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?

Is that you Auntie Val? What have we told you about the tin foil hat.

I’ve heard this before, someone’s negative energy invading my body (I had just had a manicure) or it might be due to the fact we were ‘stupid’ to buy a house near power lines and some lay lines.

Auntie Val was a bit stumped when I asked why she had stupidly bought a house that ran over so close to masses of buried cables and a huge utility infrastructure project? Hadn’t realised they also buried cables 😂

Just me and my Physics degree in the corner having a giggle.

Is that you Auntie Val?

Never heard of her i made this possible reason and dont wear tin foil hats. I knew alot of comments would be questioning this and wanted to edit or remove for my sanity as clearly its has be based on science.
Ahh its the liver toxins and needs lots of water - yes thats the one

If you see Auntie Val tell her you miss her 😂

This is why ive only had one massage in my life! I've got a recurring trapped nerve and asked her to stay away from that area twice but she kept going back to it. Was in so much pain after it. Bloody whole back was on fire. Its like medieval torture!

BFF felt dizzy after neck physio. Physio put it down to her "resistance." GP referred her for a scan which showed she has a condition involving the carotid arteries. She's fine now, but needs to be on a blood thinner.

I’ve had hundreds of massages in my life and never had one or heard of it.

I'm not medically trained and certainly don't get to tell anyone what to do with their own bodies but I would strongly recommend being extremely cautious of any chiropractic-style neck manipulations. I suppose it's possible that Indian Head Massage practitioners might now be incorporating this sort of thing.

Of course plenty of people have these neck cracks with no obvious ill effects but if it goes wrong or you have an otherwise silent underlying condition (and of course, this can include 'age'!) then it can be a bit catastrophic. Most medical interventions carry some risk but it's hoped there's also a benefit - I don't think there's any genuine medical benefit from chiropractic neck work. So... it perhaps weighs a bit heavier on the risk side of the equation.

Worst case scenario (death) is relatively rare (and of course the cases are overrepresented in the media) but there are a number of people who have been permanently injured from this sort of thing 😬

Jo

Oh dear now I am panicking again! There was no neck manipulation or cracking, though she did turn my head to the left to massage one side, then to the right to massage another.

I have had no headache today but was hoping to speak to the GP to put my mind at rest for good. Unfortunately I missed their call mid-school run and they never rang back.

They left a message on the app "Please attend the Urgent Treatment Centre at xxx Hospital if you still have an ongoing headache and are feeling unwell."

Since did not have an ongoing headache, I didn't go.

Very conflicting opinions on this thread with people feeling it is normal and others thinking it is not normal at all.

'Connect neck pain and unsteadiness" - i have not had neck pain at any point, only head pain at the top/front of my head.

Would dissection always cause neck pain?

I agree I don't think a gentle, run of the mill massage could have done much damage. I do understand being anxious about strokes because of family history. What kind of strokes were they, the high blood pressure kind or the blood clot kind? Because I do monitor my blood pressure as that's what caused all the issues in my family and an overly high BP is a much more accurate warning sign for me than a headache which could be anything (I do get headaches).

It's common to have neck pain but not universal. Variable reports but looks like around 50% - I suspect in reality it's a little higher.

I think severe headaches can be a sign of stroke (or other issues) and therefore the clinic will advise that you go in if the headache continues. Even without the head massage that would be the case. In fact, the danger would be someone assuming a three day headache was "because of" a massage when this was just a coincidence. However, the fact the headache did go is less of a concern. If you are worried I don't think it would hurt to go for a check up. If high blood pressure runs on your family a Dr will be able to assess you for that very quickly for example. But I would view that more as a general check up or something for your own peace of mind. Not a reason to panic.

Also, the masseuse did not strangle you. So the severe potential consequences of even "mild" or "sexy" strangulation don't apply in this case.

It is the blood clot kind in my family which is making me overthink this. I do feel a bit unsteady but I don't know if that is just my anxiety or a normal ish after effect of a big migraine. I do think I probably need to get checked out but my options are spending the whole night there for something that is vanishingly rare and unlikely in the circumstances or doing nothing and potentially being at risk of something really bad.

I have no idea what to do.

OP, I don't think the Internet is your friend here.

If you are a bit unsteady and don't feel quite well I would go to the hospital. Better that than have a sleepless night worrying about it.

Failing that you could call 111 again and see if you could speak to an out of hours doctor

Sadly with the best will in the world, none of us can advise you well here. I am conscious I am saying that after giving advice.

I also agree it is very unlikely you have anything seriously wrong.

I went to a&e once as I had severe chest pain and everyone was really nice even though it was nothing

hiya
you sound like me!
At the end of the day, you've had a stressful time, you're now going back to work (stress), the kids are back at school (another thing to contend with), perhaps you're at a dodgy time in your cycle, you maybe haven't had much sleep, now you're stressing about the headache itself. i imagine in a couple of a weeks you'll be right as rain and will put it down to a stressful period. the massage could well be a red herring.

In all honesty, no it wont. A cup of tea is caffein and caffein does not hydrate you - it a diuretic which increases your urination and if you're already dehydrated that's not going to help you.

If it's part of overall your hydration through the day - no issue at all.

Could be decaf tea?

What I get from this thread is stay hydrated with the correct levels of salt and other minerals.

Anyone on this thread that does that and still needs massages?