Clients come to my office all the time saying that they want their massage to get rid of all the knots in their shoulders. So, if an area has been sore for months or longer, will those knots go away after one session?
Let’s talk about it.
The truth is, sometimes ONE massage can give you relief. The truth is, I can’t promise to “fix” you or give you long lasting relief in just one session.
What do we mean when we say muscle knot?
Muscle knots are tight bands of constricted muscle fibers or small tender areas within a muscle. I can sometimes feel those tight bands in large muscles, like the glutes.
Other times, they can feel like Rice Krispies under my fingers. I feel those a lot of times around the shoulder blade. These knots are often sore when massaged.
If it took months for your pain to develop, give it more than 90 minutes to get long lasting relief
Many things have contributed to the pain you feel. It’s the way you sit at your desk. The way you tend to do the same motions over and over again.
It’s the way you look down at your phone. The way you sit in your car. And then you throw in general stress.
And it’s not just work. It’s your hobbies. Do you write? Play music? Do you sit in a weird position for hours on end reading your favorite books?
All of those things may contribute over time to muscle pain you are feeling. Think about this: a massage gives you an hour or 90 minutes of ironing out your muscles and relieves some pain and stress.
Then the rest of the week, you have over 166 hours doing all those repetitive motions.
“Just go Deeper” isn’t always the answer
Clients sometimes have the belief that massage has to feel super painful to be effective. I’ll often hear the phrase, “Don’t be afraid to really dig in there.” However, more pressure to a specific area isn’t always the answer. If an area is already painful, adding intense pain isn’t always helpful.
I always like to think I’m ironing out a muscle, andI often find I get an even better response with gliding cupping. A few minutes of gliding cupping to an area seems to be more effective than an elbow to a trigger point, and it tends to be less painful.
What CAN you expect after one massage?
After an hour of getting a massage, you can often feel less discomfort. You can feel less pain in certain areas, and it might be easier to move your shoulders or neck.
Many times you feel less stressed.
But what happens tomorrow? Or a week later? That all depends on what you’re doing the rest of the week.
Are you adding some self massage? Are you moving and doing exercises that were recommended by your physician or physical therapist?
Lasting improvement can take time.
Why I recommend more frequent massages at first
For long lasting relief, I often recommend coming in a few times a month. And for other people, I may recommend coming in once a week. (I’m looking at you frozen shoulder.)
Coming in more frequently is better than waiting until you’re at square one and feeling miserable again. As things improve your appointments can be spaced further apart.
Don’t Judge a Massage by a Knot Disappearing
Remember, the goal for a massage is to help you feel and move better, and seeing how things change after several sessions in a row, rather than hunting down every knot and making them go away before a timer goes off.
Expecting 100% muscle relief in one session is like going to the gym once and expecting it to undo six months of sitting at home binge watching Netflix.
