Tight muscles, strains and stress can have many different causes and symptoms, but they can all cause pain. Whether this is a mild discomfort or severe enough to prevent you sleeping or doing everyday tasks. A pain relief massage can have an immediate effect even if the original issue is not muscle related.
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How Does A Pain Relief Massage Work
Your muscles and tendons are in use whether you are sitting at a desk or having a workout. And although lifting weights is more likely to result in a strain or injury, all can cause problems. Sitting, especially for long periods, shortens your hamstrings, calves and the muscles at the top of your legs. It also affects your lower back, neck and shoulders, especially if you have a lot of stress. This can also result in issues with your posture that leave you prone to tight muscles and knots. Or it could come over time from the same repetitive movements leaving you with painful inflammation. If left untreated you could develop chronic aches, pains, strains and even trapped nerves.
A pain relief massage works by relaxing tight muscles and easing areas of tension, which all helps to reduce inflammation(1). But very often the original issue can be elsewhere, which is why improper treatment can have only limited or temporary benefits. So let’s look at some common complaints and how they can be helped by a pain relief massage.
Pain Relief Massage For Lower Back And Sciatica
Although lower back pain and sciatica are not necessarily the same thing, they usually have similar causes. One of them is a slipped disc, which should always be initially dealt with by a visit to your doctor. By lifting something too heavy with improper form, you may have strained your back, leading to this pain, especially if you relied on bending at the waist instead of engaging your legs and core. Or it might have come on due to poor posture, weakened muscles or a muscle imbalance.
A pain relief massage for your lower back would focus on releasing tension in the muscles that run along either side of your spine. Also, your glutes are a common but often overlooked area of tension that often causes lower back pain and sciatica. Click for more on sciatica and lower back pain
Pain Relief Massage For Neck And Shoulders
There are two common causes of neck and shoulder pain. The first is poor posture from looking down at a screen or phone, especially while seated. This puts your entire spine in an unnatural position, lengthening and weakening your trapezius and the muscles of your neck. The trapezius muscle extends across to your shoulders and down past your shoulder blades, where it can also cause pain. If you are sitting while watching TV or looking up at a computer monitor, this shortens the muscles instead. The result is usually pain, stiffness or knots, and it can even lead to headaches or migraines.
The other common cause of neck and shoulder pain is stress or anxiety. This can cause you to shrug your shoulders, clench your jaw or grind your teeth. Many people have this along with poor posture, which can lead to a lot of pain that causes headaches, migraines and poor sleep.
A pain relief massage for your neck and shoulders would do three things. The first is reducing the inflammation in the weakened muscles so that they can have proper strength and function. The second is to relax tight muscles to prevent pain and lengthen them so you can regain good posture. Third, a massage would help to release tension that has built up from stress and anxiety. Click for more on neck and shoulder massage
Pain Relief Massage For Buttocks
If you have pain in your buttocks, also known as your glutes, it can often lead to pain elsewhere. This is because the buttocks are actually 3 different muscles known as the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. These three muscles work together to lift your torso after bending forward at the waist. Walking, especially uphill, and jogging can lead to tight muscles, inflammation and even knots in your buttocks. But if you spend a lot of time sitting down they become shortened and weak due to the position you are in. This means that they have to work harder just to do their job, so other muscles have to assist them. This means you might also have lower back pain, pain in your hips or pain in your hamstrings.
A pain relief massage for your buttocks (glutes) would initially work to release any tight areas, knots and inflammation. As well as helping to lengthen shortened muscles. Should there be tension in deeper muscles, I can also target the piriformis muscle located beneath your glutes. Click for more on glute massage
Pain Relief Massage For Calves
Limited flexibility in your calf muscles, particularly the gastrocnemius and soleus, is a common cause of calf pain. These are at the back of your lower leg and can become tight and sore even from a sedentary lifestyle. Long periods sitting down puts your calves in a shortened position which can lead to pain in your feet. Ill-fitting or unsupportive footwear can also be a contributing factor. Exercise, running or walking uphill can make things worse and result in knots, inflammation or even strains. Issues that cause calf pain can also affect your walking action which can lead to developing pain in your shins. If left untreated this could go on to cause shin splints which can be a chronic and painful condition.
A pain relief massage for calves would initially focus on reducing inflammation and increasing flexibility. Plus it is likely that you have areas of greater tension or even knots that are causing pain, which could also be the source of any ankle or knee pain you might be having. This would also help to relieve any shin pain or pain in your feet. Click for more on calf massage
Summary Of Pain Relief Massage
With the right treatment, any muscle can benefit from a pain relief massage, not just those mentioned. And although it might have started with a slipped disc or even a broken bone, the tissue around it could have become tight and inflamed. Treatment by a massage therapist can reduce pain and help you sleep and enjoy the things you used to.
Book A Mobile Massage
If you would like to book a mobile massage in York please contact me on 07713 250352 or email david@massageinyork.co.uk. Includes sports massage, deep tissue massage and Swedish massage. For more information on booking click here