Does massage actually help

Helps me get laid

team Unruly Bush wrote:

Helps me get laid

It's not "getting laid" if you paid for it.

down south wrote:

team Unruly Bush wrote:

Helps me get laid

It's not "getting laid" if you paid for it.

She didn't pay.

I am a pregnant woman. i need suggestions about massage therapy. can i use massage during pregnancy?

Ask DeSHAUN WATSON, he should be an expert in different massage techniques.

I use own massage myself for 2 purposes:

1. I have had some small calf strains and have used massage to loosen up the cramped part, both directly to the "knot" and generally to make the whole muscle relax. It helps immediately

2. I use general massage to any muscles that seems tight to prevent strains. It helps relax them. I have stopped possible achilles pain by releasing any muscle tensions.

So I think massage used right, targeted tense muscles help them relax and prevent further problems and injuries. If I am sore, I don't really use anything than rest, but often I am both sore AND tense and then I release tension and wait for the soreness to go away over time.

I usually get a general massage once every two weeks just to relax those tense muscles (OR even just go for a week off). But lately, those massage guns have been doing the trick for me.

I foam roll 7 days a week and think it's beneficial for maintenance and feeling good, but I don't think massaging injuries works and is likely counterproductive.

Actually, today, a calf pain I had some weeks ago returned after some faster running. It is not a strain, but some strange tenderness. It comes probably from a lot of cycling and running combined. I massaged the calf and it went straight away. I ran 30min this evening. Massaged it slightly before, felt a tiny bit , but it dissapeared during the run. I think massage can sometimes be helpful.

Jon Arne Glomsrud wrote:

Actually, today, a calf pain I had some weeks ago returned after some faster running. It is not a strain, but some strange tenderness. It comes probably from a lot of cycling and running combined. I massaged the calf and it went straight away. I ran 30min this evening. Massaged it slightly before, felt a tiny bit , but it dissapeared during the run. I think massage can sometimes be helpful.

Actually, massage would just give limited help with this problem. it turned out to be stuck fibula calf bone (the thin on the outside of the leg). It got stuck by cycling (I know since I stuck the left foot last year and got crazy knee pain until I losened it up, but this time and the right leg, it was very different symptoms and it was stuck more at the ankle side than the knee side). This time it just gave pain in the calf. So I stretched and gave it a heavy pushing to remove the stuck-ness. It dissapered in one day while I had double workouts.

So stuck fibula is a thing.

I've given many thousands of massages in my ten years as a football trainer.

It's difficult to test the efficacy, because massage feels good (mostly) and the treatment can't be blinded. Therefore anecdotal evidence is the best we can get.

I've seen many, many players hobble off the field with cramps, receive massage treatment and run back on five minutes later. I've seen as many players demand massage to treat blunt force bruising, having been informed the massage is contraindicated and will lengthen recovery time. But, having made their informed decision, back on they go five minutes later, function essentially completely restored.

My own theory is this. If we see the vascular system as a closed system, massage in the therapeutic sports context creates a localised area of hypercirculation. Blood and interstitial fluid is not only pushed out of the area being massaged, it is drawn in behind as well. This explains my own observations with acute treatment of haematoma, the alleviation of cramp which I've seen time and time again and also the loosening up of sore players before undertaking warmup. In that context massage is like a warmup where the player doesn't have to move. It dilates blood vessels manually, for want of a better term.

Messed up Calf wrote:

So apparently I have some kind of soft tissue injury (inflammation). It gets a bit better everyday but it is impossibly stiff to run on. Anyway I’m considering getting a massage but does it actually help? Has anyone ever had an injury go away from massage or is massage mainly just prevention ?

Nope. But it feels good.

Beyond just "feeling good" and possibly improving circulation as others have mentioned, certain types of manual therapy likely result in a temporary (hours to days) perceived "loosening" of soft tissue structures via their affects on the golgi tendon organ/myotendinous junction. This is probably the main underlying mechanism behind foam rolling, too.

I'm a fan of manual therapies for certain conditions. It's worth trying a little to see if it helps.

Worth noting that calf "strains" and other muscle strains usually represent low-grade tears in the muscle tissue, so time is the best medicine to allow it to heal. Goal is usually to achieve pain-free range of motion before re-introducing sport and exercise.

Good luck.