How to relieve pain after massage. Why do muscles hurt after massage? Causes of pain

Massage is one of the most common and effective methods of therapeutic effects on the body. In addition, massage procedures can be recommended as preventive measures to prevent a number of diseases, stimulate the immune system, etc.

The choice of a specialist and type of massage is often dictated by the prevalence and general superficial ideas about a particular technique. However, it is advisable to choose a massage therapist for yourself based on the results of the diagnosis carried out by the attending physician (general examination, history taking, X-ray examination, if necessary, CT and MRI are necessary).

The choice of a procedure that is not suitable for medical reasons leads to the fact that the patient has a backache after the massage, and sometimes discomfort throughout the body is possible.

Causes of pain

Due to the fact that the massage course is most often recorded not for prevention purposes, but already during periods of exacerbation of a number of pathologies, pain after the procedure is a smaller part of the consequences.

If the patient has suffered an infectious, cold or other disease, it is advisable to conduct a massage session at least a week after recovery. The same rule applies to chronic diseases.

If discomfort appears 1–2 hours after the procedure, this may indicate a change in the dynamics of existing pathologies (hernia, inflammation, blood diseases, vertebral injuries, scoliosis, etc.). Such symptoms indicate that an impact has been made on those areas in which the disease is localized, which is in the acute stage.

In addition, one cannot exclude the possibility of incorrect work of the massage therapist himself and his mistakes when choosing the technique of exposure. For example, Thai massage, which involves shaking, twisting, rotation techniques, is contraindicated in patients with spinal injuries, with hernias (of various origins). If the patient is shown a relaxing massage, but tonic techniques are used (which involves stimulating blood circulation), after the first session, pain in the muscles may occur.

If after massage procedures there is pain in the lumbar region, this may be a signal that there is inflammation or injury of the vertebrae. In addition, the lower back is an indicator of the state of the genitourinary system, and if pain occurs in this area, you should consult a doctor.

It is believed that if pain occurs after the first massage session (especially at night), then this is normal and the next day the pain should go away, and the condition should return to normal.

Manual therapy is recommended for patients who are characterized by an active lifestyle, workaholism, sedentary work.

In people whose muscular system is in constant tension, blood circulation is disturbed and a large amount of lactic acid accumulates in the muscles. Classical, Thai, Turkish, sports massage involves an active and sometimes rough effect on the muscular system, as a result of which blood circulation normalizes and the process of releasing tissues from lactic acid begins (which can cause severe pain).

Manual therapy is a gentle method of influencing the body. It can be recommended in cases where classical or Thai massage is a contraindication.

Possible diseases

Pain can occur in the following conditions:

1. Inflammation of the muscles (characterized by aching pains that increase with movements and pressure on those points where pain is concentrated).
2. Blood diseases (impaired circulation, increased clotting, etc.).
3. Intervertebral hernia (in the presence of such a degenerative disorder, pain in the back after massage is symptomatic).
4. Changing the dynamics of existing diseases (scoliosis, inflammatory processes of the spine, etc.).

If you experience pain after a massage, first of all, you should consult with your doctor and conduct a diagnostic examination for the causes and origin of symptoms. The recommended methods of treatment can only be selected based on the results of the examination.

At home, compresses, relaxing baths, and rest can be used as a method of treatment.

How to relieve pain

If you experience back pain after a massage, you must use anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs (ointments, gels). Antipsychotics are suitable as such (these drugs also have a sedative effect).

In addition, you can take decoctions of plants and herbal teas that have anti-inflammatory and relaxing effects (oregano, lingonberry leaves, St. John's wort, elecampane, chamomile, etc.). Before taking herbal preparations, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the properties of plants and possible contraindications for use, as well as make sure that there are no allergic reactions.

Herbal preparations can be used as healthy drinks or as a component for compresses (they have an analgesic effect on the nerve roots of the spinal cord).

Contraindications to the procedure

It is necessary to consider the following contraindications for massage:

• diseases in the acute stage (applies to pathologies of any organs);
• oncological diseases;
• anemia, leukemia, thrombosis and other forms of blood diseases;
• focal inflammatory processes;
• mental illness;
• infectious diseases;
• fractures;
• open wounds on the body;
• skin diseases (psoriasis, eczema, etc.);
• tuberculosis;
• scoliosis in the acute stage and other forms of spinal deformity (injuries in the hip joint require special attention);
• the presence of aneurysms (aorta, blood vessels, heart);
• AIDS.

