep working of certain points that are sore in the muscles and digging in across the muscles has definitely helped me especially with my neck and shoulders. Hard to do on oneself though:)  Wonderful, Keep at it!  I know how hard it is to work on yourself, but keep doing what you can... it all helps.  One tip I can give you... when working on yourself it can be difficult if not impossible to get a good angle or pressure.  Try using a finger or your thumb to apply pressure to a section of tight/hard/sore muscle.  Using pressure for a few seconds, continue the pressure while doing little circles, first one way and then reverse.  Release the pressure and move to another area.  Go back to the first area and repeat... you will find the muscle has softened and may be red (THAT'S BLOOD FLOW) work it again and you will get into another layer of muscle.  If I have a hard to reach/massage area giving me trouble, I will do this many times during the day.  By nightfall... soft and moving and UNBLOCKED.  I find I can reach and massage almost every muscle myself by using this little trick.

I have a couple of things I would like to say about deep muscle therapy:

Dr. Schulze talks about how if there is blockage in the body, you can not fully cleanse, nourish and heal the body.  Blockage is a main cause of disease.  If the muscles are blocking blood and lymph flow you will not get the full benefits of a liver cleanse or any other cleanse.  This is why he said you need to get into the muscles and work deep.  He said EVERY DAY you need to do massage/bodywork/foot reflexology.  Unfortunately this is easier said than done for many.  If your liver is 'clogged' my thought is you NEED to do daily DEEP massage.  Get everything moving again. 

I was young and healthy 'except' for the damage  I received in the accident to my muscles, tendons, nerves (or so I thought).  Once the muscles were freed and the fluids could flow once again in my body, I experienced a cleansing and over the next few months my body found a new healthy state.  One example:  I had a wart on one of my fingers for many years.  One day I realized it was GONE.... no sign it have ever been there.  CIRCULATION restored!  No headaches or restricted movement, no pain anywhere.  My bowels worked as they should.  I ate a meal and 30 minutes later I pooped!  I lost weight.  I slept!  I had toasty warm feet and hands!  I had energy I had not had since before my accident.  All this from ONE 3 hour 'massage'!!!  YES, there is powerful healing in deep muscle therapy.  Before I had this therapy, my muscles were as hard as bone.  Afterward they became soft and free moving and plump and healthy... it still amazes me... I got my healing.  I have been a believer in natural healing for over 30 years, but am still 'learning' what that means.  I never 'got' the importance of 'if it had a face don't eat it' until this last year.  Within days of stopping ALL animal foods, I GOT IT.  AMAZING the importance of this piece of the puzzle has.  Ok, back to the importance of deep muscle work.. 

Can you get this benefit from trigger point therapy?  I do not know the answer.  I do not know anything about this therapy.  What I believe is that if you do not get into ALL the layers of muscle you will not free/remove the blockage in your body.  Now, the question remains, HOW?

Find a friend, family member SOMEONE who will work on you.  Barter is what I like to do.  (If you will massage me, I will sew you a quilt.)  You do not need to be educated/trained in bodywork.  Watch the SYL video (where he demonstrates how to massage someone) with the person who is going to work on you.  Guide your helper to the areas you feel blocked and have them use the flanges of the fingers, palms, thumbs, whatever they can to work ACROSS your muscles using even pressure right to left, and then left to right.  Move on to another area.  Once they have worked on all areas, go back and now they can go in deeper to areas originally work on.  Organic coconut oil is wonderful for massage oil.  You can start with 10-20 minutes a day but your goal is to get a complete full body deep muscle massage that takes 2-3 hours and gets to all layers of the muscle.  I will gladly guide you, all you have to do is ASK for HELP!

You have neck and shoulder pain.  Of course this is a good place to start, but if the surrounding muscles are not also worked on, the muscles will not be freed and restored to a functioning state.  Muscles are like every other system of the body... they are all connected.  Don't forget the feet and hands.  Massage your head and face too.

Just a couple of other things I thought about.  You may already be doing them.

Dr. Schulze is very strong about the benefits of hot and cold showers.  Next to the deep muscle work, hot and cold showers are great for unblocking.  How about castor oil packs?  After a massage.

I agree, dry skin brushing is a must!

I hope some of what I offered/shared helps you to move forward with your muscle work.  You sound like you are already headed in a good direction.  I will always remember how it felt to live in constant pain.  I don't want anyone to suffer the same.

Wishing you a pain-free healthy body.  Fifteen years is long enough!

Water