Thursday, July 24, 2008
Massage Gone Wrong
I had a massage yesterday at a nearby spa a friend recommended. I felt fine during the massage but afterward the guy says I should see a chiropractor because my shoulders and neck have a lot of tension. I shrugged this off and went on my way. Throughout the day I started feeling achier in my upper back and neck. Overnight I slept horribly and then woke up at 4 am to get an ice pack. After I applied the ice for awhile I tried heat. I felt better only for a short time. I have been trying to stretch it out while I sit at my desk but I am still in misery. I wonder if the "therapist" had no clue what he was doing or if he just brought out a problem that was preexisting? I felt fine in my shoulders and back when I went in. I really just wanted a relaxing massage. Either way I regret the decision now.
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3 comments:
Wow, I have never had a reaction to a massage like that. Tension is generally muscular, although maladjustments can make it worse. Did s/he work on your shoulders and back much?
This was the first time I had been to this guy. I think maybe he felt the tension in my shoulders and then tried to work it out too much and made it worse. This is all I can figure.
Hi! I know you wrote this entry too long ago for my comment to truly be relevant, but maybe it will help you in the future. I get massages all the time. I have a number of sports injuries from my youth and I am an uptight type A beast with poor posture in a very competitive profession. I stick to deep tissue types of massages and steer clear of chiropractors. I'm not trying to say chiropractors are bad, I just was raised by a Physical Therapist and I somehow inherited her professional bias. I also can't stand popping and cracking bones.
In my experience, tension manifests itself in three different levels of pain (and for this conversation, I'll stick to shoulders/upper back). There is the first level of good ol' aches and pains from a solid workout. It for the most part feels good, even though it is a bit uncomfortable. The second level is when that pain settles into my muscles. I have to catch the pain there for a massage to feel good. I'm talking about run of the mill muscle aches, and includes the type you get when you don't sleep well. The third level is when the swelling and knots in my back get so big and numerous that it starts cutting off blood supply and nerve function to the area. It sounds serious, but I think a lot of people deal with this at some point. The way I can tell it has gotten to this point is if I am stiff and I can feel tension/knots in my shoulders, but I'm not really in any pain. If you get a massage once it reached this point, you most likely will not feel better the next day. Interestingly, this is a good thing because it means that nerve function and blood flow is returning to the area. You need to keep at it, though. Ice is incredibly important to keep swelling down. And get a massage once a week until it is under control.
Always remember to drink a ton of water after you get a massage, too. You are moving a lot of lactic acid out of your muscles during a massage and you need to give your body the mechanism with which to rid itself of it otherwise it could just settle right back into your muscles creating more pain and a wasted massage.
I hope this helps!
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