Does Massage Have to Hurt to be Effective?

Rethinking An Old Paradigm

It's a common misconception that in order for massage to "work," it has to hurt. I often hear about how great a massage therapist is, followed by awe-inspiring accounts of gritting of teeth, "tapping out" (tapping a part of the body to take the mind off of the pain), and breath-holding in order to withstand the pain, which is often followed by bruising and extreme soreness of the muscles and surrounding tissues. The massage is usually followed by a period of icing the tissues, in order to numb the area and relieve the pain.

This entire scenario baffles me. Massage does not need to be painful in order to achieve desired results. Actually, if the body experiences pain or discomfort during the massage, the client could involuntarily "tense up," which can work against any positive effect the massage could have.

I propose, as do several of my mentors, that there are many techniques which, depending on the needs of a particular client, can be used to alleviate myofascial (muscle and connective tissue) restrictions, painful trigger points and scar tissue, and joint mobility problems. According to international orthopedic massage teacher James Waslaski, if the therapist follows a gentle program involving assessment, area preparation, releasing and mobilization techniques, and stretching and strengthening, there should be no pain or discomfort at all. Waslaski uses a multi-disciplinary approach to healing, and gives due credit for development of his protocol to the groundbreaking teachings of many of his colleagues, including Aaron Mattes, Erik Dalton, Tom Myers, Whitney Lowe, and many others.

According to Myers, author of "Anatomy Train," the key to pain-free massage treatments is the recognition that the fascia, or connective tissue that runs throughout the body, is the cause of much discomfort.  The therapist starts there and works slowly, warming the fascia, and intending to move the fascia back to it's natural position.  In this way, gentle pressure, not force, is what brings balance back to tissues. Therefore, painful massage is not necessary. In fact, Myers acknowledges that Rolfing has evolved to elicit more of a "sweet discomfort" associated with restructuring the fascia, as opposed to the more familiar "bulldozing" actions commonly associated with this type of bodywork.

Waslaski has taken these teachings and combined them into an easy-to-understand plan, all with the intent to cause no pain to the client. There are twelve steps to Waslaski's program:

1) Client history
2) Assessment of active range of motion
3) Assessment of passive range of motion
4) Assessment of resisted range of motion
5) Area preparation
6) Myofascial release
7) Trigger point therapy
8) Cross fiber or multidirectional friction
9) Pain-free movement
10) Eccentric scar tissue alignment (pain-free)
11) Stretching (pain-free)
12) Strengthening (pain-free)

Each of these steps must be completed pain-free before moving onto the next step. If the client feels pain in any of the steps, then the therapist must backtrack and work through the previous step in order to locate the source of the problem.

Working through these steps is usually very simple, and I have been amazed time and time again at the results I get from simple and gentle techniques taught by Mr. Waslaski. I hope more therapists will in time also learn that "pain" does not necessarily beget "gain."

Active Life Massage is up and running!

Working on getting up to speed with websites, blogs, and credit card machines is in the forefront of my mind these days. I will be offering updates on my current massage specials, the latest research on massage techniques, and common injuries and their healing solutions, as well as my latest discoveries in new courses and workshops I am continually taking. Any interesting information will be passed on to you lucky souls as soon as I can mentally process it and set it down in cyber print!