It is important to remember that massage is an additional supportive therapy that takes its place in the complex of measures aimed at the patient's recovery and rehabilitation. At the same time, the therapeutic effect of massage should not be stopped as the main one. Both for health and preventive purposes, a versatile and integrated approach is needed (timely diagnosis, nutrition, lifestyle, etc.).

One of the most common questions that worries the client / patient is the issue related to sensations during massage, namely pain (in this article we will focus on classical massage, as some other massage systems may have their own views on this topic). ). And it is in this question that many massage therapists begin to invent their “individual”, based on personal experience answers.

The problem of pain during massage is discussed (at least should be discussed) in the first classes of future massage therapists, when the basic rules of massage are explained. However, judging by the variety of answers, many massage therapists “listened” to this question during training.

The answer is partially contained in the definition of massage, given by one of the best specialists in the field of massage, Professor Biryukov A.A., namely: massage is a set of specially designed techniques that provide dosed(!) impact on the human body. In fact, the definition of massage according to Biryukov A.A. more complex, but for this topic it is this part that is important.

In practice, very often masseurs forget about the dosage of massage, and this takes place both with the strength of the massage and with its duration. Sometimes it seems that some of the massage therapists try to compensate for the lack of theoretical training with the applied physical efforts. However, the massage is performed correctly not when the massage therapist gives 100 percent, but when the strength of the massage meets the needs of each client, that is, it is strictly individually selected. In general, the goal of massage is not to hurt the client/patient, but rather to achieve the desired result with minimal discomfort for the person being massaged (relieve spasm, improve fluid inflow/outflow, etc.).

A possible reason for this approach to the strength of the massage is that there is a fairly large proportion of clients who ask to be massaged as hard as possible. Among massage therapists, such clients are deservedly assigned the definition of “masochists”. According to such clients, if they do not feel pain, then the massage therapist is "free". However, such a massage has serious disadvantages (for those who want to study in detail the issue of pain and its effect on the body, I advise you to read the “nociception” section in the textbook of physiology). Sometimes, in order to please such clients, masseurs use elbows, knees, heels (sticks, bats, knives, brass knuckles), but this is no longer a "classic". These body parts do sometimes need to be used in work, but this is rather an exception to the rule. This, for example, is appropriate in the case when the client is twice the masseur (for example, in sports massage). However, I personally do not support this approach. Let me explain why: our palms (especially fingers) are one of the most sensitive parts of the body, and the rest of the above are much inferior to the palms in this indicator. Thus, massaging not with the palms, and even with the use of one's own weight, the risk of "overdoing" is much higher. When meeting with such "monsters", if my arm strength is clearly not enough, I will recommend with great pleasure to such a client someone more suitable from the massage therapists-colleagues. In the end, everyone wins: the client will get a stronger massage therapist, the massage therapist will get a new client, and I will get a couple of extra years of life.

A bit of physiology. Pain is a universal signal to our nervous system from the “periphery” that any irritant (temperature, pressure force, stretching, etc.) affecting the body is approaching a critical moment, after which negative consequences will begin, up to destructive . For example, if a person bends a limb in any joint, then at first the sensations will go from comfortable to less pleasant, then to painful, and with increasing effort, a dislocation or fracture can be completely ensured. A person with a normal nervous system, already at the beginning of painful sensations, will be alert and try to avoid them. In addition, pain is a trigger mechanism for changes in the internal environment of the body. In response to pain, adrenal hormones are released, which is accompanied by an increase in blood pressure, an increase in heart rate, an increase in blood sugar, a change in muscle tone, etc. That is, the body, all its systems are preparing for the upcoming “fight”: either to catch up or run away. This mechanism has been formed for thousands of years and today it also works without exception. As a result, if a young “masochist” survives such a massage session relatively harmlessly, then an “aged masochist”, with a whole bunch of concomitant diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, etc.), after such a massage can cause a worsening condition, up to tragic consequences.

Another specificity of such a “power” massage is that the masseur feels worse the response of the client’s muscles. The fact is that in the process of massaging a massage therapist, a twofold process occurs in the brain. On the one hand, he spends his energy on influencing the tissues of the client / patient (impulses go from the brain to the working muscles), on the other hand, he constantly “catches” the response to his own efforts in order to dose his impact. That is, the nervous system works both “for receiving” and “for bestowing”. In the case of a very strong massage, the sensitivity of the masseur's hands decreases (they simply do not have time for this, because the masseur directs almost all his efforts to return). In some places, for example, the neck area, where the force should be reduced, the masseur goes by inertia with the same force, as a result of which the dosage approaches the critical one, and negative consequences are possible already directly in the massaged tissues.

