I have always had a natural tendency towards firm pressure. When asking for feedback from clients during treatment about suitable pressure, one of the most frequent phrases I hear is ‘no pain, no gain‘ backed up by the idea that the more it hurts, the better the massage.
This belief has become misleadingly linked with Sports massage at one end of the spectrum, as a more ‘serious’ type of massage, and Aromatherapy at the other end, as something ‘wishy-washy’! But this is not an accurate description of either type of massage and only causes confusion to potential clients, and frustration for therapists.
Effective treatment is not about applying the deepest pressure possible for the sake of it, but finding the right balance to achieve the best results for each individual.
Advanced training and years of experience allow me to intuitively connect with the body, and apply an appropriate amount of pressure within the context of what I am trying to achieve. I encourage client feedback and tailor each session to ensure you receive the massage you want, together with a compassionate and holistic approach to your well-being.
Each one of us is unique – there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to treatment. Some clients may respond well to extreme pressure, whilst others find it excruciating! And even if a particular pressure worked in the past for a specific issue, it doesn’t follow that this is necessary to treat every issue and area of the body, every session! Over the years, I’ve found that a combination of techniques and pressures is more effective, employing maximum pressure only if and when it is needed.
Recent studies have found that massage therapy does not have to be unbearably painful to have a more effective or lasting impact and that actually, often, the opposite can be true.
The Science Behind Massage and Pressure
The sense of touch is a crucial aspect of our human experience, as social mammals. Touch is a means of communication, influencing our sense of belonging, connection, and overall well-being. From early childhood, we become instinctively conditioned to depend on this vital sense for both physical and mental wellness.
The skin and soft tissues of the body (muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, etc) are supplied with millions of nerves, forming part of the nervous system. The brain is in control, keeping the body safe and in a state of homeostasis, and constantly sending and receiving messages which contain vital information about our safety and state of wellness. If the messages indicate danger (eg. We touch something hot), an instant stress response makes us feel pain, stimulating muscles and causing us to quickly move away to safety. When the nervous system subsequently relaxes we return to a state of stability.
Massage therapy aims to ease discomfort, restore mobility and relax soft tissues. And as anybody who has scrolled endless websites knows, the list of massage treatments on offer seems endless! All types of massage aim to promote relaxation, reduce stress responses and facilitate the body’s natural healing processes. As soft tissue is heavily innervated, massage works with the nervous system!
The autonomic nervous system (responsible for involuntary bodily functions) has two states – the sympathetic nervous system (aka ‘fight or flight’), which is activated when we are in a state of stress, and the parasympathetic nervous system (aka ‘rest and digest’), which promotes relaxation. Massage aims to ‘down-regulate’ a fraught, sympathetic nervous system by reducing inflammation, discomfort and pain in the soft tissues and stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system to induce a sense of calm.
Stress hormones contribute to inflammation, and when you are experiencing excruciating pain, the sympathetic nervous system kicks in to protect us. This is not conducive in helping to reduce the inflammatory response in the body and is the reason why the ‘no pain, no gain’ approach is often counter-productive in what we are trying to achieve in holistic treatment. Extensive studies have found that deeper pressure isn’t ‘better’ and that often, more gentle massage techniques can reduce cortisol levels and increase serotonin and dopamine, which are the body’s natural mood elevators.
However, this does not mean that massage should be ineffectively light! A ‘wishy-washy’ massage which employs the same routine for every client and feels like the therapist is unconsciously brushing over all the knots in your shoulders, can be just as stressful and ineffective as one that is excruciatingly painful! And let’s be honest – whilst a massage isn’t considered to be a treat by many, you still want to know that your hard-earned cash has been wisely spent on something that will be beneficial to your health and wellbeing.
‘Good Pain’ during massage
‘Good pain’ is mutually understood as an area (usually one that has been causing discomfort), that feels sore or tender when pressure is applied, but also instinctively feels relieving. In my experience, this is what most clients want to feel when addressing problem areas!
