should massage hurt?

[boober]

hi, have been taking vtct for about 3 months now and loving the course. i am practicing at home on husband, friends and family. I thought i was doing ok. Lecturer said ok, no one i have massaged said any negative comments but then i had a massage from a friend who has already passed the course and has paying clients.

She started to work on my shoulders and i was in pain. She said i had tension there and worked on them for about 5 mintues but the whole time i was in alot of pain with it. Being a friend I didnt want to say anything.

I am now wondering.. am i massaging wrong. should massage be painful to do good. I do not want to cause pain. I am questioning my whole technique and if i am massaging currectly. I truthfully didnt enjoy the massage and she even called me a wus when i winced. should it be like this? she is a very good friend.

 

[mcheese]

I'm not a massage therapist but can answer your question as a client: I don't think massage should necessarily hurt, but I appreciate that if there is tension I may feel some discomfort. If it causes pain, I will tell the therapist and ask them to lighten up a bit. Sometimes I just want a light relaxing massage and will say so. I am paying so I expect to get what I ask for. However, my chiropractor sometimes massages parts of my body that are tight and he sometimes causes me pain. Because I have total faith in him I grit my teeth and put up with it because I know he is doing me good. So I think it depends what your clients are looking for in a massage - and I think you should ask them how strong a massage they like and also tell them to let you know if you cause them discomfort. HTH

xxx

 

[risitos17]

Hiya
That depends on what you are trying to achieve with the massage!

I always found Swedish massage painful to administer and receive, whereas the gentler aromatherapy massage was fine on both counts. Why not talk to your tutor?

 

[TaylorB]

If there is dysfunction in the soft tissue, then massage could be painful.

If you start with lighter strokes it will give your clients body time to adjust. If deeper pressure is needed then work slowly.

If there is continuous pain then your therapist is probably not doing it right (i.e too much pressure, not adjusting to clients needs etc).

 

[MR ANFIELD ACES]

ps....or if the pain it continuous, there could be some underlying tissue damage

 

[wfxgndol]

i've had a massage where the pressure which I would normally have been ok with was painful but there were a lot of knots in my back at that point. The woman giving the massage is good though and lightened up.

Good communication between the client and practioner is essential. If I wanted to I could ask forthe massage to be done harder(i know the lady is capable) But if I left hurting then I wouldn't go back.

 

[Christa.]

I agree with Sunanda. I am studying the VTCT swedish massage at the moment too, we were taught that we should adjust the pressure to suit the needs and preferences of the client. I doubt you are doing anything wrong. Just ask your clients if the pressure is ok when you massage, if they would prefer more or less and adjust it accordingly. The clients will be the ones paying you after all, if you cause them pain and discomfort how likely would they be to enjoy it and come back again?

 

[sonu singh]

Pain is the body's way of saying there is a problem, and if it doesnt subside after a short period of a minute or two, then you should stop what you are doing. I think what Bellway is saying is that after 5 minutes they were in continual pain, in which case, the therapist was doing something wrong in my opinion.

 

[PUB25]

IMO massage should not hurt unless there is a problem that needs addressing, acutely painful problems are usually tackled over two or three treatments, that way the treatments are not to difficult to receive.

Two to three minutes is generally enough in one area on one treatment, if we aren't careful we send the recipients body into self defence mode, so instead of releasing the tension we end up adding to it, which can compound things for a while.

 

[grantFirst Name]

This all depends on what you mean by hurt... Was it really painful to the point of shouting stop?

Massage should not hurt! It might be a bit uncomfortable, as long as you are constantly checking with your client and asking if the pressure is ok, you should be ok.

If you are finding tension or problem areas, I find that warming the area with some effleurage and perhaps coming back to area.

Let your hands guide you if in doubt ask them.

Good luck

 

[Clare.]

Checking the pressure with clients is essential as everybody has a different pain threshold. She should have adjusted the pressure so you weren't in pain. I think your friend is working too deeply on you. She certainly shouldn't have called you a wus when you winced! With deep-tissue massage techniques there can be a certain amount of discomfort, but should be within the client's pain threshold. Did she ask at any point how you actually felt and if the pressure was ok?

 

[marija t]

hi bellwood, maybe your friend is used to deep tissue massage or something like that? our teacher uses a LOT of pressure and it does hurt the students but she doesn't even realise it! just ask your friend for a little less pressure. she may also just be giving you the type of massage she likes to recieve...you have to tell her what you thought, as a therapist she should be open to feed-back. she may also have just been showing off a little and trying to impress you lol....give her another try but voice your opinion.
I wouldn't let it make you wonder how good/bad you are....once you know how to listen to your clients you will always be good.
best of luck with your friend x

 

[Sassy Shih Tzu]

Thanks everyone that replied. I truthfully ask clients i am practicing on... regularly if they are happy with the pressure. I have noticed my husband and male friends do prefer heavier pressure. I did massage my friend first and she really likes heavy massage so i guess you are right it is what she is used to. I am glad that i am not hurting anyone and doing ok.

i think i will ask my husband if i can practice deeper tissue massage on him and also talk to my lecturerer about it. thanks all

 

[ReexPellOscic]

Hi Bellwood

I just posted a similar question. Maybe we know the same girl. lol

http://www.healthypages.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=60120

 

[wiemercats]

What sort of friendship is it if you can't tell "your friend" she is hurting you?

Generally massage does not hurt, however, if some-one is working on an area of tension, it can be painful. But it should be a sort of good pain, if that makes sense. If your friend is going too hard and hurting you I'm sure she would be devastated, to realise that you would not tell her.

To give and receive an affective massage, communication is helpful.