Should a massage hurt?

Should a  massage hurt? The short answer is no. The maximum discomfort you should ever experience is “hurts so good.”

Whether you are receiving a deep tissue massage or a Swedish, the experience should feel good. What kind of sensations should you expect within a massage session? Generally, there are five types of sensation: “Meh,” “hurts so good,” “rewarding,” pleasurable, and painful. 

If this is your first massage or you’ve ever felt discomfort during a session, this guide is for you. Understanding how a massage should feel will enhance the pleasure and benefit of your session. Anytime you feel uncomfortable, communicate it with your therapist. They want you to feel safe and comfortable throughout your massage.

What can you expect to learn from this guide?  

• You will know the five general sensations of a therapeutic massage.
• You will have a basic understanding of the pain system.
• You will know how to more effectively communicate with your massage therapist. 

Pleasurable: The first sensation is pleasurable. I doubt I need to explain how pleasure feels, but it is crucial to know that a therapeutic massage should be platonic and professional.

Meh: The ‘Meh’ sensation is a neutral feeling, neither pleasurable nor painful,

Hurt so good: “Hurts so good” is a phenomenon that arises when pain is pleasurable.

The “hurts so good” sensation feels like a bundle of pain slowly releasing. This sensation may be why we use “knot” to describe an area of discomfort. Massaging a knot feels like someone is detangling our pain. Though it is uncomfortable, we endure it because we sense it is helping.

An important note is that your therapist most likely won’t know if you are experiencing pleasurable pain or pain. Like all sensations, pain is subjective; your therapist needs your input. Let them know when it is painful or when it “hurts so good.”

Rewarding: Of all the sensations, “rewarding” is the most interesting. It can “hurt so good,” be pleasurable, or feel “meh.” When you experience a rewarding sensation, it feels like a technique is accomplishing something. You will identify it when you sense it is “doing something.”

Pain: When you feel pain, or say “Ouch, that hurts!” it means your therapist is using too much pressure. A massage, even a deep-tissue one, should never cause pain.

The goal of a massage is to help you feel good and to retrain your brain’s perception of touch and movement. Fortunately, those two goals work together. If you are lying on the table writhing in pain this will not improve your day. Every second of the session should elevate your mood and encourage you toward a state of peace and ease.

Understanding that all pain originates in the central nervous system, specifically the brain, helps us take control of our pain management.

The brain’s ability to interpret nerve signals as pain is not a fixed condition. It can be trained to interpret fewer signals as pain, and this is where massage plays a crucial role. By providing the brain with positive stimuli in the form of pleasure, we can interrupt the negative feedback loop and convince the brain that it doesn’t need to create pain in the first place.

The brain creates pain to protect us. Since most pain is a preventative method to avoid injury, the brain causes us to hurt because it loves us. In many respects, persistent and chronic pain is a helicopter parent trying to prevent us from injuring ourselves.

To solve this problem, we need to prove to our overprotective parent that we are responsible and safe. This can be done by gradually increasing physical activity, maintaining a healthy diet, and managing stress effectively. This is essential if we want to avoid hurting every day.

Communicate with your therapist whether you get a massage to manage pain or relax. If it hurts, tell them. If it “hurts so good,” let them know. Inform them when their techniques feel effective and ineffective. Your therapist wants to help you feel heavenly. Help them guide you toward living your best life by sharing how your massage experience feels with them. Trust me, when you do, it will improve the results of your massage.