In contrast, ‘bad pain’ is excessively painful or excruciating, experienced when too much pressure is applied – way beyond tolerance! Over-sensitising already sensitive or inflamed tissue and nerve fibres engages the sympathetic nervous system, can cause muscles to tense up and therefore, can be counteractive to having therapeutic benefit.
Some clients believe wholeheartedly that this type of treatment is ‘better’ because they are suffering, so they grit their teeth and endure the pain, ignoring requests to feed back anything that is too much. Afterwards however, they can feel (and sometimes be) bruised, tense and in pain for many days and very occasionally, even for weeks.
That is not to say that excessive pressure is necessarily wrong! There are many people and therapists, some of you may be reading this blog, who find it incredibly beneficial and balk at the thought of anything lighter. I have no judgment towards clients (or therapists) who have found what suits them – horses for courses! But for those who have not found excessive pressure beneficial, I offer an alternative which is also not ‘airy-fairy’!
Sometimes we just need to switch off the thinking brain and drop down into our bodies where we can hear its wisdom – that is where perfect pressure resides…and this can change according to how we feel both physically and emotionally on any particular day!
I don’t believe that treatment is something anyone should have to ‘get through’ and I never want to be the cause of clients feeling worse or bruising! I encourage client feedback together with a gradual, intuitive application of pressure, to ensure I’m working with you and your body; Not just assaulting the tissue while your toes curl from what your nervous system perceives as a threat to its existence!
The ‘Goldilocks spot’ should feel just right – neither too much nor too little! Muscles feel like they have been worked on, softened and relaxed. And whilst some soreness may exist afterwards, it should pass swiftly to leave you feeling better than before treatment, certainly no worse! And whilst intense pressure is sometimes exactly what is needed, years of experience and an intuitive approach have led me to achieve the best results for my clients and enjoy what I do! This is ‘Therapeutic massage’.
You will find no generic massage routines, wishy-washy pressure or elbows blazing, in my treatment room! The ‘Goldilocks spot’ should feel just right – neither too much nor too little.
In conclusion, in order for massage to be effective, the touch must feel therapeutic to you! And this depends on many factors, including what’s going on in your life, the reason for your visit and your own personal preference – if you like deep pressure, but feel that your massage is too soft or ‘fluffy’, you will feel frustrated, your nervous system will not feel soothed and you will not enjoy the treatment or believe that it has been beneficial, which means it probably won’t be!
The same is true if the massage is too deep, causing you to experience pain that is beyond your tolerance and actually makes you feel worse, or like you’ve been ‘beaten up’! (Over the years, it has been a personal bug-bear when clients refer to stronger massage pressures as ‘torture’ or announce that they are ‘the next victim’ to arrive in my treatment room…sigh…)
So, what about Sports Massage?
Despite qualifying in Sports massage many years ago, I am not comfortable inflicting the intolerable pain that is expected, and often sought after, by clients who associate excruciating pressure with Sports massage and remedial therapy. Not only do I not believe this to be therapeutic, I don’t enjoy working like this, so I no longer offer it as a treatment.
The BTEC Level 5 Soft Tissue therapy that I am qualified in, uses an evidence-informed, people-centred approach based on current study and research. It encourages therapists to question, interpret, observe and reflect, to draw their own conclusions. This advanced level of training confirmed what my intuition and years of experience working with 1000’s of clients had led me to believe – that excessive pain is not necessary for massage therapy to be effective.
I do not do ‘airy-fairy’ massage but I am also not using pressure for the sake of it. There can be plenty of gain without excruciating pain! For me, the level of pressure I use during treatment starts with listening, and then connecting to the body to intuitively feel what is needed.
Because I understand that every body is unique, I take the time to listen to my clients’ concerns and allow my hands to work intuitively! When deep pressure is required, I use slow, proven techniques which do not (further) stress or over-stimulate the nervous system, and therefore allow me to work more deeply into the tissue without causing intolerable pain.