Back, Neck and Shoulder Massage in Porto

This is a back, neck and shoulder massage in Porto, or a leg massage, in thirty minutes. You choose the area when you book, and the therapist spends the whole time there, without dividing her attention with the rest of the body. It is the massage for a lunch break, for the end of a day walking Porto’s hills, and for anyone who wants to know what a massage feels like before booking a full hour. Mirra is in Porto city centre, near Trindade metro station, and you can book it alone or for two.

Why have your back, neck and shoulder massage in Porto at Mirra

The right area. When you book, you choose between back, neck and shoulders, or legs. It is not a short version of the full-body massage: it is a whole half hour on one area, with the time to warm it, work it and settle it that it would get in a long session.

Pressure to fit. The back usually asks for medium to firm pressure; the legs, after a day on foot, ask for less. Your therapist asks before she starts and adjusts as she works. The pressure scale on this page shows the range each area usually sits in.

The place. The Baixa, Porto’s downtown, near Trindade metro station. Opening hours: Every day, 9am–10pm. The visit includes tea after your treatment and slippers. Arrive 10 minutes early: in thirty minutes, each one counts.

The people. A team of 7 therapists, named further down this page. Thirty minutes on one area is a format that asks for method: the therapist knows, before she starts, where she will go and where she will stay, and wastes no time deciding.

The way in. Many people book the localized massage as their first massage at Mirra and come back later for a full-body one. It is a way to meet the room, the therapist and the pressure without spending an hour. If it is your first time, say so.

How the localized massage is done

Back, neck and shoulders

Face down, covered from the waist down. Warm oil and long strokes along the whole spine to warm up. Then kneading and friction on the shoulders, the base of the neck and along the shoulder blades, where the tension of desk work settles. In the last minutes, light slow strokes to settle, and a gentle stretch of the neck.

Legs

Face down, then face up. Long gliding strokes from the ankles to the thighs, towards the heart, to warm up. Kneading on the calves and thighs, with attention to the parts that seized up on the steps and slopes. Feet included, if you like. At the end, light strokes and legs that weigh less.

Benefits

For low-back pain and the neck, reviews find short-term relief after massage, on evidence of low quality.¹ For the rest, what we have is experience: shoulders that come down, a neck that turns, legs that stop dragging on the walk back to the hotel. If the pain always returns to the same place, the cause is treated elsewhere, and we say so.

Afterwards

Drink water. If you booked the back, the area may be tender the next day, especially if you asked for firm pressure; it passes in a day or two.

If you want more time and the whole body, the relaxation massage starts at fifty minutes. If the problem is deep tension in the back, the deep tissue massage comes in sixty, seventy-five and ninety minutes. After a day on foot, foot reflexology is the other half hour worth having. All our massages in Porto are on one page.

1. Furlan AD, Giraldo M, Baskwill A, Irvin E, Imamura M. Massage for low-back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015;(9):CD001929. PMID 26329399.