There are times when I get a new client and they tell me that they have gone for massages but they never last for a long time.
There can be several reasons why a client doesn't receive lasting results. One reason may be that your pain is being caused by a bone being out of alignment. In this case, you may need to see a chiropractor for an adjustment. If the massage therapist is using techniques that are ineffective, then you won't receive long term relief either.
When I receive calls from new clients that state their back hurts and the massage only lasted a short time, I ask if they ever had the front of their body massaged. The response is usually, "No, because my back hurts!" This is when I explain how one part of their body can cause problems in another part.
In the case of upper back pain, those issues are usually caused by the front of your body right below the clavicle in the pectoralis muscles or 'pecs' for short. When tight, they cause you to round your shoulders and over-extend the upper back making that area hurt. This is caused by driving a lot, computer work, reading and any activity that causes your arms to be in front of your body a lot. Some people even get headaches from this area being tight. By loosening the muscles in the front, and strengthening the back area, the muscles go back in place and you usually no longer have upper back pain.
If you have pain in the lower back, there are 2 areas that I check. One is the sacral tuberous ligament that is between the tailbone and the 'sits' bone. If tight, it causes your hip to be higher on that side causing you to walk unevenly. This can be caused by athletes that run or cycle on the street, assembly workers or any type of position that has you keep one leg higher than the other.
The issues with running or cycling is that if done on the street, the road curves downward to allow water to run off. The athlete needs to stay to the right for traffic and in order to be upright they will tilt their body slightly to adapt to the curve. This will cause one hip to be a little higher than the other side.
The other area I check are the illiopsoas muscles that are located in the front near the hip. This can be get tight from prolonged sitting, cycling or even if you bend over a lot. If tight, it causes your hips to tilt forward putting undue tension in the low back area. In addition, it will also cause your thighs and calves to be tight in order to keep your body upright since the forward tilt in your hip is putting your body out of balance. To compensate for this imbalance, your body will use your muscles to keep you upright when your bones should be supprting your body instead. So if your legs or feet hurt it may be stemming from your hips. Once that area is released, the person stands upright and their low back usually no longer bothers them.
If you have any of these issues, make sure you have your massage therapist work in these areas. Otherwise, they will continue to stay tight and within a short time after your session these areas will again pull your body into the areas of tightness creating pain once again and keeping you in a cycle of pain to temporary relief back to pain again.
Barbara P. Gaudio, LMT, CH is a massage therapist that is located in East Haddam, CT. For more information on services offered please visit her website at www.HealAtShunyata.com. For appointments or gift certificates call: 860.526.1111 or email: Barbara@HealAtShunyata.com.
