Why do we sometimes recommend longer treatments?

In clinic we frequently see clients who had an issue with either their neck or shoulder or their lower back that was resolved then a few weeks or months later they are back with the same issue.  So why does this happen?  First, it depends upon the client, as human body is unique and the issue. What I want to explain below are some influencing factors: Posture – Because lots of clients come to us in pain, when they walk out of clinic they are very vigilant about their posture.  When they start to feel like the issue has been resolved good posture becomes less of a priority.  More importantly bad posture creeps up on us slowly – particularly slumping at you desk when you have a tight deadline! Over training – One of the most common questions we get asked, is when “will I be able to go to the gym again?” – clients are always very eager to get back training.  If you are unable to train for a while, you need to gentle easy yourself back into training.  Over training is when the physical trauma from exercising occurs faster than the body can repair the damage. Overuse – An overuse injury typically stems from: training errors. Training errors can occur when you take on too much physical activity too quickly i.e. when you are training for a marathon you build up your distance and speed too quickly.

One of the first things you learn as a massage therapist is that everyone wants deep pressure in massage.  This is because no one wants a light fluffy massage because they feel there will be no benefit and they have wasted both their time and money. The second thing you learn as a massage is that everyone has their own idea what deep pressure is and what would be light pressure for one person is deep pressure for another person.  Even if you take one client, the pressure they consider deep on their tight shoulders will be different from their idea of deep pressure on their legs.   So there is no fixed concept of what deep pressure is, it varies from client to client, and with the same client it varies treatment to treatment and depending up on the part of their body your are treating. Given all this how do we work out pressure in clinic.  First, we base it on our experience, your body type, the tension in the muscle we are working on.  But most of all we talk to you about how the pressure feels to you and respect your preferences for pressure. I am sure most of you have heard me talk about good pain.  Its based on a phenomenon that I have seen in clinic over the years.  This is where someone comes into clinic in pain, we apply pressure and the pain turns into a good pain – because the pressure is a source of relief.  For some people this “good pain” just feels right.  This good pain is strong but welcome and came sometimes be described as a “sweet ache”.  For some clients the good pain, is such a welcome relief that pain doesn’t even seem the right word. A word of warning, I like all my other therapists are only human and sometimes we get it wrong.  This can be if we have missed a trigger point that is very sensitive, and we go into deep or the opposite can happen where a muscle locks up and we apply pressure and you as the client can’t feel anything.  These situations can also arise due to change with your body i.e. an intense gym session or longer work hours than usual so lots of extra time sitting at your desk. I try to ask all my clients regularly without sounding like its some automated message, do you want the pressure deeper or lighter and if so let me know.  I know the other therapists in clinic do this as well. In clinic we always want you to get the most out of your treatment.  So please remember we always welcome feedback on pressure throughout your treatment.

Fifteen minutes is a very short space of time, so I am often asked by potential clients if they will receive any benefits from such a short massage. Well the good news is that you do receive benefits, and its not just me saying that, or the subjective experience of other clients there is scientific evidence too.

• In 1996 Shulman, K.R. & Jones, G.E. in the Journal of Applied   Behavioural Science, looked at the effectiveness of chair massage in reducing anxiety in an organisation. An on-site chair massage therapy program was provided to reduce anxiety levels of 18 employees in a downsizing organization. 15 control group s participated in break therapy. Subjects’ stress levels were measured with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, which was administered twice during pretest, post-test, and delayed post-test to achieve stable measures. The study concluded that significant reductions in anxiety levels were found for the massage group. ¹
• In 1996 Field, Ironson, Pickens et al. in the International Journal of Neuroscience concluded that chair massage therapy offers benefits in not just alleviating the physiological effects of anxiety, but also in improving mental alertness.²
• In 1997 Cady et al. in Perceptual & Motor Skills evaluated the effectiveness of a 15 minute chair massage on reducing stress as indicated by blood pressure. 52 employed participants' blood pressures were measured before and after a 15 minute massage at work. Analysis showed a significant reduction in participants' systolic and diastolic blood pressure after receiving the massage. High Blood pressure is associated with anxiety and stress, this study supports the conclusion that chair massage is relaxing and reduces stress. ³

1. KR Shulman and GE Jones, 1996, The effectiveness of massage therapy intervention on reducing anxiety in the work place, Journal of Applied Behavioural Science (32), p160 – 173
2. Field T; lronson G; Scafjdi F; Nawrocki T; Goncalves A; Burman I; Pickens J; Fox N; Schanberg S; Kuhn C, Sep 1996, Massage Therapy Reduces Anxiety and Enhances EEG Pattern of Alertness and Math Computations, The International Journal of Neuroscience, 86 (3-4) p197-205Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00207459608986710
3. Cady SH and Jones GE, Feb 1997, Massage therapy as a workplace intervention for reduction of stress, Perceptual & Motor Skills, (1) p157- 158Read More: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9132704