The majority of citizens associate the end of a massage procedure with an improvement in their condition and mood, gaining a positive energy charge and relief from pain, a feeling of freedom, relaxation and self-confidence.
People who experience pain after a massage tend to feel deeply disappointed due to their moral unpreparedness for such a scenario. In some cases, the discomforting consequences may be limited to strange sensations.
When is pain after a massage normal?
Cases of pain observed after a massage can be divided into several categories:
- The first group included who do not engage in sports with atrophied muscles, a distinctive feature of whose lifestyle is limited mobility. In such cases, the pain at the end of the massage is explained by the elementary load on the muscles that have been worked. It is no coincidence that massage is usually called a sport for the lazy.
- The second group includes opposite situations. It includes people with an active lifestyle who set aside time for sports activities, or people who occupy vacancies that involve physical labor. Such citizens tend to experience muscle pain and tension. The situation can be alleviated by the massage therapist applying more pressure to stretch and relax tense muscles.
- The third group is represented by cases of excessive zeal shown by the massage therapist. People's pain threshold levels vary. As a result, it is advisable to contact a specialist who takes this circumstance into account. The patients themselves are partly to blame for such situations. They do not realize the importance of confidential communication with a massage therapist, which implies a description of the sensations experienced during the session.
We also must not forget that intensive actions performed by a specialist should not be accompanied by pain. It is necessary to inform the massage therapist about the presence of pain syndrome as early as possible. Pain is not worth enduring because it is unproductive. The painful sensations experienced during the session are fraught with the appearance of pain at the end of the procedure. Under such conditions, muscles cannot fully relax, which explains the observed effect.
There is no need to panic or get upset ahead of time. As a rule, painful sensations disappear or are significantly weakened after 24-72 hours (regardless of the reason for their occurrence).
Possible reasons
There are many reasons why your back may hurt after a massage, and to eliminate each of them, you should consult a specialist.
Incorrectly selected equipment
For massage to be beneficial, it is important to choose the right technique and techniques for its implementation, as well as to have a complete and objective picture of the condition of the spine and surrounding tissues. To do this, the patient must undergo an X-ray examination, as well as an auxiliary examination (computed multispiral tomography or magnetic resonance scanning), if the X-ray data are not enough to make an accurate diagnosis and identify associated abnormalities.
Before a course of therapeutic massage, it is necessary to undergo diagnostics
If the massage technique is chosen incorrectly and does not take into account the characteristics of the underlying disease and accompanying diagnoses, after the sessions there may be a significant deterioration in well-being and increased pain, while their intensity will increase after each subsequent procedure. For example, in osteochondrosis with radicular syndrome (radiculopathy), one of the clinical manifestations is tension symptoms, accompanied by myofascial syndrome.
Myofascial syndrome
To reduce muscle hypertonicity, relaxing techniques are used to eliminate muscle spasm and release pinched ends, as well as normalize blood circulation and lymph flow. If, instead of relaxation, excitation impulses enter the central nervous system (occur during a tonic massage), the patient will feel increased myofascial pain provoked by spasm of the paravertebral muscles.
If the massage technique is chosen incorrectly, then after it you will feel discomfort and stiffness.
Note! Pain with an incorrectly selected technique intensifies after each session, the patient does not feel relief and may complain of stiffness in the muscles and joints (even if such symptoms did not arise before). Painful sensations intensify when trigger points (subcutaneous muscle tension nodes) are irritated.
Trigger point diagram
Presence of contraindications
This is another reason why the patient experiences back and neck pain instead of relief. This situation is typical for cases when massage is performed at home, and the massage therapist does not have objective data about the person’s health status.
Massage at home without preliminary diagnostics may bring pain rather than benefit
One of the main contraindications for any massage is exacerbation of chronic diseases. The duration of this period is usually from 3 to 10 days. Until the acute symptoms resolve, it is prohibited to exert any influence on the back (massage, physiotherapy, thermal applications), engage in physical therapy or heavy physical labor.
Massage is prohibited during exacerbation of chronic diseases
If the period of exacerbation occurs against the background of an inflammatory process in the muscles or pinched nerve endings, massage can not only increase the pain, but also cause the development of a systemic inflammatory reaction.
It is important to consider that reflex irritation of the nerve roots of the spinal cord can cause or intensify the so-called symptoms of prolapse: sensory disturbance (paresthesia), neuromuscular paralysis, muscle tissue atrophy.
Other contraindications for back massage include:
The essence of the mechanism of pain after massage
Pain that does not subside at the end of the massage can excite, worry and upset some patients. It is important to understand that it cannot be considered a serious cause for concern.
The effect of massage can be compared to intense sports activities aimed at working muscles through stretching and contracting. A similar picture is observed during massage, with the only difference being that the hands of an experienced professional are responsible for carrying out various manipulations. As a result, during the procedure, increased blood circulation is recorded in problem areas.
