Author: Vivienne

In an article published by Science direct, about massage, the research showed promising results for the reduction of pain particularly in the areas of lower back pain, carpel tunnel syndrome and fibromyalgia: For the full article see Science direct:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1360859208000090

After working for 19 years as a massage therapist working to resolve pain, I know that massage therapy can help to relieve pain, though it is nice to see it confirmed in a scientific article.

Pain is often caused by trigger points which are areas of the muscle where the fibres have got stuck together. Sometimes limiting movement and often resulting in  pain that can be debilitating.

Common areas of pain that I have worked on and are often the result of trigger points are:

• Headaches and migraines
• Lower back pain
• Shoulder pain or frozen shoulder
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Knee pain
• Hip pain
• Sciatica

The funny thing with trigger points is that the pain can often be referred from a trigger point in a different area. So massaging where it hurts won’t always get rid of the pain. Examples of this are:

• A trigger point in the calf muscle (Gastrocnemius can cause lower back pain ( this one is quite rare)
• Trigger points in the jaw muscle (Masseter) can give you tooth ache
• Trigger points in the upper shoulder muscle (Trapezius) can cause headaches and migraines
• Trigger points in the quad muscle (Vastus Lateralis) will give you hip pain

I’ve had clients arrive on crutches taking pain killers and 3 massages later, no crutches and no pain killers. As in the study a few massages will be needed to fully resolve the pain. And I work within your pain threshold to make the massage as comfortable as possible. Seeing how you are after each massage and only booking the next one if you require it.

Massage can help with pain.