So how does massage reduce pain? - Part 2

So how does massage reduce pain? – Part 2

Previously I explained the scientific theory for “How does massage reduce muscle pain?” in the short term . But what about the long term?

I would like to introduce to you the “descending pain suppression mechanism.”

The brain is not a passive receiver of sensory messages, but rather a centre that interprets them and makes constant adjustments accordingly. For example, everyone knows that the way you perceive pain will be influenced by whether you focus on it or think of something else instead. And it seems reasonable to suppose that evolutionary selection may have favoured those individuals who could ignore pain signals for long enough to take actions that let them escape and survive danger.

Unpleasant cutaneous sensations stimulate nuclei within the mid brain. These nuclei in turn initiate activity in the descending spinal tracts that release endogenous opiates (inhibitory neurotransmitters) within the spinal segment receiving the painful input. This diminishes the intensity of the pain transmitted to the higher centres. Sports and Deep Tissue massage techniques can reinforce a naturally occurring discomfort, causing much greater release of opiates and achieve a more profound pain suppression.

References

Basbaum A, Fields H. (1978) Endogenous pain control mechanisms: review and hypothesis. Ann Neurol 4: 451-2.

Watson J (1982) Pain mechanisms: a review. 3. Endogenous pain mechanisms. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy 27: 135-43

Whats the most effective recovery strategy from after a run?

Fatigue in sport has become a topic of interest among athletes, coaches and sport scientists because it affects athletic performance across a wide range of sports. Sports related fatigue can be defined as a decline of muscle force or an exercise induced impairment of performance. (Knicker, 2011).

Scientists recruited 46 healthy male recreational runners taking part in the same half marathon event and assigned them to four groups of equal ability, which either had sports massage, cold water immersion (ice baths), active recovery or passive rest within 15 minutes after the event.

The sports massage group had a 20 minutes post event sports massage focusing on the legs. The cold water immersion group sat in cold baths where the temperature was maintained at fifteen degrees centrigrade plus/minus 1 degree. While participants in the passive rest group sat at rest on a bench. While those in the active recovery group jogged at 60% of their anaerobic threshold for all 15 minutes.

24 hours before the half marathon, immediately after the intervention and then 24 hours after the race jump height, muscle soreness, perceived recovery and stress were measured. The results show the sports massage and cold water immersion had no effect on objective markers of fatigue such as changes in muscle and the blood but they did have a significant effect ont he subjective fatigue measures, including perceived recover and muscle soreness. These interventions were more effective than passive rest while active recovery had no physical advantage and a negative effect on perceived recovery.

Reference

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0207313

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Trigger Points
Often clients sit down to have a massage and are unaware how tight one area of there shoulder or neck is. This is very common and here is why:

We only notice the worse area of pain - so if our right shoulder is more painful, we have a tendency to assume our left shoulder is OK.

Trigger Points

What are Trigger Points? Trigger Points are hyper-irritable spots in muscle which are between 2mm - 10mm in diameter that are located frequently located where the nerves join the muscle fibers. Active trigger points are always tender or painful, and often refer pain, so trigger points in only of the largest shoulder muscles the trapezius often refers pain up the side of the neck. While latent trigger points are only painful when they are touched. This is why when I work, sometime you discover areas of your shoulders that you didn't know were painful, these are latent trigger points. Trigger points can be found anywhere in the body but are extremely common in the shoulders. So if latent trigger points are only painful when you touch them, do I need a massage to release them? The simple answer is yes as they may restrict your range of movement, so you will feel tightness if you try and rotate your shoulders or they can reduce the strength of your muscles, which puts more strain on your joints. What causes trigger points? There are several ideas about what causes trigger points but no agreed theory. Below is a list of possible causes

Poor Posture

Muscle Damage

Nervous Tension

Physical Stress

Psyschological Stress

Environmental Factors - cold, damp

Illness

Lack of rest or sleep

Poor Diet

What are the symptoms of trigger points?

Restricted movement

Tension headaches

Referred pain

Painful movement of a joint or limb

How can I prevent trigger points forming?

Maintain good posture

Manage your stress

Follow a daily stretching routine

How can I get rid of my trigger points?

Acupuncture

Massage
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Headaches – How to tell when they are serious
More than 10 million people in the UK get headaches regularly, making them one of the most common health complaints. The most common treatment is to take a pain killer. In previous blog posts I have explored other treatments including

Massage

Nutrition

Bowen Technique

Cranial-Sacral Therapy

Acupuncture

Most headaches aren't serious and are easily treated. However it is important that anyone with a headache “that is out of the norm” should see their GP as soon as possible. Particularly if the headache is more likely to be serious i.e.:

it occurs suddenly and is very severe – often described as a blinding pain unlike anything experienced before

it doesn't go away and gets worse over time

it occurs after a severe head injury

it's triggered suddenly by coughing, laughing, sneezing, changes in posture, or physical exertion

you have symptoms suggesting a problem with your brain or nervous system, including weakness, slurred speech, confusion, memory loss, and drowsiness

you have additional symptoms, such as a high temperature (fever), a stiff neck, a rash, jaw pain while chewing, vision problems, a sore scalp, or severe pain and redness in one of your eyes

Tension headaches (see headache categorization) are one of the most common complaints we see in the Vitality Therapy treatment rooms, and Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage is what we recommend. (Book here)
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