Therapeutic Massage
Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Therapeutic techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or devices like cups or trigger point tools. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain.
Muscles naturally react to any sort of pain. When your muscles feel that your body is about to be injured the reflex to deflect the pain is stimulated. If your massage therapist is ever applying too much pressure, your muscles tighten together to naturally counterattack the force, and that is not a great way to relax or achieve results. That is why we work on a pain scale: 0 (no pain) to 10 (painful), we do not want to go over an 8 (where you cross the uncomfortable line). Pain and discomfort are two different things. People usually describe the discomfort as a “good hurt” - especially in reference to getting a massage. When you experience pain during a massage, it is more than discomfort and could even cause bruising or injury.
Everybody has different tolerances for pain, so a massage that is painful for one person may not be painful for you. If you find that your massage therapist isn’t working between your tolerance levels for pain, then it’s important that you say something. Massages should never cause you physical pain to achieve your desired results.