Should a massage hurt?

[masdradok]

Just interested in people's views on this, thought it could make an interesting discussion point - i've had some discussions with friends and wondered what others thought.

When giving / recieving a massage do you think it should hurt? If the client feels pain while treating them are they getting the most out of the treatment? Or is the old saying 'no pain no gain' true?

Hugs
Foz xxx

 

[Bon Bon]

Well, the massage shouldn`t be painful, but it the client has tense muscles then it maybe a little sore....

If they`re not tense, then maybe the pressure is a little too hard..

Just a thought..

LX

 

[Addy Theavnger]

Good point.

Just to clarify this isn't a "when i massage my clients complain of pain" question - purely for discussion. If your doing some deep friction work and the client is yelping with pain is that good?

Foz xx

 

[yves]

I guess you have to make a call on each client - it's no good if they tense up even more because you are being too deep/it's hurting too much. There are some areas I would expect to be painful on most people - traps /supraspinatus and the ITB - due to most people's lifestyle and you just ease off and then ask them to book another session or two to do some more work

 

[prettyparadoxal 1]

One thing I do when carrying out my consultation is to find out for sure what the client expects from the massage - ie, it it is purely for relaxation/pampering, then I make sure that I only use a light touch to enable them to really relax and enjoy.

However, if it is for a particular problem area, then I do make sure that I tell my clients that they may feel a little discomfort as I work the area, but do ask for continual feedback as I work. I tell them that the aim is not for them to be in "pain", but that a "good hurt" is sometimes necessary; I rely alot on the feedback they give, each person has there own pain threshold after all!

karen x

 

[Brittaney]

It depends on what type of massage you're giving.

If I'm doing something like piriformis release then I'm pretty sure it's going to niggle the client , I agree with Karen, there is something called "good pain"- BUT - if a client has come in for a relaxing massage then I won't do any remedial stuff, but will tell them in the aftercare that they could probably do with some extra work in that area - and just to balance the "good pain" - there is most definetly "bad pain" and that shouldn't happen IMHO at any time.

LOL

FBx[sm=animal-smiley-021.gif]

 

[Yavish]

No, it shouldn't hurt. "First, cause no harm" should be the mantra.
Have received calls from patients who have been left with bruising and severe pain - and were told that the pain would go if they took paracetamol, and the bruises were probably toxins leaving the skin......... I recommended that they take pictures and seek legal advice.

 

[The Heckler]

And of course what could be a lovely deep tissue massage for one person could be painful for another. Everyone's perception of pain is different, so it's important to firstly ascertain what the client requires and to 'give them permission' to let you know if the pressure needs adapting during the treatment.

Lesley

 

[iTz dEE]

The answer to this will depend largely on what type of massage treatment you are giving and if you are treating dysfunctions or just giving a relaxation massage.

If someone is already in a lot of pain due to muscular contractions and I am sure most of the ladies are very familiar with these then releasing the contraction will be very painful.

The same goes for pseudo sciatica in the piriformis which as already been mentioned but there are as many uncomfortable muscular/skeletal dysfunction as there are uncomfortable treatments.

Most of my work is remedial and I often tell my patients that when they come and fell no discomfort then they are sorted, I say this because unless someone sets out with the intention to hurt then unless there is an underlying problem to cause the pain or discomfort then there should not be any and the treatment should be enjoyable even with deep tissue work.

Some people do bruise easily and unfortunately you are usually not aware of this until the next treatment and I am not talking about going in very hard just general massage can cause bruising.

I was shocked when I mobilised one of my patients arms and when I released their arm the bruises where already appearing where I had held their wrist to lift their arm but they said that was normal for them and thought nothing of it.

At the end of the day you can only do what seems right to help someone in any given treatment and the proof of the pudding is always in the eating so they say.

If you have to go into a painful area please remember to advise them that it is likely to hurt and can hurt and feel stiff for a couple of days after the treatment until the dysfunction adjusts and normalises.

 

[deankeen4444]

I tend to agree with Karen and there is no point giving a superficial massage. There is a difference between applying pressure to relieve a trauma and applying pressure which results in the client becoming bruised.

 

[iggblog]

After reading all the above posts.. everything really has been said but I just wanted to add my own experiences.

I used to do and and go for deep tissue massage. Dependant on what part of me I needed worked on decided the therapist I went to. If I had pain and tension I would go to a therapsit who I knew did firm massage but not too deep so that it would hurt, but when I needed deeper work I went to another therapist who could provide that style of treatment.

The same applies for my clients. I stopped doing so much deep tissue work as I personally felt that the clients who came to me benifited from a lighter style of work and MFR, MET'S, PR etc to open the tissue which then made it so much easier to do the deeper work without pain.

