Is this normal after a massage?

[Ras214]

I treated myself to a back, neck and head massage yesterday after a period of stress.

It was at a spa so more of a relaxing vibe and seemed very gentle at the time (I'm more used to sports massages that really hurt).

Yet it seems to have triggered a very painful headache (as well as back pain overnight, like I was all seized up, but this has lessened now). The headache is still going strong over 24 hours later. Paracetamol helps a bit but it is like no other headache I have experienced. The front half of my head is very sore, it feels very deep inside my head.

Is this normal-ish, what is going on?

It is human nature to see connections (it is build into us) but the headache and massage timing could just be coincidence. You say you are stressed already so you might have gotten a migraine/ headache without the massage. Even if you haven’t had one before.

I hope you managed to get some sleep.

Well, I have just woken up and 111 never called back. I have just received a text though saying the case has been reviewed and is eligible for referral so 'the service' will be in contact with me, whatever that means.

The headache is better this morning which is good but I still feel a bit woozy, hopefully that lifts a bit once I am fully up.

Not sure how I'll see a doctor today as I am taking DS for his first day at school but he's only there for 2 hours and I also have to work. Fingers crossed I fully improve and can just forget about it all.

A massage does not have to be deep to be effective.

I am sports massage trained so love a deep massage where you can feel the muscles release.

However gentle massage, done well, can take a chronically stressed person into the parasympathetic state, thus releasing tension that has been present for many years.

Water. Rest. Be gentle with yourself and please don’t be put off from going again.

Sadly spa therapists get little time to check in with clients afterwards. If you find a good local therapist they will want to know how a treatment has effected you and will recommend aftercare.

??

Be cautious of any severe or sudden onset headaches or any new neurological symptoms after a massage as massages can trigger vertebral artery dissection (i.e. a split in the lining of the blood vessel in the neck/near base of skull) which leads to stroke.

You mention dizziness - is it vertiginous (room moving or spinning?), rather than near fainting type dizziness. If so, this can be a sign of vertebral artery damage as the vertebral artery supplies the back of the bran where the balance centres are.

I have regular sports massages for an injury and yes it is very common. Especially if you are not well hydrated before or after.

You need to replenish salts as well as water though, so maybe look at the rehydration sports drinks.

It has exactly fuck all to do with negative energy of the person doing the massage (ffs people) and entirely to do with the process of the massage

Yep

I used to get awful migraines after trapping nerves between my discs (Cervicogenic headache). I ended up having the nerves between C2 to C5 cauterised after years of suffering. I wonder if something like that has happened. In any case, hope it’s a one off for you and much improved today!!

I would definitely follow any recommendations to get checked out. But when I’m really dehydrated (which happened once after a spa and I had an awful headache and felt so sick) I can drink like a fish and not feel any better. What I need is electrolytes not just water, do you have or can you get any electrolyte tablets or Dioralyte?

Oh, totally normal I think, if you don’t drink lots of water afterwards. The massage will have released lots of toxins, particularly if you had lots of tense muscles from stress, and those toxins need a way to leave your body, otherwise they’ll just busy themselves causing you a headache instead! So you need to drink lots of water & wee a lot to get them out of your system !!

Feeling slightly spaced out is a really common dehydration side effect. I’d try picking up some rehydration salts in the supermarket and have one of those. You usually feel better within an hour or so if it’s that…

I cant hold my head in that position because my shoulders feel stressed, so it could be the prolonged positioning. I wouldnt do it again if it affects you like that.

My Indian head massage guy always warns of headaches afterwards and tells me to drink loads of water. He was actually most surprised to hear that I don't get headaches the day after!

But I have the head massages to help with headaches (I have a LOT of head and shoulder tension) and find that they will stop me getting a headache for the following six or eight weeks and returning headaches are the sign that I need to go back to him.

We all react so differently to things. If it made you feel poorly, then maybe that's your body saying 'don't do this again'.

Yea it’s normal. I trained as a massage therapist many years ago, it’s just a release of stress, toxins etc, drinks loads of water, you will be fine.

Was it just a massage? The masseuse didn't try to 'adjust' you like those chiropractor quacks you see? The number of videos I've seen of folks suffering strokes after letting a chiro crack them is unreal.

Er, this isn’t true. What do you think these ‘toxins’ are? Why would rubbing muscles cause some kind of poison to be released? You can’t flush your body through with water. Dehydration does cause headaches but for other reasons.

I would get to A&E asap. When I have any massage, I instruct the masseuse to not touch my neck or base of skull as I know what can happen.

You don't know much, do you?

I had the same thing!

I broke my ankle and a 'friend' insisted on waving her hands over it and said it was reiki (I'd never heard of it and still not 100% what it is)

Spent the night on the loo and refused a second go when she rang me

No idea if I'd managed to catch a bug or she set me off but I wasn't risking it

Eh? There is a difference between facts - scientific evidence and pseudoscience from people trying to sell ‘detox’ bs. I prefer the former but if you prefer to believe the latter and think that that means you ‘know’ more than me then that’s your call. It doesn’t change the fact that massage doesn’t cause muscles to release ‘toxins’.

@mellongoose

However gentle massage, done well, can take a chronically stressed person into the parasympathetic state, thus releasing tension that has been present for many years.

Parasympathetic state. eh?

@borborygmus1

as massages can trigger vertebral artery dissection (i.e. a split in the lining of the blood vessel in the neck/near base of skull) which leads to stroke.

Massages or manipulation?
Whats the evidence?

PP. is right, much of what is written about “toxins” is pseudoscience used to sell unproven diets and therapies.

Do you have a handy link to robust research on “toxins” leaving the body after massage?

Change in blood flow, relaxation of muscles - yes fine, you can demonstrate that and most therapists advise water just in case of dehydration effect but headaches due to “toxins” leaving the body is nonsense.

Yes, it’s normal. Lots of water and rest. Definitely no alcohol.

It really is.
There is no scientific proof that a massage makes toxins leave the body.