11/28/2023 0 Comments Pain after deep tissue massageIt’s wonderful that modern science is giving us the tools to dismantle old-school beliefs and get comfortable! It’s telling of the cultural beliefs to which we are exposed around effort, work, productivity and output (Rise and Grind, No Pain No Gain, etc). In addition to the above, what I find really interesting about this phenomenon is the fact that so many recipients of this kind of touch WANT the sensation of pain (hey, I’ve been there) as if that were indicative of better results or a higher quality treatment. And if I’m going to tie this back in to our training, does this correlate to the Golgi Tendon reflex? #learningisfun Muscles tense, breath becomes shallow, etc. So when there’s too much pressure too fast from say, a hand or fingers digging into muscle tissue, the body registers this as a threat and a pain response is generated from the nervous system, causing the Sympathetic Nervous System to respond correspondingly - fight/freeze/flight. Basically he explains that “pain neurons”, as he calls them, will respond to 3 different kinds of changes: changes in pressure, toxicity and changes in temperature. I’ve left gentle deep tissue massages feeling more relaxed and open than any rough/painful deep tissue massage.Īs a TYM practitioner and yoga teacher, I’ve been studying pain research from Neil Pearson and what is said here is in alignment with his writing on pain. Read on: “ Yes, Your IT-Band Is Tight…But It Should Be.“, and “ The Key to Painfree: The Right Amount of Tension“.Īs a recipient of deep tissue massages that were both rough and some softer/gentler, I can say that this makes sense entirely. The best trust builders for your tissues are the above 5 tips. Not just trust of the person, but the trust of your tissues. Getting to the deeper structures of the body takes time, finesse and trust. So…īesides the fact that painful massage can actually cause serious damage, it doesn’t equate to a deep tissue massage. Additionally, evidence suggests that sinking pressure techniques could be more effective at reducing pain than gliding techniques ( reference). With less movement, sinking into the deeper tissues becomes possible without eliciting a pain-response. Pausing with pressure on a particularly tough “knot” can be more advantageous than moving over it constantly. Besides the fact that a gradual approach allows the manipulation of much deeper structures, it’s also much easier for your therapist to do. With slower movements our bodies release even more “space” for therapists to move into. When your breathing is short or held, it is too much. If your breathing is deep, the pressure is good. The ideal level of intensity for each person will be different, but one universal measure of appropriate sensation is breathing. Just because it shouldn’t hurt, doesn’t mean it cannot be intense. Deeper layers of tissue will be much more accessible to your therapist when you are relaxed. Without pain we can relax more completely. So How SHOULD Deep Tissue Feel? Not painful If your hope is to be “deeply moved” (see what I did there?) by your massage treatment, painful massages are only going to get you “superficially moved”. In generating pain signals, our deeper tissues become largely inaccessible to meaningful manipulation. Contracting muscle essentially creates a barrier that pushes the prying hands of your therapist away. If we experience pain in a treatment our muscles contract. When we experience pain, it is very difficult to relax. You might think it unnecessary to make such a remark here, but it is essential to be clear on this point. Not only should deep tissue massage NOT be painful, I’m going to tell you that if it’s painful it’s not actually as deep tissue as you want it to be.Īs a simple reiteration of the term “deep tissue massage”, we understand that it refers to the act of accessing and manipulating structures that are deeper than the more superficial muscles/tissue. This misconception is a widely believed notion. When you think of a “deep tissue massage” you’re typically led to believe that this is going to be an inherently painful experience.
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