Often, after too much massage, hematomas of various sizes remain on the client's body. Some clients treat them positively, they say, the massage therapist tried. In fact, bruises are the result of damage to small vessels, after excessive efforts by the massage therapist. The effect of such a massage is exactly the opposite of what was expected, namely, instead of improving blood flow, there is even more stagnation, due to a violation of the integrity of the vascular wall.

But at the same time there are some exceptions. In nociception (the study of pain) there is such an observation: if the level of pain is tolerable, then the body mobilizes forces to eliminate the cause of pain. If the pain is excessive, unbearable, then the forces of the body are aimed at eliminating the pain itself, and not the cause of it. Hence the conclusion: the optimal strength of the massage is such that the client / patient does not experience excessive pain. Mild soreness is allowed and should be tolerable. Such mild pain is even pleasant for most clients. It is the work on such sensations that is considered “aerobatics” for a massage therapist. In response to such “pain”, the muscles relax faster, and do not tone up as with excessive effort.

Separately, we can mention the painful sensations during sports and therapeutic massage. In people who started training after a long break, as well as after excessive loads in constantly exercising people, a large amount of lactic acid accumulates in the muscles, which causes pain during movement. In this state, it is almost impossible to avoid pain during massage. On the contrary, massage of tired muscles quickly removes accumulated metabolic products from them and relieves muscles of soreness faster. But even in this case, there should not be excessive pain during the massage.

In the case of therapeutic massage, pain can be caused by various reasons. The most common pain is associated with muscle spasm. In this case, the pain, as it were, tells the body that in a particular place of the tissue, the muscles are not in the best condition, and as a result, the person tries not to load the painful area once again. In the absence of contraindications (which should be determined by the doctor), you can begin to massage the painful area, but again, always under the control of sensations.

In addition, as proof of the foregoing, I can cite the following: having read more than twenty different sources about massage (textbooks, monographs, specialized articles by specialists, etc.), I did not find any serious author approval of pain during the massage procedure.

Conclusion: you should not endure if you feel that during the massage the specialist goes too far. Let him know. A good massage therapist at the very beginning of the procedure, as a rule, will ask you to tell him if you feel pain somewhere. Do not forget that massage directly affects health, and therefore stop all requests to “be patient, with all your might” or change the massage therapist.

Most people after a massage feel more energetic, confident, relaxed, free, more flexible, their pain goes away, their mood improves, etc.
The pain after the massage is not at all what you expected. Despite the fact that immediately after the massage and the next day you should feel great. On rare occasions, you may feel a little strange. We will talk about this in today's article.

Feeling pain after a massage, I wonder if this is normal? How long it will be going on? What can you do about it? Who is to blame for this?

Here are a few times you may feel pain after a massage:

You do not play sports, lead a sedentary lifestyle, your muscles have atrophied. In this case, after the massage, the muscles may hurt, because massage is the same training as exercising in the gym! Sometimes, massage is called a sport for the lazy.

Or the opposite situation: you lead an active lifestyle, go in for sports, or you have a job related to physical labor. You experience muscle tension and pain. In order to help you, the massage therapist applies more pressure to stretch and relax the tight, tight muscles.

Or, since everyone has a different pain threshold, the massage therapist may overdo it and massage harder than necessary. That is why it is very important during the massage to communicate with the massage therapist and talk about your feelings. The massage should not be painful, although it can be intense. If you experience pain during a massage, be sure to tell the massage therapist about it, do not endure it. Pain is not productive as it causes tension during the session. This, in turn, will lead to soreness after the massage because the muscles were not relaxed during the session.

The good news is that the sensations of soreness should go away within 24-72 hours, regardless of how they were acquired.

Some people may be agitated or even upset and worried. However, after the massage, you should not worry about pain.
For your muscles, massage is like a hard workout. During the session, the muscles stretched and contracted, the massage therapist performed various manipulations on them, the massage increased blood circulation in problem areas.

When a certain group of muscles is tense and spasmodic, it becomes more rigid, and in order to somehow help it, the body will shift its functions to the surrounding muscles. The whole system is broken. During the massage, the masseur works to stretch, lengthen and relieve tension from the desired muscle group. During the massage, micro traumas can occur, and at the same time it leads to an increase in blood flow and healing in this area. It can also cause you to feel some pain or discomfort the day after the massage.

If your muscles are very sore, be sure to let your massage therapist know. So that next time he works with fabrics softer. We believe that it is best to gradually increase the strength of the massage so that the body can adjust. To do this, you need to choose the optimal number of sessions.

