Pain Management Massage Methods

Pain management massage is a results-focused treatment. It uses a variety of methods to help provide targeted relief from muscle tension and persistent pain, and to enhance your quality of life.

  • Contrast Therapy: Contrast treatment is a method of applying hot and cold sensations to the body. This may be used to reduce hypersensitivity, muscle soreness, and inflammation.
  • Enveloping: Enveloping is the process of using three or more layering techniques on a specific area.
  • Layering: Layering is the process of applying a technique on the same muscle from varying directions and positions, so that it experiences comfort and pain relief in all muscle states. The goal is to encourage a positive feedback loop of stimulation, safety, and pleasure.
  • Medical Massage: Medical massage denotes that the techniques used in the session are outcome-focused, intentional, and informed by modern scientific principles.
  • Muscle Isolation: Muscles are massaged from origin to insertion points to maximize pain relief and improve range of motion.
  • Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE): In addition to experiencing an amazing massage, you will learn about pain science. This will help you self-regulate, understand how pain works, and have a healthy relationship with your pain system.
  • Precise and Broad Massage Techniques: Using precise and broad massage techniques helps reduce the perception of repetitiveness, which encourages improved comfort, reduced stress, and tactile awareness.

Pain Management Techniques

In your pain management massage, any number of techniques and approaches may be used. The following bullet points are a few examples of how your massage therapy session may be customized. These aren’t add-ons; they are resources your therapist has access to to provide you with the pain relief you seek.

  • Classic Massage Techniques of Johan Mezger: These massage techniques include effleurage, petrissage, friction, tapotement, and vibration.
  • Cross-fiber Friction (fricto): Cross-fiber friction is akin to sanding wood against the grain. Using light to firm pressure, this technique presses into the soft tissues, moving back and forth along a line, perpendicular to a muscle’s fibers. In pain management massage, it is often used to help retrain neurotags, reduce pain and stiffness, and increase the pliability of scar tissue. Additional uses may include reducing excessive motor neuron excitability, spasms, stiffness, and fatigue. Learn More About Cross-fiber Friction.
  • Cupping: Cupping uses vacuum cups to create negative pressure, which pulls on the soft tissues to encourage pain relief, calm trigger points, and reduce muscle tension. Cupping often leaves superficial bruises that fade in 7-10 days. Cupping is a great way to create sensory variety, which may help improve range of motion, encourage micro-stretching similar to myofascial release, and revitalize fatigued muscles.
  • Cold Stone Massage: Cold stones are frozen basalt stones that are used as an extension of your therapist’s techniques. They may help reduce hypersensitivity, inflammation, and tickling. Pain management massage often uses hot and cold stones during contrast therapy.
  • Hot Stone Massage: Hot stones are heated basalt stones that are always held in your therapist’s hand when they are applied to your skin. Just like cold stones, hot stones are an extension of your therapist’s technique. The pleasure of a hot stone is exquisite and is sure to reduce your stress and anxiety levels quickly. Additionally, they may help reduce inflammation, help increase range of motion, and alleviate pain.
  • Ice Massage: Ice massage is always used in conjunction with cold stones. The cold stones are applied first to help your body acclimate to the cold. Once your skin has been adequately prepared, your therapist will use ice to massage your muscles. This may help reduce inflammation, muscle tension, calm hyper-irritable nerves, reduce tickling, and numb pain.
  • Myofascial Release (MFR): Myofascial release is a dry technique, meaning it does not use oil or lubricant. MFR may be performed with static or dynamic pressure; this means the method may glide slowly across the body or remain in a fixed position. It is a neuromuscular approach that applies gentle, sustained pressure to alleviate trigger points, reduce muscle tension, and increase range of motion. Many people say this technique feels like thousands of micro-stretches within their muscles, and are often impressed by its effectiveness.
  • Towel massage: Towel massage allows for an alternate type of grip that changes the sensation of petrissage, friction, and effleurage. Sometimes, a towel massage is used to perform MFR-like techniques to encourage micro-stretching within the muscles. It is also used to remove excess oil from your skin.
  • Trigger Point Therapy: Trigger point therapy is used to provide relief to specific areas of pain known as trigger points (TP). Trigger points often refer sensations to other areas of the body when touched. If this happens, notify your therapist. These sensations are little clues that help unravel the mystery of your discomfort.