No Pain, No Gain, Really?

When you are a massage therapist you deal with attempting to define and manage pain. My trip to Thailand gave me pause for thought regarding pain. Massage there is not just something you do, it is a way of life. A big part of life and massage for the Thai people is visiting the Monks. As I set listening to the Monks talk about mediation and the goal not being to avoid pain but to acknowledge the areas of pain, I realized my mediation practice was faulty. They would tell us, rather than pretending there is no pain and trying to go to your zen place, say my knee hurts, if your knee hurts. They said repeat it over and over " my knee hurts, my knee hurts". The Monks explained it was the act of finding, acknowledging and speaking to the pain that allowed the pain to leave and for the mind to be freed.

For most of us in my Thai study group our first couple of massages in Thailand were extremely painful. We didn't speak the language and many of the therapist we sought treatment from outside of class had limited English skills. Often when we asked for a lighter touch they would smile and keep going. Over the three weeks our bodies changed or maybe our minds changed because we stopped complaining of pain. I wonder to this day, if part of the Thai therapist method came from their Buddhist understanding of pain. After sitting with the Monks I thought maybe the therapist were trying to help us meet our pain to facilitate its release.

My Thai massage pain adventure also speaks to the fact that pain is subjective. Pain varies from culture, person, place and time. You know if you are in a hurry you can hit something, experience pain and keep going. In the moment you forget about the pain, only days later to see a bruise and wonder how you got it. You could be having the worst, most stressful week at work and feel every thing causes you pain in every part of your body. If pain was simple it would be the same for all people and would occur exactly the same for each instance it occurred to you. However, pain is far from simple.

One of my mentors Tom Meyers was interviewed and his clip regarding pain is on YouTube.  Here's the link
"Why Does Massage Hurt"

I like how he laid out three types of pain. The pain we put into a body, the pain we store and the pain we release. I try, as best I can, not to put new pain into a body while I massage. My hope is to help a person release their stored pain. When one experiences a lessening of pain with each stroke, I believe it's the body releasing stored pain with each stroke.

If you are seeking to re-align your body and wait to have massage until you feel pain then we can't start the re-alignment until we get you out of pain. The real work of massage occurs once the pain is gone. When the mind stops trying to remove the body from feeling pain we can then find the source of the body's dysfunction, misalignment and begin to create change.

Pain is a complicated experience and it is something that is bigger than just a physical body issue. However, I won't go all woowoo on you in this post :)

I will say, I would like to start a revolution, in which people seek massage before they are in pain so we can create change in a gentler environment. I'm so proud of all my regular clients because they stay ahead of their pain. They use their massage time to try and stay out of pain. Yes, there are sessions in which we still hit stored areas of pain and they experience moments of pain release put it happens more as those "pain feels so good " moments, than the "I'm going to jump off the table" moments. With each massage that occurs on my table I seek to help my clients connect deeper and deeper with their body. We work as a team to learn the silent language their body speaks, in hopes that we don't have to hear it scream at us in the universal language of pain.

Pain is our body's way of making us slow down or stop. It serves as a pointer to areas in need of help.

When it comes to the medical world pain is put into classifications. Most of us are familiar with attempting to discuss acute vs. chronic pain. For the most part we can attribute acute pain to an injury, illness, trauma or damage we can immediately identify and associate. Chronic pain we attribute to issues we can no longer identify where its coming from and it is something we deal with on a regular and lasting basis.

The medical world also classifies pain on three other levels:
Say you burn yourself, cut yourself you have caused tissue damage and it can for the most part be repaired. This is referred to as nociceptive pain.
Now you cut deep into your hand and sever a nerve and the feeling in your hand changes. This will be known as neuropathic pain.
If the doctors can not identify the source of your pain as either coming from tissue or nerve damage, well then, they will say you have psychogenic pain. The pain is coming from fear, depression or another mood.

Over the years I have found many pain sensations that are linked to chronic issues are largely coming from fascial sources. If someone tells me they are feeling a burning sensation, a weird itching sensation or an annoying stabling sensation, I'm going to work to warm, soften and redirect the fascia. When the fascia is hydrated and able to move in its fluid state that's when we achieve a pain release that seems immediate and the client says things like "it's a miracle" or "you have magic hands". Once the fascia is taken care of, often the muscles go along for the ride and the area no longer has an issue. Then the next step is to investigate what dehydrated the fascia in the first place. Now we identify posture and behavior that is contributing to dysfunctional movement.

Another complicated experience to convey is the increase in pain as we re-align areas of the body. When we are seeking structural re-alignment, muscle balancing, postural correction and the alteration of dysfunctional patterning we can create a short term increase in pain. The reason being, we are asking areas/muscles which have not been working properly, which are weak and often over stretched to now work. We are loosen over contracted/tight muscles and can't tone the week muscles fast enough and the body then has no support at all and muscles spasm as they are asked to quickly stabilize an unsupported joint. During the massage we stimulate nerves which is a way of toning muscles. However, once the client leaves the table they are not consist or misunderstand how to tone the muscles on their own and the body begins to slip back into a default mode, some areas remain unstable, others have a tug a war between the old and new states of being. All of this can create pain.

Massaging muscles, specially when a therapeutic massage session is requested, can produce a similar response to high intensity exercise in which the muscle fibers are broken down and have to go through an inflammatory stage of healing.This is typically experienced 24 to 48 hours following the massage. Then the third day the body feels better than it has in months.