It is also possible that you unconsciously strain the problematic muscle group during the massage, expecting pain. This can also lead to pain after the session. Of course, in most cases, asking to relax and not strain your muscles will not work, but you should try, because trusting the masseur, your treatment will be much more effective.

After a massage on the same day, there are a few simple, pleasant things you can do to prevent discomfort the next day:

Be sure to drink plenty of water before and after the massage. Hydrated muscles are more flexible. In addition, water will help the body get rid of the toxins released during massage faster.

Do light stretching in the evening, paying special attention to the areas with which the massage therapist worked during the session.

Take a warm sea salt bath. Sea salt is an inexpensive and effective way to help your body get rid of toxins and reduce muscle inflammation. You'll also get the added bonus of the beneficial magnesium found in the salt. You can also add a few drops of lavender essential oil. It has a calming, analgesic, anti-inflammatory effect.

If you still experience muscle pain after a massage session, know that this is a natural, normal reaction of the body on the path to health and well-being.
Once your body gets used to regular massage, you will experience less soreness the next day or never again. If you are looking for a professional massage to relieve muscle tension and pain, our Health Massage Company will be happy to assist you.

Should your back hurt after a massage? Sometimes this is normal, but most likely, pain after the procedures is a signal from the body about the wrong approach. Perhaps the point is the choice of massage technique or the massage therapist's mistake. It is worse if the session was carried out during the period of exacerbation, or any massage techniques are generally contraindicated for the patient. In addition, pain often occurs due to the fact that the muscles are not yet accustomed to such treatment.

Often it turns out to be the wrong type of massage or massage movement. Different situations require different techniques. For example, if muscle spasms are observed, they need to be relaxed. And if you come to a tonic massage with such a pathology, the situation may well worsen. It would be foolish to ask why the back hurts after a massage.

And in situations such as a hernia of the back, a very careful approach to the patient's back is generally necessary. So that your back does not start to hurt after a massage, discuss with your doctor the appropriate treatment methods and movements.

Aggravation

The back hurts after the massage, if it took place during the acute period of the back disease, or directly during the attack. This happens if the patient did not pay attention to the exacerbation, or an attack of back pain began directly during the massage.

Inflamed nerve roots are very sensitive to any loads and pressures. Even light strokes in the area of ​​pathology can cause severe back pain.

• Read also:.

Contraindications

Pay attention to contraindications for back massage. If the patient suffers from certain diseases, it is often unacceptable to carry out massage procedures. For example, if there are tumors, cysts, metastases in the spine. You can not do massage if there are dermatological formations, purulent accumulations and abscesses. The condition will only worsen, and purulent masses can break through further through the body.

In principle, it is impossible to massage the back if the patient's hernia is directed towards the spinal canal. This can lead to stenosis (narrowing) of the space containing the spinal cord. Or direct compression of it, which will most likely lead to disability for life.

• Infections, especially spinal infections (spondylitis);
• Traumatic injuries and their complications;
• Poor blood clotting;
• Tuberculosis of the bone;
• Final months of pregnancy;
• Mental problems.

Massage therapist mistakes

The unprofessionalism of a massage specialist is difficult to control. You can do this only by focusing on the reviews of friends and doctors when choosing a massage therapist. This also includes the errors of the massage therapist. Even the best specialist in the world is not immune from them. Another tip is to inform the specialist about all your health problems, especially back problems. Taking them into account, he will do his job more correctly.

• Read also: ?

There are also general recommendations that are often violated by inexperienced, self-confident "masters". For example, when massaging the back, it is unacceptable to touch the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe internal organs, to provide deep, intense movements here. And the spine itself is never an object of pressure or even stroking - you only need to work with nearby muscles. This rule is often violated by newly minted masseurs and chiropractors. After completing a short course or, even worse, a massage master class, a person already considers himself an excellent chiropractor. The consequences of the work of such "specialists" can be sad, if not tragic.

• Perhaps you need information: ?

A back massage, especially a classic one, may seem quite simple from the outside. In fact, massage procedures are a complex effect on the human body, and they must be carried out taking into account all chronic diseases and individual characteristics. It is not always worth trusting a familiar massage therapist in this matter, or even more so - close people who have the initial skills. It often turns out that your case requires an exceptionally professional approach.

Habit

Getting used to massage influences can be manifested by pain after a back massage. The spine does not immediately get used to the rather intense effects that massage often involves. This is the same mechanism that occurs after the first workout of the season.