Some people still want deep work eventhough it causes them pain and I have to ask myself and them eventually what is it that they want to feel? Are they so shut down emotionally that they need the deeper work to feel? Or do they need that pain as a verification of something like a secondary gain... or are they just into the no pain no gain thing?

Many folks get DOMS after a firm massage, that's normal and it goes away but there should never be an ongoin pain and stuffness and there should never be the pain that results in taking painkillers and we as therapists should avoid bruising them at all costs. But everyone is different some will experience pain no matter what you do and others will be perfectly fine.

Even doing trigger point work you work with a scale of pain and do not go pastt the pain barrier or the patient will tense up and that would defeat the object of the purpose.

many thanks for ontroducing this topic.... it is fundamental to our work.

 

[TMAC]

Thankyou everyone, really interesting to see peoples thoughts on this.

Very interesting issue you raise Ruth



Some treatments will include a degree of pain, sometimes a treatment doesn't and as has been mentioned everyone has a different pain threshold / sensitivity level. But I think this is the point that really interests me - what are clients perceptions from a treatment. Some think that deep work can only be effective with pain - either good or bad, if they have a deep massage and don't feel they hurt enough during the treatment they will perceive it as a bad treatment. This isn't the case - the therapeutic benefit could far outway anything they've had before but they may not associate that with a good session.

Is it something that we need to educate our clients about?

Mat xxx

 

[scip779io]

Glad you mentioned this, at least 2 people I know have told me that they had a massage before and it hurt so much they wanted to cry out! I can only assume they had a remedial massage on deeper tissues?

Regards
Deb379

 

[roezdugoiemixnejo]

Really - wow? In that situation I would say the therapist failed in negotiating the contract of the treatment - it is very important that a client knows, understands and feels comfortable in saying "Ow!!", "Stop!" or some other suitable expletive is acceptable and encouraged. The therapist needs to know the client isn't enjoying the treatment.

Mat xx

 

[jennababe_68]

Hi there

I couldn't agree with you more, I just do swedish massage at the moment, but I always ask the client if the pressure is fine.

Whenever, someone has told me it has hurt like made I've told them perhaps it was more of a remedial massage, deeper tissue work.

Regards
Deb379

 

[?~Softball luver~?]

Im sorry but I totally disagree with you. Im not sure what sort of massage training you did (if any), but I suspect it would have been more aromatherapy or beauty massage, as any good sport/remedial massage course will teach you that bruising may be caused, IF the client has a problem, and with certain techniques.

The client should ALWAYS be made aware of this, and it noted on a consultation form, which the client should sign.

If any client did want to seek legal action after being advised of this, then they would get nowhere.

As for should massage be painful, if a client has a problem, then yes, some deep tissue work will be painful.

 

[Madison]

I don't know to which one of us you are referring to when you suggest that maybe no training was undertaken, but I did a VTCT Swedish Massage course. This type of massage is more for relaxation.

As far as I am aware the people who have told me about the painful massage were obviously not expecting it to be painful, otherwise they wouldn't have mentioned it. So sounds to me like it was a shock to them, and not what they were expecting. Therefore surely it was more remedial or deep tissue than a swedish massage that they had?

Regards
Deb379

 

[Nany LOVE]

Hi Deb, was replying to Jabba the Hut. Relaxing massage shouldnt hurt, and if a therapist is going to use deeper remedial techniques, which MAY hurt, then it is their duty to inform the client. As has been mentioned before, peoples pain thresholds are different, and also some people are prone to bruising with even the lightest touch. The key to all this is a very thorough consultation with the client. Its no good just giving the client a form to fill in, and then go straight into a massage. Obviously im talking more about sports/remedial massage, but I feel the same should apply to relaxing massage too.

 

[KitKat]

I agree with 'sportstherapy', and disagree with 'Jabba the Hut'. To quote from Mel Cash's standard textbook on 'Sports and Remedial Therapy' (1996 edition, page 45):

"even with correct use, friction is a painful technique that may cause bruising, and it is worth advising the patient of this at the time".

If you read the recent biographies of Paula Radcliffe and Kelly Holmes, it is clear that they both regularly receive quite painful massage. My answer to 'should a massage hurt?' would be "only if the client wants it to, to help deal with existing damage to the soft tissues".

 

[Balaji]

Totally agree Alan, I read recently in a Sports Massage book from a very very well resptected physiotherapist and sports masseur, that "Post event sports massage should never hurt". One of my students had brought my attention to this and my reply was...."try telling that to someone that has just run a marathon and wants one!" I think even the slightest amount of pressure here is going to be painful, but as many professional and semi-pro athletes will tell you, if they dont have sports massage straight after their event, they are in pain for a lot longer, sometimes up to a week. This is why post event sports massage is so popular with athletes, even WITH the pain.