Due to my damned beadwork, I have had neck and shoulder pain for several months. My insurance covers some of the cost for medical massotherapy, and I’ve been thinking about going that route but haven’t gotten the pre-cert. paperwork done.
We had a wellness event at work today with an LMT giving chair massages. I thought, “I’ll try that, and if I can tell a difference, I’ll get the paperwork done and make an appointment.”
I told the LMT I has having pain in my right upper trapezius, and he really worked on it.
I can definitely tell a difference. It hurts more than it did before I had the massage!
Is this typical? If I were to continue with weekly (or whatever) massotherapy sessions, would this initial pain after therapy abate? Or should I take this as an indication that massotherapy is not the modality for the pain I’m experiencing?
(I’m not really asking for medical advice here. I want to know if others have experienced what I did. I need to go to my doctor to get the pre-certification paperwork completed anyway.)
Yes, it’s typical. The explanation I’ve heard is that the massage releases lactic acid from the muscles. I don’t know if I believe that, but… yes, I felt like I’d been beaten up after I had a massage last summer, but when that abated after a day or two I was definitely looser and more relaxed than I had been before.
Lactic acid is used up by the muscle fairly shortly after it’s produced, as it’s part of the energy-producing process of breaking down sugars to get energy. There used to be a theory that muscle fatigue, as well as post-exercise soreness were due to lactic acid buildup, but this has been disproven.
I have chronic pain in my upper left shoulder. I have had many massages but no actual treatment regime. My problem has always been finding massage therapists to work it hard enough. Many of them are petite women and simply don’t have the finger strength to break up the knots and tension that I have there. I have never been keen on getting a massage from a male but they can usually get the job done. I have found some females that could as well in the mean time. I expect and want it to hurt both during and after. Those muscles feel chronically cramped and knotted and I will endure most anything to get that broken up. TMMV.
I’ve never needed medical massotherapy in the sense of a series of treatments, but a couple of years ago I had a lot of pain and weakness in my neck & right shoulder from tension and bad posture at my desk at work. My GP took an x-ray, gave me a prescription, and sent me on my way.
Not satisfied, I booked a long appointment with a massage therapist (on my dime). It’s the only time before or since that I’ve been sore from a massage, but it was like pressing the ‘reset’ button for my muscles. I’m still pain free and am more aware of tension in those muscles.
I’ve known other folks to be very sore after a massage, too, though I neglected to follow up to see if they felt better a couple of days later.
Yep, I’m usually sore a day or two after a massage. I have a lot of knots/tension in my neck, shoulders and lower back, so I typically get a deep tissue massage. It works, so it’s worth the soreness - having all the muscle tension can not only be painful itself, but makes me feel lousy in general and that all goes away for up to a week after a well-done massage. I wish I could afford to go weekly.
While many people feel a bit sore or stiff the day after a massage, IMHO you should not feel WORSE after a massage, especially if you’re getting it for medical reasons. That is, if you came in rating your pain at a 5, you should not be feeling a 7 after the massage.
One thing I do recommend is to increase your water intake* if* you’re slightly dehydrated. If your urine is dark or you’re frequently thirsty, you might be dehydrated. Again, if you’re dehydrated, then drinking some extra water might help your body get rid of the excess water and salts that the massage literally wrung out of your muscles. Might. **Gfactor **and I never found a conclusive study backing up this hypothesis. Certainly you should not push more water if you already drink enough to produce pale yellow urine - overloading your kidneys won’t help matters any.
There’s a difference between “sore” and “hurts more than it did before I had the massage.” The first is not unusual; the second is a sign to get a new massage therapist.
I have one occasionally as a treat. The horrifying part is that at the end, when I’m all warm and relaxed and boneless and don’t entirely remember my own name…
I have to get up and leave! :mad:
As far as having a massage to deal with a specific painful area: I’ve been known to get muscle spasms in the shoulder area. Once, a few years ago, I had one that lasted something like a week, and high doses of ibuprofen were barely touching it. I could barely turn my head.
So I scheduled a massage, and the therapist really, REALLY concentrated on that area. I have a high tolerance for deep massage - “hurts good” on me might send someone else screaming from the room. Well, that area felt actually bruised when she was done. It felt better after, if only because it was no longer getting mauled.
But… the next day… I barely felt a twinge. The day after that? I was 100% back to normal.
As far as the chair massages - I’ve had those with varying amounts of satisfaction. Last one I had wound up being more annoying than relaxing. Also, since there’s clothing, and they can’t oil the skin and really dig in, it’s hard to do an effective job.