I scheduled a massage at my local place specifically because I’ve been having back pain and can feel insane amounts of tension there (this is part of my multi-pronged strategy to address my chronic back pain, including yoga and core training.)
I signed up for 90 minutes because I am just that desperate. I told her I was there for pain and wanting to work the tension out. She asked me if I was looking for ‘‘firm’’ pressure, I said that sounded good.
It hurt like a bitch. I wasn’t complaining or anything but it was obvious I was in pain. She asked me repeatedly if the pressure was okay and I said it was fine, because I figure it should hurt if she’s really getting at the core of the problem. When she really dug into certain parts you could feel the pain radiate to other areas of my body. She found pain in places I didn’t even know I had, like my feet. But if she really laid into these areas and applied constant pressure, the pain did seem to diminish. Afterward she told me to drink a lot of water.
That night I started feeling like i had a serious case of DOMs (as if I’d done a strenuous workout) and I am still sore today. Right now I feel like ass, but I have to hope I’ll start feeling great once I heal.
I’ve never had a massage that intense or painful before, but I assumed it had to be painful to make any difference. Is that a correct assumption? I’m just wondering if that is normal for treating muscle pain. I’m wondering if I should tell her to lay off next time. You can bet if I’m going to start torturing myself for 90 minutes a month it better be worth it.
A good massage therapist will find tension points you didn’t even know you had. The last one I went to, I had a knot in the right side of my back. She worked that out, along with three other knots I wasn’t aware of until she got them to release. I felt like a new human being when she was finished.
The advice I’ve heard about massage is much like the advice for stretching: a little discomfort is good, but actual pain is too far.
It’s also a good idea to describe your sensations to the massage therapist. If a particular spot is radiating pain to other parts of your body, that’s useful information. Maybe she can find a technique that is less painful, but most importantly, she’ll know more about the problems in your back.
Is this at a ortho or doctor’s advice? B/c that sounds like a lot of pain that lingered.
Vitamin C is supposed to help break down the acid that’s built up from massage and working out so if you pop a dose or two today and tomorrow it can’t hurt.
I’ve had deep tissue massages, and was absolutely sore by the evening and the next day and even into the second day. Lots of water.
But everyone’s tolerance is different. My deep tissue massages were occasionally uncomfortable, but I wouldn’t call the massage itself painful. But I know other people who would have been crying from the same massage.
This was straight-up painful. At one point she had to remind me to breathe.
I wonder if I should tell her to ease up next time and just see how it goes. Or at least talk to her about the experience and see if she thinks that level of pain is normal.
I wonder if it will hurt less next time?
Nawth Chucka no doctor’s advice. I just felt like a massage. I used to have bad chronic back pain, it went away when I got very into shape. I figured I’d get a massage to kickstart the progress and then get back on the exercise horse.
That is the root of your current problem: don’t lie to your therapist (or doctor, or dentist, etc.).
They can only help you based on what you tell them, so you need to give them accurate information. Don’t worry about confusing them, they are experienced at getting diagnostic info from untrained patients.
My sister is a massage therapist, and she says this is a common problem with patients. She depends on them telling her this info, but they are afraid of offending her if they say something hurts, or afraid they will be considered babies if they say that. Or they won’t tell her when something feels good, and often that is an important sign for her treatment. She can only tell so much from the non-verbal reactions of the body.
So do tell your therapist how it’s feeling. If it’s normal and to be expected, she’ll say so; otherwise she can adjust what she’s doing to fit. But she can’t do anything if she doesn’t know.
I have chronic upper-back tension. I am always in the market for a good massage therapist but have rarely found a competent one. Most women don’t have strong enough hands but I am not that comfortable with a burly guy oiling me up either.
I was at a small town festival a couple of weeks ago where there was a booth that offered free 10 minute massages. The name of the business was ‘Tough Love’ appropriately enough. I made it clear that she could not hurt me and she said that I shouldn’t challenge her because she would make it happen. I said that I was challenging her and she gave it her best and almost succeeded in hurting me but that was not a bad thing overall.
The only time when I was truly in pain was when she found muscle knots and tried to work them out by pinching them really hard so that they would release. Some of them worked and some didn’t. I was only there for ten minutes but I was sore for a week afterwards. I can’t even imagine how bad it could have been if I went for a full hour.
That said, I am going to book a full session with her soon because I don’t like to play around when it comes to massages. This isn’t a facial or anything to do with happy endings. It is muscle therapy and some of it is going to hurt in a good way if it is done correctly.