In the event of tension and spasm of a certain muscle group, the process of shifting the functions assigned to it to nearby muscles begins, which contributes to the disruption of the smooth functioning of the entire system as a whole. During the session, the specialist seeks to lengthen and stretch the muscle group that needs such actions, as well as relax them. At the development stage, the possibility of microscopic injuries cannot be excluded, which entails an increase in blood flow and triggers the healing function. The listed reasons may cause minor discomfort experienced the next morning.
For the treatment of what diseases is massage of the cervical-collar area used?
The procedure is useful for the prevention and treatment of the following diseases:
Ischemic stroke.
It occurs as a result of oxygen starvation of brain neurons, which die if blood flow is not restored. Therapeutic massage of the upper back, neck and head can partially restore brain cells stunned by a stroke. Regularity of therapy is very important for recovery after a stroke: ideally, the procedure should be performed daily.
Migraine.
One of the main causes of frequent headaches is spasm and hypertonicity of the muscles of the cervical region and lower part of the skull. Massage causes an increase in the level of serotonin and endorphin in the blood, which are among the most effective pain-relieving neurotransmitters. In addition, improved blood circulation in the cervical-collar area also significantly reduces pain. Patients with regular migraines participating in clinical trials noted long-term benefits: attacks did not return for several months after the session.
Osteochondrosis.
Doctors recommend using massage of the cervical-collar area as an addition to the complex treatment of osteochondrosis. With regular sessions, pain in the neck, back of the head, and shoulders disappears, dizziness and headaches disappear, the level of inflammation decreases, spasms disappear, and muscles become toned.
Hypertension.
With the correct technique, a decrease in blood pressure and an improvement in the general well-being of the patient are observed. However, there are some features of the session for hypertensive patients: the duration of the procedure should not exceed 15 minutes, you need to massage your neck while sitting or standing, and if the pressure is above 170, it is better to reschedule the massage for another day.
Useful tips for relieving and relieving pain after massage treatments
The presence of intense muscle pain obliges the patient to contact the massage therapist who performed the procedure in order to prevent the possibility of similar situations arising in the future. This approach will allow the specialist to reduce the intensity of the manipulations performed in the next session. In such situations, a gradual increase in the applied force is welcomed, so that the body can adapt to increasing loads over the optimal number of visits.
The possibility of unconscious tension of problem muscles during the massage, due to the expectation of pain, cannot be ruled out. The risk of pain at the end of the procedure increases several times. In this regard, it is advisable to listen to the massage therapist’s request and try to relax a tense muscle group, thereby increasing the therapeutic effect.
How to reduce pain after a massage:
Below are tips that, when followed, will ensure that discomfort is alleviated over the next 24 hours:
- Try not to forget about the need to consume enough water both before and after the massage procedure. Hydrated muscles have greater flexibility. Other benefits of consuming water include the rapid elimination of toxins released during the massage.
- In the evening, light stretching is encouraged, with an emphasis on working out the areas that were subjected to massage manipulation the day before.
- In the list of useful recommendations, there was a place for a bath with sea salt, positioned as an effective and, importantly, budgetary way to reduce muscle inflammation and remove toxins. Lavender oil added to water will have an anti-inflammatory, analgesic and calming effect.
In most cases, the pain that occurs after a massage is characterized as normal. Regular use of this beneficial procedure helps reduce pain or eliminate it completely. The specialists of the Vladmassage massage salon in Vladimir are happy to provide professional massage services that relieve clients from pain and muscle tension.
A short video on the topic:
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Pain relief medications
To make the pain go away after a massage, you can use medications in the form of ointments, emulsions, and creams. It is better to consult with your doctor about which remedy is best to use in each specific case. The table below lists the drugs that are most often used for these purposes, but it must be taken into account that each of them has its own contraindications (the list of contraindications can be found in the instructions).
Medicines to relieve pain after massage
| Pharmacological group | Drugs |
| Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with analgesic effect. |
|
| Camphor oil and camphor alcohol (2%-10%). |
|
| Warming ointments with the addition of turpentine emulsion, camphor or formic alcohol. |
Larkspur with turpentine (balm)
|
| Derivatives of nicotinic acid. |
|
Apply gels and ointments with gentle stroking movements until completely absorbed, up to 2-3 times a day. The recommended duration of use without consulting a doctor is 3-5 days.
If there is no effect from local application, it is allowed to take drugs from the group of non-narcotic analgesics in the form of tablets or capsules (“Analgin”, “Baralgin”).
"Baralgin"
You can take these medications for no more than 2-3 days: if after this period the pain does not go away, you need to go to the hospital to exclude possible pathologies.
Video - Muscles hurt after a massage
Pain after a massage is a common occurrence and may well be of a physiological nature. If the unpleasant sensations do not go away within 2-3 days after the session, and after each subsequent procedure they become stronger, you should seek the help of a specialist: perhaps the massage is performed incorrectly, or the patient has contraindications for it.
Sometimes a massage is simply necessary, but a specialist does not have the opportunity to complete the full course. In this case, it is recommended to learn a simple self-massage technique to knead your neck and shoulders on your own. Detailed information can be read in this article.