Ah, the annual joy of taxes. We finished last month, but many clients and friends are still working toward that Friday deadline. Good luck everyone. Let me know if you need to send your accountant a gift certificate next week.

Don’t forget Mothers’ Day is early next month! Give me a call or email to order a gift certificate for one of the mothers in your life. Every year, two or three mothers ask me to hint to their husbands, children or family that they’d like a massage gift certificate. Here’s the hint!

This month, I’m answering the question, “Does massage have to hurt?” I’ve also included finger/hand stretches for computer users, more information on Craniosacral Therapy.

Enjoy!

- heather wibbels (615.294-6672)

“Is this supposed to hurt?” Clients new to massage often ask this question, and the answer varies based on what clients want to accomplish in the session, their tolerance for deeper pressure and their personal preference. The short answer is: “No, it doesn’t have to.”

Before your session, communicate your goals to the therapist. Are you looking for a relaxing massage? Are you looking for some concentrated work on one area of pain or tension? While giving a massage, your therapist should focus on your goals. Generally, when clients come in with specific pain areas and stiffness, the massage therapist will try some deeper pressure on the area. If clients are just coming in for a relaxation massage, the therapist may stick to lighter or moderate pressure and a slower pace to soothe the mind as well as the muscles.

When massage therapists concentrate on a particular part of the body, they will start with general work on the surrounding area that is light or moderate. They will slowly warm up the muscles and encourage blood flow before beginning any deep work. Once the muscles warm up with more circulation, it’s much easier for the therapist to use her fingers, thumbs or elbows to press deep into the muscle to find and release knots. If you’ve asked for specific work to one area and you’ve got a lot of tension and knots stored in the area, it may take some discomfort to get as much relief as possible.

On a pressure/pain scale of one to ten (one being the smallest sensation of pressure and ten being comparable to childbirth or passing a stone), massage should hover around a 5 or a 6. You should be able to feel it, and may experience some occasional slight discomfort (“a good hurt”). When receiving concentrated work on problem areas the threshold may go up to a 7 or (more rarely) an 8. The issue is the more pain the massage generates in the body, the more likely it is that the muscle will tense up and push the massage therapist out in order to protect itself. Once that happens, the massage therapist has to ease up, move back to general work, go work on another part of the body, or return later to the problem area and work slowly to penetrate the muscle.

Individuals have different tolerances for pain and pressure. The perception of pressure as deep, moderate or light by clients has as much to do with their personal pain tolerance as it does to the density or tension in their muscles. In addition to a different tolerance between individuals, there is also a continuum of pressure for each individual person. A client may come in for deep pressure in one session, but need much lighter pressure in a session a week or a month later. The pressure feels the same to the body, but is the result of much less pressure by the massage therapist. The body itself often tells the massage therapist when pressure goes beyond the client’s pain threshold. Common telltales that the pressure has crossed that threshold are: finger or foot movements, adjustments of the head or neck, facial movements or tics, and holding the breath. Even in the same session, two different parts of the body may need completely different pressure levels – all of this means that a good massage therapist has to be able to read body language, communicate with the client, and feel a muscle respond to touch in order to gauge pressure preferences.

It is inevitable that some clients crave deep pressure and want to feel the massage as much as they can. Many clients experienced in massage enjoy deeper pressure. In some cases, as the body becomes accustomed to massage, the body opens up and allows deeper pressure to the soft tissues of muscles and tendons. However, there are just as many regular massage receivers who prefer moderate or light work.

So, to answer the original question, “Does massage have to hurt?” The answer is no, but there are times when a little pain or discomfort makes a huge difference in the effectiveness of the session and the relief of the client. However, you should not lay on a massage table expecting pain. You must tell the massage therapist that she’s going too deep when she presses beyond the “good hurt” feeling. There is no universal “right” pressure to get in a massage, just the right pressure for you, that day, on that part of the body.

More on Massage: Craniosacral Therapy

Dr. Upledger was assisting in neck surgery when he observed a slight pulse on the membrane surrounding the spinal cord – this pulse rate differed from both heart and breath rate. Further research at Michigan State University (using Cranial Osteopathy, Kirlian photography and acupuncture) revealed evidence of the pulsation of the system, and the interaction between the bones of the head and spine and the free movement of the fluid within the system. A healthy pulse rate for the craniosacral system was determined to be 10-12 pulses per second, but pulses less than or greater than that rate were often associated with dysfunctions within the body.

Evaluation of the craniosacral system is done through hands-on work. The practitioner places her hands on the head, spine or sacrum of the patient, and evaluates the pulse rate at different places in the system, locating any blockages or restricted areas that may be causing problems. Evaluating and treating the system requires a soft, deft touch, and sensitivity to the craniosacral rhythms through the fingers. Using a light touch, the practitioner loosens the restricted areas to remove blockages. Sometimes a single session is enough to promote healing. More often, multiple, regular visits to a practitioner are required to manage and "decrease/diminish" the symptoms resulting from craniosacral imbalance.

CST can be very effective in treating head, neck and back injuries resulting from an accident. Used in children, it can treat the effects of birth trauma and reduce restrictions in the craniosacral system in infants and small children. Stress-related problems are often helped through the therapy – headaches, anxiety, TMJ and digestion issues have been successfully treated with CST. In addition, it’s relation to the nervous system makes it a treatment viable for such problems as “eye-motor coordination problems, autism, dyslexia, loss of taste or smell, tinnitus, vertigo and neuralgias” (the Upledger Institute).

If you’re interested in experiencing it, please give me a call (615-294-6672) and I’ll put you in contact with someone in Nashville/Franklin who does CST.

For more information on Craniosacral Therapy:

• The Upledger Institute
• Shareguide: An Interview with Dr. Upledger
• Association for Comprehensive Neurotherapy: Interview with Dr. Upledger