How does massage help those in pain?
One of the most common reasons for booking a massage is pain relief, whether its
- Neck pain
- Shoulder pain
- Lower back pain
As a massage therapist to assist clients who are in pain, I reach into my tool kit which includes relieving tension, relaxing muscles and rebalancing your nervous system. Many clients come back to me because in the past I have assisted them with their pain particularly neck, shoulder or lower back pain. However it has always been unclear exactly how massage helps clients who are in pain.
Research has shown that massage works on our pain modulation system as well! Pain modulation refers to the process by which the body alters a pain signal as it is transmitted along the pain pathway – this is why some people might find something painful while others might not. Massage’s role in pain modulation is not totally agreed upon – some studies have proposed that it’s associated with the way it raises our serotonin and dopamine levels. Others have stated that it’s related to increases in plasma oxytocin and statistical decreases in β-endorphin.
Related Posts
Myofascia – part 1
What is Myofasci? Fascia is the main connective tissue of the body. Fascia surrounds every cell, muscle, bone, nerve, blood Bessel in the body, creating a three-dimensional web. This is one continuous network from head to toe. Myofascia is the fascia that surrounds all the muscle. Why it is important? In its normal state fascia is fluid and pliable, allowing full, pain-free movement. However, fascia is vulnerable to trauma from
- Accident
- Infection
- Injury
- Surgery
- Repetitive Movement
- Habitual Poor Posture
- Poor biomechanics
- Altered structural alignment
- Compromised blood supply
- Pain
- Reduce flexibility and stability
Tips for Triathletes
It is important to warm up properly before you perform any exercise, especially training for a Triathlon. A proper warm-up routine should last for a minimum of 10 minutes and is the most useful cause of helping prevent injury.
- Start with a few minutes of gentle exercise, such as walking or jogging, to get the blood flowing to your muscles.
- Steadily increase the pace until you are running briskly.
- Once your muscles are warm, do some gentle stretching exercises, paying particular attention to the muscle groups that you will be using. With Triathletes, focusing on your legs and back is a good start. During the running and cycling stages, these will be key to your injury prevention. Make sure you warm your legs by the above process and then make sure all hamstrings, quads and calves are stretched well. You must only begin more vigorous activity after you have warmed up and stretched thoroughly.
- Always drink plenty of water when you exercise to prevent dehydration. If you become dehydrated, your physical and mental fitness will be altered.
- Make sure you wear the proper attire for training and during the event. Lightweight breathable clothing can help prevent water retention in clothing creating more weight on the body.
- Correct and secure footwear is also essential. Inspect the footwear before running, if worn in a particular angle, get new shoes. Continuing to run with this footwear can cause pronating or supinating of the angle. This could then lead to an ankle injury or potential ligament damage of the ankle.
- Correct thickness and fitted socks to avoid blisters
- Light aerobic activity, such as easy running, jogging or walking for a period of time
- A gentle cool down will help remove the waste products that have built up in your muscles, leaving you with less muscle stiffness and soreness afterwards.
- Some gentle stretching, focusing on the muscle groups you have used during exercise.
- If you have exercised for a while a sports massage within 5 days after a vigorous work out, will help to remove the lactic acid (waste product) and prevent muscle stiffness and prevent injury or cause scar tissue on any affected areas of the body that could be in pain after a triathlon.
Hypertension – Can massage help?
After introducing, Hypertension, I discussed lifestyle and dietary factors that may assist you in either lowering high blood pressure or preventing it. Now I would like to share with you the scientific evidence of the effectiveness of massage in assisting with the management of Hypertension. Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder Massage 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, reduces stress and high BP. Relaxing (or Swedish) Massage In 2013 Givi in International Journal of Preventive Medicine looked at the effectiveness of a relaxing (swedish) massage in the management of pre-hypertension. The study was a single-blind clinical trial with 50 women selected by random sampling divided into a control and test group. The test group (25 women) received 15 minute swedish massage 3 times a week for 10 weeks. Their BP was measure before and after each session and 72 hours after finishing the massage therapy. The results indicate the average systolic and diastolic BP in the massage group were significantly lower. In addition 72 hours after the finishing the massage therapy there was still a significant difference between the test and control group. So if you are concerned about your Blood Pressure, go to your GP and have it checked. Then why not book a massage. References Cady SH and Jones GE, Feb 1997, Massage therapy as a workplace intervention for reduction of stress, Perceptual & Motor Skills, (1) p157- 158 Givi M, Feb 2013, Durability of Effect of Massage Therapy on Blood Pressure, International Journal of Prevention of Medicine, 4 (5) P 511 - 516.
