No pain, no gain

No pain, no gain, or so the saying goes. There’s an underlying belief that we must first suffer before any rewards are seen. I don’t believe this to be true and I try to instil this in my clients. The same holds true for massage as it does for runners chasing a target.

Firstly, let’s look at pain. It’s a highly studied subject and at its simplest is a warning that something isn’t right. It’s far more complicated than that - sometimes our pain system goes wrong – indicating pain when there appears to be no physical reason for it (but don’t get me wrong, it’s real enough pain if you’re suffering from it). And then there’s each individual’s pain threshold or tolerance, which varies greatly from person to person. The overarching message from any research is that less pain is better for your body.

So why would you want to do something that causes additional pain? Perhaps you’ve been told that a good sports massage is going to hurt? Perhaps you assume that everyone who’s training hard is hurting? Both of these assumptions are untrue.

Sports massage/deep tissue massage/soft tissue therapy may feel a little uncomfortable for short periods whilst specific techniques are applied. This shouldn’t register anywhere near high on your pain scale and should ease as soon as hands are off. A higher level of pain does not indicate that the deeper tissues are being reached. The outcome of a massage is for you to feel less pain, not more. A period of pain free relaxation, may be what your body needs to reset or heal itself.

For runners, if your running is causing you pain (before, during or after your run) you need to stop, work out why and then go again with a training plan that suits you. Running on injured is not a badge of heroism – it’s well, something else! Rest and recovery are when you become a stronger runner. Yes, persevere through those hard training sessions, but make sure they are balanced with easy sessions, rest days and some cross training.

I think I’m going to rephrase things to “pain, no gain”. What do you think?

If you want information about the benefits of massage therapy, to book a massage, or help with creating a training plan that works for you, get in touch.