Don't Do THIS Before Your Massage
Have you ever taken a pain pill, anti-inflammatory or muscle relaxant before your massage treatment?
Pain is the main reason many clients seek massage therapy treatments. It could be because they’ve tweaked their back, slept wrong and their neck is in spasm, or they have clenched so hard they have a constant raging headache.
Often times in an effort to find some relief clients will take some medication. Some have even thought it would be beneficial for the massage by reducing pain and relaxing spasming muscles so they could receive deeper pressure.
I’m here to tell you……
DON’T DO IT.
Don’t take these medications before your treatment.
Hear me out……there are a couple of reasons for this.
1) It can impact the results of your assessment. The therapist wants to see an accurate representation of your presenting symptoms, pain levels, range of motion, etc. This allows the RMT to provide a SAFE treatment without causing further harm. As well, it provides an accurate baseline to track improvement.
2) It can cause more harm and create more pain & discomfort.
When you take a muscle relaxant or a pain medication before going for a massage, the level of discomfort and pain you will feel during the entire process will be affected.
Pain medications are meant to reduce your pain perception, which is why you take them in the first place, to get relief. However, when you are getting a massage you are unable to give proper feedback regards to things like pressure because of this altered perception. The pressure may be too much for the muscles but with the meds on board you do not register it as being uncomfortable. This can result in increased pain once the medication has worn off.
Muscle relaxants help reduce spasm which can occur with muscle injuries. With massage we never want to completely eliminate a muscle spasm because it serves as a protective mechanism to prevent further injury.
Anti-inflammatories obviously reduce inflammation. Working on inflamed tissue is a contraindication for massage therapy. If the therapist is not able to palpate or see signs of inflammation they may work on an area that should otherwise be left alone.
Pain is your friend….
Pain is your friend when it comes to preventing further injury. It lets you know when certain movements, positions, or pressure would create more harm. The saying “Let Pain Be Your Guide” applies here.
If you have by chance taken any of these meds before your treatment, please let your therapist know. This will allow them to adjust the treatment accordingly to get you relief and not cause more harm.
Need help reducing your pain? Schedule your appointment.