Massage questions

[Owledge]

I'd be happy if someone with experience in massage could clarify some things for me.

 

First, what's the efficiency and applicability of massage in the two cases of where it hurts and where it feels good? I mean, what behind-the-scenes effect will it have to massage where it feels pleasant? Common seems to be to massage the areas that hurt, which leads me to my second question: Will prolonged massage of a hurting region have increasing efficiency? In my experience, the longer you massage such a zone without interruption, the less it hurts. Is that just a getting-used-to-pain, or will it actually signal the intended effect of a massage? Or can you 'overburden' a zone with too much massage at once? I mean, when I got tension and I make stretching excercises, the pain will become less and less the more I stretch the muscles. Is it the same with massage techniques?

I got another thai oil massage recently and there she would massage a hurtful area for a short time, while it still hurts a lot, and then make long softer strokes in adjacent regions. Is this to open channels for moving the pain out of the narrow region and thus assisting the whole process, or should one really be thorough and massage a trouble-spot until a satisfactory result is achieved?

 

How much of a massage's effect will come over time after the massage has ended?

 

And would you say that it takes an expert/specialist/master in massage techniques to release emotional trauma stored in tension? Or is that just a matter of whether that was the actual cause of the tension. I'm not sure if not all tension in the body is rooted in emotional stuff created by the mind.

 

Something interesting through during my third thai massage was that after a while I got muscle shaking in various body regions - the kind that I remember sometimes having after taking ayahuasca. I assume that some process of shaking-loose stuff had been triggered, although I don't feel significantly released after it.

 

Also, would you say it makes sense when a massaged area hurts a lot to try and replace the natural tensing-up reaction with 'breating into the pain'? Will that in any way help releasing tension long-term or something? To accept the pain and let it flow? Is the tensing up maybe part of the problem-symptom? Or just a useful defense reaction? (I just can't get my massage therapist to keep going until it stops hurting.)

 

Thanks for your insights!

Edited November 21, 2012 by Owledge

[GrandmasterP]

Check out Reichian Therapy/ Orgone.

It's Qi under a different name.

A good Reichian therapist can apply massage in such a way that the client bursts into tears and not through physical pain.

Very cathartic.

[Owledge]

Wow, topics move into 2nd page quickly these days. Allow me to bump.

[Owledge]

last bump

[hydrogen]

You expect too much from massage.

 

I'd say relax, trust your massage therapist and enjoy whatever she/he does. If you don't think he/she is helping, find another one.

 

It's not good to second guess your helper. You have to trust God is providing the best help that you need at this moment.

[et-thoughts]

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Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[Owledge]

I've read that in Taoist teachings, sighing is the sound of releasing fear. Can't really confirm that experientially though.

 

Intresting thing about head pain is that I was asked in two of those thai massage sessions, while having severe tension in the shoulders and upper back, that I surely have headaches. I had to say no both times. It seems like it's common to suffer from headaches with a lot of shoulder tension, and the only explanation I have is that maybe my well-developed energy centers in the head prevent that in some way.

[Nacken]

Hi I'm new here and am just in the midst of exploring the forum. But I am a Massage Therapist who does Qigong as part of therapy. First of all what I explain to clients is that there is 'good pain' and 'bad pain.' You know what I mean when I say that it might hurt but it hurts in a good way.

 

Massage works largely by stretching the muscles. The kneading and deep stroking stretches the muscle fibres causing a reflexive relaxation response. Once you work out as much of the tension in the muscle as is practical and gotten the blood flowing through the area this is as much as you can do for that area. You might move onto another bodypart. If you work on one body part for too long it just becomes irritating.

 

I find that sending energy into the client's body with my hands allows me to relax the muscles more quickly and with less effort than colleagues. I also believe that the combination of the energy work and the physical pressure on the tissues drives the qi into the tissues.

 

I don't know whether you have to be an expert in massage or not to cause emotional releasing, but I know that few massage therapists can do it reliably. With me it happens occasionally with clients, although it isn't something I normally intend. Reichian therapists are supposed to be able to do this, but I don't have any personal experience with this.

[Owledge]

Thank you for your feedback.

 

Once you work out as much of the tension in the muscle as is practical and gotten the blood flowing through the area this is as much as you can do for that area. You might move onto another bodypart. If you work on one body part for too long it just becomes irritating.

How do you determine that this point has been reached?

This detail kind of has deeper meaning for me in connection to other experiences. The therapist massages a very limited region with significant pain, and then within seconds, the pain gets slightly less. It diminishes gradually, but if the massage stops too soon, after a minute or so, when massaged, that spot will hurt like in the beginning. This seems to be a universal dynamic to me where focused effort over longer time could have exponential effect. A bit like, as an example, supeficially dabbling in various practices will in its sum accomplish little, while mastery of a single discipline can accomplish a lot and give profound insight.

One though is whether it makes sense to spend massage time on regions that don't hurt at all as long as others are still hurting a lot.

 

I also have made experiences that if a problematic spot received treatment for somewhat longer time, significant heat generation can be noticed.

Edited November 24, 2012 by Owledge

[et-thoughts]

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Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[Nacken]

True to an extent, but normally the pain would be lessened somewhat even so. I know when to stop and move on by using judgement and experience. You feel the tension in the muscle lessen, you look at the client's body language and breathing, or just get verbal feedback. I can feel things like muscle tension or inflammation, and on a good day I can feel the energy flowing or not flowing well, but I can't read minds.

[et-thoughts]

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Edited December 11, 2012 by et-thoughts

[ChiDragon]

First of all, in order to understand the massaging effects, one must study the human nervous system. If the pain can be turned on, then it should be able to be turned off. In the human body there is an autonomic nervous system which has two divisions, the sympathetic division and the parasympathetic division. These two divisions are complementary to each other. For example, one increases the heartbeats, while the other decreases the heartbeat depends on the circumstances.

 

Now get back to your question about pains. Let's assume that you have a painful area somewhere on your body. There will be, also, a sore area which associated with the painful area. If massage the painful area probably will cause more pains. However, if you massage the associated sore area, then the pain will be less and less in the effected area.

 

Here is an example of one of my experiences. Few years ago, I have a tremendous pain in my right neck was acquired from knives throwing. I have the neck pain for two year; one day I have decided to do something about this pain. So, I have bought a book on acupuncture and The book of GRAY'S Anatomy to study the human nervous system. Anyway, to make the story short, I had found some acupoints on the shoulder blade by applying some pressure to them with a hook-like tool. Guess what? 99% of the pain was almost gone instantly. As up until now, the pain never came back. Of course, there 1% is still remains which I cannot get rid of.

Edited November 25, 2012 by ChiDragon