It is 12.40pm. You have until 1.30, and your right shoulder has been sitting a couple of centimetres higher than your left since Monday. A full-body massage is not happening today, and you do not need one. You need someone to spend half an hour on the part that hurts.
That is what a back and shoulder massage is for. At both of our Auckland spas it is a targeted treatment for the head, neck, shoulders and back, booked in 30, 45 or 60 minutes, from $60 at St Heliers and $65 at the Viaduct. Here is what it covers, which length to choose, and the cases where a full-body massage is the better buy.
What a back and shoulder massage covers
The treatment stays in the upper half of the body. Your therapist uses focused pressure techniques on the head, neck, shoulders and back, with most of the time going where most people carry their tension: the neck, the tops of the shoulders and the muscles around the shoulder blades. Legs, feet and arms are not part of it, which is the whole point. Every minute goes on the area you came in for.
On our menu, this is the treatment recommended for migraines and for the chronic back and shoulder tension that builds up in people who sit at a computer, or in one position, all day. If headaches are part of your picture, our guide to massage for tension headaches goes into that side of it.
Say at the start if anywhere is off-limits: the scalp, if you are heading somewhere afterwards and want your hair to survive, or a shoulder that is still recovering from something. And if one side is worse, point to it. That is where the extra minutes will go.
Who it suits
- Desk workers — the classic case. Hours of screen work load the neck and the tops of the shoulders, and this treatment goes straight there.
- Drivers and commuters — anyone who spends a long stretch of the day holding a wheel or a phone.
- New parents — feeding, lifting and carrying, usually on the same side every time.
- First-timers — 30 minutes on the shoulders is a low-commitment way to find out whether you like massage before booking a full hour.
If your tension is mostly in your legs and feet from standing all day, the reflexology foot massage is the lower-body equivalent, in the same three lengths and at the same prices.
30, 45 or 60 minutes: which to book
You can book a back and shoulder massage at the Viaduct or a back and shoulder massage at St Heliers in three lengths. Here is what each one realistically gets you.
30 minutes: the lunch-break reset
Enough for a proper go at the neck and shoulders, with a little time on the upper back. Best when one side is clearly worse and you just want it eased before the afternoon. $60 at St Heliers, $65 at the Viaduct.
45 minutes: the one most people should book
The extra fifteen minutes turns a quick release into a thorough one. There is time for the head and neck as well as the shoulders, and for the therapist to work down the back rather than stopping at the shoulder blades. $85 at St Heliers, $95 at the Viaduct.
60 minutes: the whole back, unhurried
Head, neck, shoulders and the full length of the back, at a pace that lets a stubborn knot be worked on more than once. $105 at St Heliers, $115 at the Viaduct, which, as you will see below, is worth thinking about before you book.
- What — focused pressure work on the head, neck, shoulders and back
- Lengths — 30, 45 or 60 minutes
- St Heliers — $60 · $85 · $105
- Viaduct — $65 · $95 · $115
- Hours — both branches open 7 days, 10.00am to 8.00pm
A lunch-break back and shoulder massage in Auckland CBD
Our Viaduct spa is at 1B/124 Customs Street West, by Viaduct Harbour in the Auckland CBD. For anyone working in the city, a 30- or 45-minute back and shoulder massage fits into a long lunch if you plan it a little:
- Book ahead rather than hoping for a walk-in slot, and pick a time that gives you a few minutes either side.
- Eat after, not before. A heavy lunch followed by firm pressure on your back is nobody's idea of relaxing.
- Going back to a meeting? Mention it when you book and tie long hair back. If you would rather walk out with nothing on your skin at all, traditional Thai massage is done clothed and without oil.
- Leave five minutes spare at the end. Sprinting out of a massage and back up to your desk undoes a fair amount of it.
Not working in the city? The same treatment is on the menu at St Heliers, at 417A Tamaki Drive, for a little less. It suits eastern bays locals from Mission Bay, Kohimarama and Glendowie on the way home after work, and both branches are open until 8.00pm, seven days, so an after-work booking is easy to fit in.
"Thirty minutes is enough to change how your shoulders feel this afternoon. Forty-five is usually enough to change how they feel tomorrow."
Siri therapist team
When a full-body massage is the better buy
Here is the honest limitation. A 60-minute back and shoulder massage costs exactly the same as a 60-minute full-body massage: $105 at St Heliers, $115 at the Viaduct. So at an hour, the only question is whether the problem really lives in your upper body alone.
- The tension runs further down. If your lower back, hips or legs are part of it, book an hour of deep tissue massage at St Heliers or the Viaduct, or traditional Thai, instead.
- You are tired all over, not sore in one place. Stress rarely stays in one spot. An hour of aromatherapy massage does more for that than an hour on the shoulders alone.
- The whole area is too tender for direct pressure. If even a firm hand on your shoulders makes you brace, the slower heat of a hot stone massage may suit you better. It comes in 90 or 120 minutes, from $160 at St Heliers and $175 at the Viaduct.
At 30 or 45 minutes, though, the back and shoulder massage is the better buy almost every time. A short full-body session spreads the same minutes over far more ground, and none of it gets enough.
Between visits
The massage eases the tension. What you do at your desk decides how quickly it comes back. Our therapist's guide to desk posture and neck tension covers the stretches and the screen set-up that make the biggest difference, and our guide to massage in the Auckland CBD has more on fitting a session into a working day near the Viaduct.
If the same knot is back within a week every time, a regular short booking usually beats an occasional long one. For a lot of desk workers, a 30- or 45-minute session every few weeks works better than waiting until it hurts.
When to see a GP first
Most neck and shoulder tension is exactly what it looks like. But see a GP rather than booking a massage if you have pain, numbness, weakness or tingling travelling down an arm, severe neck pain after a fall or an accident, a stiff, painful neck together with a fever or flu-like symptoms, or headaches that are new, severe or different from your usual. Healthify's guide to neck pain lists the signs that need prompt medical attention, and notes that massage should not make neck pain worse.
If you have high blood pressure or a heart condition, or have had recent surgery or an injury to the area, check with your GP before booking, and tell us when you book. It changes how your therapist works.
Common questions
At Siri St Heliers it is $60 for 30 minutes, $85 for 45 and $105 for 60. At the Viaduct in the Auckland CBD it is $65, $95 and $115.
For easing one tight area, yes. If you want the head, neck, shoulders and back all worked properly, 45 minutes is the better booking.
Yes. A 30- or 45-minute back and shoulder massage at our Viaduct spa, 1B/124 Customs Street West, fits a long lunch if you book ahead. The spa is open seven days, 10.00am to 8.00pm.
At 60 minutes, yes: $105 at St Heliers and $115 at the Viaduct for either. If your tension runs into your lower back or legs, the full-body hour is the better buy.
