by Brian Dean
We know that massage can help
relieve various pains that one might have.
It can help pulled or tight muscles, help sore backs, even relieve
problems from some types of chronic pain illnesses. But what I hear a lot of is that many people don't
get massage because it hurts.
Now, there are a lot of
variables here. What type of massage did
you get? What types of problems were you
having at the time? Who did the work and
how much pressure did they use? Did you
ask them to change anything and did they listen to you? Were you sore after the work? Did it relieve problems you were having or
create new ones? All these things
combine to make a good massage session or a bad one.
First off, people get massage
for many reasons from relaxation to pain relief. If one is going for a relaxation massage, it
should not hurt. (Keep in mind there are
some movements than can cause a little pain, but it is usually described as a
good pain.) But for the most part, any
relaxation massage should not hurt. If
the therapist is using too much pressure, ask them to back off. Remember, you have control over what happens
here. Pressure can always be changed
from heavy to light or the reverse. And
you must also remember that you can get a firm massage without getting a
killer-deep massage.
I have heard too many horror
stories of people that told the therapist that was working on them to ease off
on the pressure, and that person did not listen. These people stayed on the table and let the
therapist hurt them. If a therapist does
not listen to you, and is hurting you because they will not ease off on the
pressure, tell them to stop and then leave.
There is no point in getting hurt because you feel you should fill the
entire session. If it is too painful,
and the therapist does not listen, leave.
When you are a client on that
table, you are the one in control. You
just have to remember that and speak up when changes need to be made. I tell my clients when they come to me for
the first time to tell me if the pressure is too much or too little. I also tell them to let me know if I am
hurting them (preferably without loud screaming). And I do listen and make changes accordingly.
Now for those people that are
getting massage because they are already in pain from some issue, the session
could hurt. Getting rid of pain could
mean stretching muscles in or around the affected area, and it could hurt. But the idea is that once the muscles are
stretched, they will be looser and less painful. But getting there could hurt a little. And you will never hear me say 'no pain, no
gain'.
Depending on the style used
to work on someone in pain, there could be different types of pain. For instance, Trigger Point Therapy uses
pressure on a sore spot until the pain goes away. But the pressure will never be so much that
it is intolerable. Lomi Lomi will use
compressions to stretch muscles.
Myofascial Release might cause burning sensations while it realigns the
body.
Sometimes pain is necessary
to relieve problems you might have. And
if a therapist can not perform certain movements, they might not be able to
work their best 'magic' and really fix someone.
But anything they do will be within your tolerance and with your
okay.
But once the session is over,
you should start feeling better almost immediately. And remember to drink a lot of water
afterwards as well. Massage causes a lot
of garbage (in the form of lactic acid) to be kicked out of the muscles into
the blood stream. Drinking water flushes
this from your system. Drinking water helps
you to not hurt.
So if you are in need, go get
a massage. It will make you feel
better.
