Appropriate Pressure

“Get in there”, “I have a high pain tolerance”, “I’ve had Rolfing so don’t worry about going too deep”, “I just want you to get in there and break things up”, “You can go deeper”.

How many times have I heard the phrase “go deeper” while giving a massage? Too many times. Way too many times.

Why????????

Why go deeper??????????

The majority of clients that request deeper work ask for Deep Tissue massage. When I ask them if this type of work has given them good results, there is usually a blank look on their faces. Then they say something about having had Deep Tissue massage and thinking that it was good for them because it got really deep, and it hurt so good.

No pain, no gain. Right? Of course. If what you want is to build muscle tissue, like a bodybuilder does. In this case you have to feel the burn, you have to tear muscle tissue so you can make more and make the muscle grow. When you are bodybuilding it is true, no pain no gain. This is not appropriate in massage or body work. This no pain no gain approach to treating the body in building muscle has its own place and implications. More on this in another posting.

Most people that request Deep Tissue massage have never had it! They only think they have. They have been receiving full body deep painful massage that lasts an hour. One long agonizing hour for those truly in pain like most people who have been branded with Fibromyalgia Syndrome. One hour in which they may have been told, several times, to breath through or into the pain. Then they are sore for several days.

I once had a client who wanted me to work on her two times a week for the month that her regular massage therapist was going to be out of town. She had been receiving “deep tissue” massage twice a week for the last four years for a painful area in the middle of her upper back. As long as she had her hour-long massage she said she was fine.

While I was setting up for our second visit, she politely told me that my bodywork wasn’t working for her. I thanked her for her honesty and politeness, and apologized. Then I asked her if she would please tell me what wasn’t working so that I might learn from the experience.

“I wasn’t in pain after you worked on me. Usually I hurt for a day or two after my massage. With you, I didn’t feel it.” She said.

I was stunned. I had been doing bodywork and massage for a couple of years and never had I heard anything like what she had just said.

“What about your back?” I asked. Now she looked stunned. I will never forget the blank look on her face.

“Well” she said, “now that you mention it” as she twisted and contorted her back in different directions “I haven’t noticed it, and it doesn’t hurt now.”

This was the beginning of a therapist-client relationship that lasted for several years. During the time that we worked together she would often tell me that she was still in disbelieve that deeper did not have to hurt, and she would cringe at the thought of having the kind of work that she used to have.

Part of my responsibility to my clients, my students and my profession is to educate others about massage and bodywork within the holistic health model and way of life.

It is important for us to understand that pain is one way our body tries to tell us something is wrong. Some may argue against the body having consciousness and intelligence to tell us anything, and to make the judgment that something is wrong. This is the same consciousness and intelligence that tells us something is wrong when we put our hand to a fire, or when we smash a finger or cut ourselves. If there is pain, something is wrong. Something has to be fixed. Something has to be done. Pain equals danger. Something has to be either taken away or removed, or escaped away from.

Danger has no place in a massage.

When your massage or bodywork is so “deep” that it is making you tighten and protect, or that you have to breath through, or that leaves you hurting for days, ask yourself what good this is doing.

Massage and bodywork can send one of two messages to your nervous system. Message one is that no matter how much you hurt, you are not that bad off since you can experience more pain. Now your normal state of being becomes a welcome relief, a familiar place that all life activities revolve around. Pain, and the avoidance of pain have become the norm.

The other type of message is quite different. This one tells your nervous system that no matter how much you hurt, you are not that bad. This message lets your experience less pain. In the worst-case scenario, you may experience a little less pain during your massage and more comfort. This, to someone in pain is a blessing. Even if the sensation is better only for a short time during the session. Once comfort has been experienced, it can become the norm.

Learning to use appropriate pressure is challenging and requires long-term dedication and devotion. Those that really love the healing arts, and to whom conscious touch is a way of life, after much work, will learn appropriate pressure.