“I wish I had known sooner that massage could help with my pain.”

For many of us, we just don’t think of massage therapy when we’re in pain. But in my experience, it’s exactly what we should think when we’re seeking relief we can’t find anywhere else.

Whether my first session with a particular client, or my tenth, I approach each massage with an open and exploratory mindset — because every body is truly different, and even the same person’s body is different between sessions.

With this in mind, below I explain common patterns I have noticed in my over 10 years of practicing massage therapy — it’s a starting point of how I approach each of these issues, but individual sessions will vary.

Massage Therapy - with a practitioner who knows what they are doing - can often help with:

• headaches, migraines

  • Often I find there is tension in the scalp, around the ears, and down into the shoulders that can contribute to certain types of headaches. Most clients feel a difference in intensity and/or frequency of headaches after just one session, which illustrates massage’s potential effectiveness in treating them.

• neck pain, tech neck

  • I commonly find enormous tension in the scalp, around the ears, and in the palms that contribute to a tight neck — as is true for nearly any massage, often the site of the problem is not where the root is. Then, posture and strengthening of course can play a role. I discuss self-care on an individual basis following each appointment.

• low back pain

  • Most commonly I see low back pain is from muscle weakness combined with tight muscles and/or fascia. I typically recommend exercising when the tissues are already loose, and so massage can be an excellent place to start before strengthening, so you are getting the most out of your exercise routine.

• sciatica

  • There are two main causes of sciatica, and ideally you would rule out with a scan from your doctor that the sciatica is originating at the spine — the type that I most commonly work with originates in the tissue at the hip, and is a result of nerve entrapment in that area. In other words, tight muscle and/or fascia pressing on a nerve that is giving you that pain signal that runs down the leg.

• frozen shoulder

  • My clients tell me my style of addressing the shoulder is unique; and I would say this area is probably my favorite to address. There is a lot of complexity here, and it requires both detailed and thorough work to all of the muscles and fascia (connective tissue) in this area to bring shoulder movement back. Sometimes, tension has even traveled as far as the hips and is not allowing the shoulder to budge. So, I trace the tension I’m feeling in real-time, to get to the root of the issue.

• knee pain

  • While massage therapists do not deal with the joint itself, sometimes knee pain is not from the knee itself, but from the soft tissue (muscles, fascia) surrounding it. I have seen many such cases where unexplained/unspecified knee pain kept clients from hobbies or daily activities for months or years; and following targeted myofascial release massage, they were back to doing what they loved, pain-free.

• plantar fasciitis

  • Treatment protocols often overlook tension in between the toes, and for anyone who has tried to self-rehab plantar fasciitis themselves at home without success, this area may be the missing key. While the most common area to feel pain is at the heel, I find the fascia (like in “fasciitis”) is being pulled from the toes (or also the calves, but that is more commonly discussed than the toes). And when the fascia is being pulled, it is less likely to release fully, keeping you stuck with that heel pain. So, I address the whole foot, ankle, and up into the leg as necessary.

• reduced mobility

  • Tension in the muscle and/or fascia (connective tissue) can cause reduced mobility, a feeling of tightness or restriction, general aches/pains, sensitivity to touch (more a fascia issue I find, than muscle)… Therapeutic massage with a knowledgeable therapist will address the root cause of tension causing your decrease in mobility.

• pain with movement

  • While massage therapists do not address the inner workings of the joints, certain pains with movement can be addressed with massage therapy, and would be caused by something like tight soft tissue pulling in an area.

• neck crick

  • A very simple and effective treatment when caught early (most need only one session, some need two), I focus on myofascial release around the base of the neck and into the shoulder to gently relieve any tension on the affected tissues, before it becomes more painful or a larger/longer-term problem.

• unidentified chronic pain

  • While not always the case, I have had multiple clients with “mystery pains”, which went away when we addressed tight fascia (connective tissue that is in multiple layers, covering the body from head to toe). Releasing the fascia around areas of chronic pain — not only at the direct site itself — is often the primary focus in my sessions, with great results.

• and more…