Deep tissue massage - advice please

[funnelfanjo]

Am on holiday in the med at a naice hotel with an attached spa. I fancied a hot stone massage like I have sometimes back home.

Hot stones not available, but I was pointed at a full body deep tissue massage when I said I wanted to unknot some back muscles after the journey here. Never had one before.

Oh my word. Big man with very strong fingers digging in - at one point I was literally biting the pillow in agony, but I hung on in there and afterwords I could turn my head without my neck crunching, so I thought it was worth it.

But is it normal to have some very sore areas after a deep tissue massage, like I’ve been badly bruised? Particularly on my back around my shoulder blades (woke me up in the night when I turned over onto my back in my sleep) and my thighs hurt just from a light touch/stroke. I woke up feeling like I’ve been done over with a cricket bat, so all I’ve done is swap one set of aches and pains for another, which isn’t really what I was after on holiday.

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In a word, yes. You feel like you've been run over by a bus. The whole point of a deep tissue massage is to relieve tension in the deeper muscles and tissue.

Drink LOTS of water, it will ease in a day or two.

You can always ask them to lighten up the pressure a bit

Yes normal I’m afraid. In fact, I had one this afternoon, I feel a bit bruised but I know by tomorrow my shoulders (my problem area) will be much looser

yes normal

Yes, you will feel awesome in about 2 days time.

It’s a bit of a different experience to hot stones though!

totally normal.
your muscles are aching like after a big workout.
you should keep the area warm and it will go away in a couple of days.

Yes, normal. I couldn't lie on my back for quite a few days after my last one.

Normal for a good deep tissue massage BUT he should have checked in with you verbally about how much pressure he was using and adjusted it. Equally, you could have said to him that's too much and painful and he should have adjusted, but if you've never had one before I wouldn't expect you to know or even think of that.

I find finding a good deep tissue or sports massage therapist difficult because of this. I can tolerate and enjoy quite deep firm pressure, but I've fallen out with massage therapists who have been too harsh, I've told them and they've insisted that "it needs to be like this". NO. It needs to be tolerable enough for the client, or they won't come back, and tensing in anticipation of pain will cause injury rant over.

Yes. l go to a lovely, very tiny Malaysian lady. She has very, very strong hands! My arms actually bruise. She's amazing though. She gets the knots out of my back like nobody else ever has.
Hang on in there. As PP have said, drink plenty of water, rest, and you'll feel great in a day or two.

Thanks all! Good to know it shouldn’t last much longer.

Lesson learned, will know for next time. Should have gone for one of the gentle spa experiences with oils and hot towels and gloop and stuff instead. . I love reflexology but the last couple of times it’s provoked a response from my immune system for about 12 hours or so (that feeling of “coming down with something”) so I avoided that.

Tricky, this pampering business.

I’ve had bruises from sports massage before. I have to tell the woman I go to when I get to 9 on the pain scale so she can dial it down a bit

@Coffeeandchocolate9 I filled in a form about health conditions and injuries, but never had the conversation about whether I’d had this mind of treatment before, my expectations and what I was hoping to get out of it etc. I have that every time I have a massage at my local beauty therapist salon.

I did howl quietly at one point, so he knew it was painful, but I think he was in the camp you mentioned about it needing to be that firm, from the comments he made. I just channelled my Pilates teacher and focused on trying to “switch off” the muscles he worked on (while my knuckles turned white clinging on to the table). I didn’t want to seem a wimp, plus I was too British to complain.