Is it supposed to hurt?

[Dennis F]

Hi all. I am not qualified at holistic and deep tissue massage very long but I am confident and although I am not really focussing on massage at the moment I do get the odd client. My question is this. When I do deep tissue is the client supposed feel sore the next day? I only ask as a friend told me her physio told her that after massage the person should not have sore muscles?

Also as I have a few fibromyalgia clients how should I proceed with massage for them?

 

[BLee, bby.]

People often feel sore the day after. Not just after deep work either. I've come across physio's that have asked me to go deeper than I was working, to a quite frightening degree. Didn't feel right. They were watching me working on someone.

Fibromyalgia, you generally procede very gently. I've used trigger point work with great effect for fms. Be aware though, there is no direct diagnosis for fms and people get tagged with it if their doctor can't find anything else wrong. Effective communication is the key when working with these people.

I came across someone who had been diagnosed with fms in the shoulder, only the shoulder!! Profound. MMMMMMmmmmmm.

p.s. just noticed you don't have your surname on your website. any reason for this?

 

[Mike R]

Thanks Kevin. I'm sure you know yourself when your just starting off it is so good toget feed back. Re my website.... I never really thought of it. Do you think having my second name should really matter or make a difference? I am revamping my site at the moment and am due to relaunch in a week or two.Should I include my second name?

 

[Zilla Saurus]

Hi Orla, yes, i think you give more credibility to what you do by giving your surname.

It's nice to get some advice if your not sure. Hope I helped in some small way.

Some people get a bit miffed if they don't hurt! ;o)

cheers.

Kevin

 

[inquirygirl]

Just added my full name to the new site. thanks for the advice. I think when I heard my friend say her physio say that there should be no pain the next day I was thrown a little. I thought I was doing something wrong!! Thanks again.

 

[Needfulthings]

Hi jung, lovely website. Just to agree with Kevin really, i tend to find that clients are a bit sore either later that day or the next but they find they are a lot looser than they were, usually to their delight.

Several of my clients are physios who have deep tissue and find it a bit painful when being worked on and are a bit sore the next day, but they never complain about this and continue to happily book in and enjoy feeling less tight!

 

[Shaaaawty(:]

I tend to find that the pain and tenderness experienced following deep tissue work is more along the lines of 'sore to touch' rather than the tight pain associated with muscular tension.

So basically clients may feel a little 'bruised', but overall will feel much better, and with improved range of movement, because the deep work - if applied correctly - will have released the over-contracted muscles.

Not every case will be the same though. Some clients may feel no bruised effects at all after deep work - whereas other clients may feel bruised and tender after a normal swedish massage!

Along with the usual aftercare advice, I always warn my deep tissue clients to be aware that there may be some tenderness, but that it is nothing to be worried about.

With regards Fibromyalgia, each client would need to be assessed based on the severity of their symptoms. Some people with this condition cannot tolerate any kind of pressure, whereas others greatly benefit from deep work. You would really need to have a lot of communication with the client, before, during and after the treatment, to make sure you are achieving the right level of pressure for that particular client.

I have found myofascial release to be particularly useful for Fibromyalgia clients.

Kitten
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