Could my massage be making me more pain-sensitive?

Hi All,

I have been here for a while, mostly because of back and butt pain. My back is doing much better these days, but I’m still experiencing pain in my butt and back of my legs. It’s like a burning feeling. I am a fitness instructor and work out a lot. I started going to a massage therapist for some of the pains. Last Monday she did some intense cupping work and I have been suffering more ever since, with aching and burning. I work at a desk job also and this pain makes my days so difficult! For those of you who have experienced burning pain, do you think I’d be better served to get relaxation massages? Im having so much trouble sitting right now. Thank you, Stayfit

 

Depends on your relationship with massage. Do you enjoy it? Do you believe in it? Probably more relevant if your issue is TMS. If you have accepted you have TMS, why the heck are you getting a massage anyway!?! You're not going to find any permanent healing on the table.

 

Sheltered has made a good point.
You should only be doing massage if you really enjoy it as a nice treat for you, and NOT to get rid of pain. Unfortunately, the techniques used in massage as well as the words that the masseur sometimes uses serve to reinforce the idea that there is something structurally wrong with the body.
In my case, when we used to have free massage at work I used to feel worse as well. The masseur used to comment that my muscles were tight and that made me lose confidence in my body. In reality, they got tighter during the massage so much so that one day he pressed too much and I got pain for two months (could have been a real injury from the massage itself!)
A hot shower or bath, a good meal and perhaps meditation or a relaxation exercise are all you need after sports. I am a rock climber and also work my muscles quite a lot.

Hope this helps

Miriam Gauci Bongiovanni
TMS Coach

 

TMS can make you hypersensitive to random things. When I'd get acupuncture, sometimes I'd get a sharp burning sensation or a little numbness. Message generally isn't too bad as long ass the masseuse doesn't press too hard and doesn't say much. Cupping looks really scary and unnecessary I don't even have the courage to try it haha

 

I went to a chiropractor once to make enquiries. Without even examining me or taking a history, he wanted to sign me up for months of treatments, and first to take x-rays. I told him I'd already had x-rays and didn't want any more radiation. He told me that I HAD to have x-rays 'in case you have a hidden cancer'! (Nice scare tactics there). I said I'd go away and think about it. He wanted to sign me up anyway 'and you can cancel if you change your mind'... I practically ran out of there, and his secretary tried phoning me several times after that to sign me up, which made me all the more determined to refuse...

A couple of years later, he was in the newspaper, having been found guilty of over-x-raying people and advising them against vaccinations and chemotherapy and other medical misdemeanours. I would not rush to recommend you see a chiropractor...

Especially as my back got better on its own - no, not on its own - through embracing Dr Sarno's theories!

 

Similarly, @stayfit65 , I've spent years and £££ on massage which never did anything except allow me an hour to relax and chat to someone sympathetic. In my experience, every masseur comments that 'your muscles are tight', as @Miriam G. Bongiovanni says... Some of them were lovely people, but none of them made any difference whatsoever to my back...

(BTW I speed-read your question as 'could my MARRIAGE be making me more pain-sensitive'! And that, I believe, could be the case for some people! )

 

If folks are anything like me, after you recognize TMS in yourself and start your journey to recovery, you end up not spending much time on TMS forums reporting progress so I'll jump in here and say from my experience and research, everyone has a slightly different story with how they recover. For me, it was Sarno appearing at the exact right moment. Preparing required meditation and then hitting bottom and having that moment of surrender. I don't take much credit for this, something divine at work but it did require lots of work on my part to get to 100%.

Massage Therapists, Chiropractors, Physiotherapists, etc likely have good intentions but my opinion is there is a giant industry built to keep people in pain. No lasting healing found with these modalities.