“No pain, no gain” is the phrase most frequently heard from
clients. I also believed it, and I
liked deep tissue massage before going to massage school. The first challenging idea for me at school
was “A massage doesn’t have to hurt.” I also explained other changes while at
school in the post “A Holistic Approach.”
I found many websites by massage therapists that “No pain, no
gain” is a myth, and others express some pain is necessary. I agree with the latter because it
really depends on the condition and the goal of a massage.
If a massage is for a rehabilitation purpose, the pain is not required
to get better. However, if the
pain is caused by trigger points, it is necessary to feel the pain especially in the beginning. Even if treated on trigger points, the pain level shouldn’t exceed the client’s
pain threshold. Tracking the
client’s non-verbal cues such as frowning, flickering, and clenching is very
important for the therapist. In
addition, the therapist should respect
the tissue and know how deep, how fast and how much pressure the tissue can
withstand.
Some of you have high tolerance for pain and also believe
“No pain, no gain,” so even if it’s uncomfortably painful, you may not tell
your therapist. If you are not
sure about how much pain is reasonable, check to see if you can keep breathing normally. If your breathing stops frequently, I would guess you are
enduring the pain too much. If you
can’t relax, your muscles keep contracted and tight, so a painful massage may
not help the condition. Another
guideline can be a pain level of 7 or less on a scale of 1 (no pain) to 10
(unbearable).
Again, it really depends on your condition and the goal of
your massage, so good communication
between you and your therapist before and during the session is very important. Don’t stick to “No pain, no gain”!