I’m sure at some point in your life you’ve heard one of the many massage therapy misconceptions.
While I was working at the spa, one of my regular clients came to me pretty upset. She was pregnant and wanted a foot scrub add-on since her feet were sore.
She told me that the front desk girl said she was unable to receive one. I was baffled as to why she said this. Apparently, they were instructed to not allow foot scrub services to pregnant women because of the belief that pregnant women can’t have their feet massaged.
After talking with the front desk girl — and then reassuring my client that all would be well if she got a foot scrub — she left a very happy pregnant lady.
This instance, however, really made me wonder what other topics were our front desk workers — and other people without massage training — misinformed about??
So here are a few of the biggest myths surrounding the massage therapy industry that I have come across in my practice.
1. Pregnant women can’t be massaged — more specifically their feet
This is so incredibly FALSE! Actually, one of the best things for pregnant women is massage therapy.
Origins of this Myth:
- Reflexology is a massage practice that focuses on pressure points in your feet, hands, and ears
- Each pressure point has an invisible pathway that links it to other body parts along these paths
- Certain spots on your ankle are said to stimulate uterus contractions. While this is fine in late pregnancy (38+ weeks), it can lead to miscarriage early on in pregnancy.
**Side note: when doing reflexology you must apply heavy, targeted pressure to one area at a time. A normal foot massage should not achieve this end result. **
Some positive effects of prenatal massage are
- Relaxation — especially if your hormones have you feeling crazy
- Better sleep if you’re suffering from
- insomnia
- weird dreams
- unable to get comfortable when trying to sleep
- Back and hip pain relief
- Reduces normal pregnancy swelling in the hands and feet
- Bonding for mommy and baby❤️
So by all means, my pregnant friends, go right ahead and schedule a massage with a prenatal therapist whenever you need it.
What to Expect From Your Prenatal Massage Appointment
Make sure when you schedule your appointment that you request a prenatal massage.
Not all massage therapists are trained to do this type of massage and may be unaware of the different precautions that need to be taken.
Most of the time you will be laying on your sides or you will be bolstered with special pregnancy bolsters.
Some businesses that offer massage therapy will not massage you until you’ve completed your first trimester. Since this myth is quite common, they don’t want to be the source of blame if a mother does happen to miscarry.
Correctly done massage doesn’t cause miscarriage, but when it does happen a mother will try to find what caused her debilitating grief.
2. Deep Tissue Massage is supposed to hurt to be effective.
Oh, my word. This really bothers me when my clients tell me, “go as deep as you need to, I know it will help even if it hurts really bad.” NO!!
Deep massage is needed in certain areas, however, just like any other part of the medical field, our number one rule is, “do no harm“.
I have met people who are deathly afraid of massage therapists because they went to a therapist that believed they needed to be elbow deep the entire session. This is not how it works.
You will feel some spots of discomfort, where you can tell your muscles are tight, however, it shouldn’t make you jump off the table yelling in pain.
The “breathe through the pain” slogan is necessary for some techniques (like trigger point therapy) and releases for sure, but it should never be an awful pain that you can’t tolerate.
Deep breathing has been scientifically proven to reduce pain during labor. If it can reduce pain to the point of not needing medical intervention during labor, it will definitely help you during a massage.
What to Expect From Your Massage Appointment
IF YOU ARE IN PAIN DURING YOUR MASSAGE, SPEAK UP! We are in tune with your body but only to an extent.
We are not mind-readers. So if something doesn’t feel right, please let us know. We are here to help relieve your pain and make you feel better, not worse.
Some therapists really do believe you need it, but if it isn’t the type of massage you want, look for another therapist. Your massage shouldn’t be an awful, terrible, make you more uptight experience.
3. Massage can spread cancer.
Thankfully, this is not true.
Although there are some contraindications for a massage with certain cancer treatments (i.e. radiation), you can certainly get massaged in this stressful time of your life!
Do some research and find a massage therapist that is trained in oncology massage. They may be a little pricier, however, it will be worth it.
Cancer massage can help you to deal with a lot of the symptoms of chemotherapy and cancer. If you are experiencing anxiety, abnormal heart rate, blood pressure, or coritsol levels massage can help.
In a world with so many suffering from this terrible disease, at least the world can still benefit from the healing touch of massage.
4. Massage is only for relaxation.
Most of my clients tell me when they leave work to come by the chiropractic office for their weekly massage that co-workers say, “well that must be nice.”
I am a sports/therapeutic focused therapist so I can tell you now that my clients are not receiving the relaxing, fluffy massages most think of at the term “massage”.
There are a ton of different massage modalities – ones you probably wouldn’t even think exist.
Some of the more common types of massage available to you include:
- Swedish (your relaxing massage)
- Deep Tissue
- Reflexology
- Thai
- Sports
- Therapeutic
- Medical
- Cupping
- Energy work
With all the different massage types out there, you should definitely try one you’ve never had before. You’ll never know what your favorite is until you try!
5. If my back hurts, only my back should be massaged.
This is a huge misconception. When I worked in a spa setting, clients would complain about my massages because the client would complain about their shoulders hurting and I would work on more than just their shoulder area.
Most times when you have an area of tightness and pain — that wasn’t caused by an injury — typically, the rule of thumb is that the pain is being caused by the opposite area.
So if your shoulders are bothering you, most of the time your chest muscles are tight.
Most people work at a computer and drive a car to work. Having your arms out in front of you — like both of these actions make you do — shortens your chest muscles and stretches out your upper back muscles.
Notice the lovely man in the photo above. This is the exact position that causes the pain people usually have in their shoulders. His back is overstretched and his chest is caving in because the muscles are too tight.
This is why the shoulder muscles become irritated and uncomfortable. Doing stretches for your chest and strengthening exercises for your back muscles will help to relieve this pain.
The same positions we are in for the majority of the day make your glute (booty) muscles and hamstrings (back of your upper leg) shortened. When these muscles get overly tight they pull on your pelvic bones and cause that tight pain in your lower back.
Remember, your whole body is connected and when certain parts have issues, it could be coming from somewhere totally different. Some shoulder issues are because of hip imbalance.
Always let your massage therapist, chiropractor or doctor know of any previous injuries even if they may not seem relevant, because they very well may be connected.
Wholeistically You 