The body is largely an electrical conductor. Electricity is conducted more efficiently in water. To improve the electrical communication in your body it is important to hydrate your fascia. When the fascia lacks proper fluid flow then areas stagnate and the nerve impulses in the area begin to slow down. If left long enough the area begins to have a tingling sensation then a numbing sensation and if left too long there can be irreversible nerve damage. As we begin to hydrate an area of fascia we reopen the body's ability to send nerve impulse in and out of the area. Due to cellular memory some times the re-awakened area fire out the old stored pain. But as one has forgotten about the original incident, it is believed the massage must have created new pain. The massage in a sense creates the pain by pulling it to the surface and activating the nerves in the area to send pain signals to the brain. This is more a release of pain that introducing new pain.

Now if we massage too fast, too deep or beyond the tolerance of the brain then yes massage can introduce new pain. This is why it is best to go slow and allow the body to invite the therapist's hand into deeper layers of tissue gradually and back off if the brain is feeling it as too much. Like Tom Meyers said the "no pain, no gain" attitude is not a go to method on the massage table because if at all possible one does not want to introduce new pain pathways the body now has to draw away from.

For those of you who know me and work with me regularly, you guys know what my take home message will be right? To decrease the experience of pain address your fascia.  Drink water consistently through out your day. Get that water into your tissue by Dry Brushing and/or Melting first on a weekly basis and then as needed. Create practices which allow you to enter and maintain a state of parasympathetic being more often then remaining in a high constant state of sympathetic nervous system chaos. Working to ensure your diaphragm is working as the primary respiratory muscle it was born to be rather than a major stabilizer is one way to create a better state of parasympathetic being. Finding time to include rest not only for your body but for your mind will greatly enhance tissue and muscle health. Developing a means to address and maneuver between all four of your bodies; physical, emotional, mental and spiritual will help you understand how to achieve homeostasis; which I believe is a truer state of well-being than seeking to maintain balance.


If you have any questions regarding this post or you would like me to write in more detail about any aspect of this post, please feel free to comment in the comment section or email me (2dolphincolette@comcast.net)

As always thank you so much for taking the time to read my posts.

Eclectic Healing Guide's Menu

Here's a little taste of what Colette offers at the office.

Can you benefit from Craniosacral Therapy

Craniosacral Massage

 is a subtle form of bodywork in which the therapist works with the subtle third rhythm of the body that falls beneath the breath and the heartbeat. The therapist uses gentle holding, compression like hand positions to stimulate the client’s natural internal healing abilities. As the cerebral spinal fluid rhythm re-balances the skull bones are allowed to re-align, connective tissue unwinds and re-alignment within the connection of the cranium, spine and sacrum occur.  Clients wear loose comfortable clothing and remain fully clothed throughout the session.  Clients are on their back for the entire session. Hugely relaxing with clients often falling to sleep, this form of bodywork has been helpful reducing symptoms related to ADHD, migraines, TMJ and Chronic pain. It is also helpful when preparing to become pregnant and following child birth.

Little insight into Thai Massage

Thai Massage 

can be thought of as passive yoga for the client and active yoga for the therapist. It is an Eastern form of bodywork incorporating meridian stimulation (known as Sen lines), compression, abdominal massage, tapotement and emphasizing stretching. For the most benefit the therapist structures a routine to fit the client's needs and the balance between the client and practitioner. The client wears loose, comfortable clothing and remains clothed throughout the session. This massage takes place on a mat on the floor. Working on the floor allows the therapist to maximize leverage and increases the stretching benefits. Thai massage improves the flow of energy throughout the body, increasing vitality, flexibility and muscle tone. A traditional Thai massage has a minimal duration of one and one half hours.

Lavender Fields Forever

Well it's harvest time in the world of Lavender.

I tried out the Clackamas County Lavender Festival last Sunday June 26. This one is put on by the Oregon Lavender Farm. It is a moderate sized event with free parking. There was a great water feature for the kids to play in and enjoy. I had some tasty lavender lemonade and lavender chicken over rice. There was a vendor selling Microwave essential oil distillers. Though I would love an easy way to distill oils at home I don't think a microwave is the way to go. In general we should all be moving away from microwaves as they denature our food. The use of essential oils is to enhance our well being. I think microwaving an plant to distill it would change the chemistry and lower the medicinal value of the oil. I haven't done a lot of research on this microwave process so I'd recommend you do so on your own. Please share what you learn here in the blog comments. Meeting this vendor did peak my interest and I will be doing more research on easy, healthy ways to distill at home.

This coming weekend I will be doing Chair Massage at the Helvetia Lavender Festival.  Come find me Friday- Sunday: July 8-10 from 10 - 5 PM. The admission is Free to the public. Part of my proceeds will be donated to the festival in support of widows in the Ukraine. The Miller family who own and operate the farm sends the donations through the Samaritan Ministries. For more information visit www.gsmukraine.com. I can't speak to the lavender scones personally but my colleague said they were tasty last year and were heaping with fresh berries. I'm sure she's going to treat herself again during her break this year. I tried the lavender tea and had to go back for seconds and thirds it was so good. Again this year there will be a fun fishing pond for the kids so bring them along. From live music to scrolling peacefully through the fields there will be something for everyone. I love providing massage surrounded by the relaxing aroma of lavender and I'm sure you will enjoy receiving this way.

You are now ready to come on out to the farm right? Here is where you can find us: http://www.helvetialavenderfarm.com/ I will be listed under Mama Needs Massage.

Make sure you are signed up for my newsletter. With all these lavender festivals I'll be trying out the new recipes and including them in one of the upcoming newsletters. Remember with Young living essential oils you can consume them. So if you can't get out to one of the festivals, or grow your own then a bottle of pure supplemental grade oil is the way to go.

To sign up for my monthly newsletter visit my website the home page has the sign up you can submit.
www.colette.massagetherapy.com