Although you may think that you are in great shape, in reality it often turns out not to be so. Muscles lose their tone if they are not trained, and massage is similar in effect to training. And when, after a long break in physical activity, you visit a massage therapist, all the stagnant processes in the back muscles make themselves felt.

Massage is widely used for therapeutic and preventive purposes, it is an effective and affordable way to improve your health and get rid of many problems. But it is necessary to approach the search for a massage therapist and visit these procedures with all seriousness. It is very important that these sessions do not harm your own health.

What are the procedures?

The goal of a competent massage therapist can be a variety of effects. The current opinion that kneading the back muscles has only a stimulating effect is unfounded. Using different types of massage and its techniques, you can achieve the opposite effects.

The most popular tasks that are solved with the help of this manipulation:

1. Recovery of the body.
2. Normalization of muscle tone.
3. Improvement of metabolic processes.
4. Restoration and strengthening of joints, ligamentous apparatus.
5. Improvement of nerve conduction.
6. Skin regeneration.
7. Influence on the function of internal organs.

There are different ways to achieve each of these goals. The differences are both in the form of the procedure and in the intensity of the techniques. In some cases, the goal is pain in the back and spine. And sometimes, their appearance is seen as a negative result.

massage techniques

So, this is a multipurpose procedure. A professional massage therapist can both reduce pain and vice versa, cause it. It all depends on the expected effect. It is not surprising that there are many types and subspecies of massage:

• medical;
• sports;
• hygienic;
• relaxing;
• reflex.

Unpleasant sensations, and even more so - pain, should not occur in the long term. If, after a relaxing massage, your back or neck began to hurt, it means that it was carried out incorrectly. Sometimes the head hurts after. This is due to blood flow and oxygen saturation of the brain. Therefore, after the procedure, it is recommended to lie down on your side a bit and not immediately rush into the rapids of urgent matters, especially for hypertensive patients, who may have high blood pressure.

TONING MASSAGE

Toning massage is aimed at bringing the muscles into shape, restoring their tone. That is, it solves problems that are fundamentally different from the one discussed above - relaxing. It is after such manipulations that muscle pain in the back is considered normal and disappears after 2-3 sessions. If the back hurts and the discomfort does not go away, it is likely that the massage therapist toned the contracted muscles, instead of relaxing them, or the effect was on the area of ​​​​the inflamed nerve root, or this inflammation developed as a result of the wrong actions of the “master”.

Toning massage can be used in different cases, for example, when:

• Scoliosis for medicinal purposes, on the other side of the curvature, where the muscles need to be brought into tone.
• Muscular atony and dystrophy. Activation of metabolic processes and restoration of neuromuscular transmission may be accompanied by pain, tingling.
• Depression, fatigue, decreased vitality.
• Preparing for competitions and before training in sports.
• The desire to get rid of excess weight;
• Desire to improve the general condition, blood circulation, lymph movement throughout the body.

Intense impacts from the massage therapist are often accompanied by pain. And this must be reported to the master.

A competent specialist will explain if back pain during a session is normal. If such an effect is undesirable, it will make changes to the course of the procedure and, possibly, this will prevent serious troubles.

Acupressure

This type of massage implies a good knowledge of anatomy and the location of trigger pain (biologically active) points. In this area, there are especially many charlatans who can cause harm. Therefore, choose a master not by beautiful advertising, but by the reviews of people whom he really helped.

This type of massage can cause pain at the time of massaging or other impact on active points. But after stopping stimulation on them, the pain should decrease. If the muscles hurt more after acupressure, it means that the points were chosen incorrectly, which led to a spasm, or the massage therapist made a mistake in influencing the points, not knowing the acupuncture technique itself.

Contraindications

Massage is not used and is not prescribed in the acute period of chronic diseases of the muscles and joints, in the presence of large sizes. Moreover, with any intervertebral hernias and protrusions, it is done only as directed by a doctor, very carefully and only by a qualified massage therapist. Massage manipulations are not carried out in the area of ​​the spine and vital organs (heart, kidneys, abdominal organs).

If your massage therapist left bruises, bruises and pain in the muscles and spine after the first session, referring to the fragility of the vessels, then think well whether it is worth continuing the course with this “specialist”. The procedure is aimed at healing, at improving blood supply, and not vice versa.

Consider also individual allergic reactions when choosing a massage cream, essential oils and ointments with a therapeutic effect.

Why is it dangerous to turn to unverified specialists? You have a back or neck pain and an advertisement for a massage parlor was thrown into your mailbox. This procedure costs money and there are many low-professional people ready to earn money. The consequences of an improperly performed massage can be deplorable.