Before I became a massage therapist, I knew little about massage in general, yet alone self-massage. Massaging myself when I was sore and achy never even crossed my mind.
When I entered massage school, I was still largely ignorant about massage and selfmassage. As I learned about and read about massage, I started to wonder why this hadn't been part of my life earlier. Massage helps treat so many conditions in a safe way. Why didn't more people use it?
In school we also learned about some self-massage techniques, but these instances of learning were limited. There was no specific class dedicated to learning selfmassage. If an instructor happened to think of something, she would mention it in passing, but this information was never emphasized.
When I started my own massage practice. I had a few clients who complained that they couldn't afford to get massage as often as they wanted. Some of these clients had conditions that were not getting better because they could only afford to get massaged once every couple weeks.
I can remember one woman in particular who had recurring low back pain as a result of tension in her piriformis muscle. This is a small muscle that is under your glutes. It is often a contributor to low back pain. Here's a picture of
the piriformis. The yellow thing running under it is the sciatic nerve. The piriformis can press on the sciatic nerve and sciatica.
This woman wanted to get massaged more regularly than she did but she was older and on a fixed income. She couldn't afford to get any more massages in a month than she already did. She said that felt better for a few days after her massage, but by the end of the week her pain would start to come back.
One day after her massage session, I taught her some simple self-massage techniques to help her lower back. One was a way to do positional release on her piriformis by laying on the floor and letting a chair support her bent leg. To be honest, at the time I still didn't have very much experience as a therapist and what I told her I kind of made up. It was based on my knowledge about muscles and massage techniques, but it wasn't a self-massage technique I had learned anywhere.
When she returned for her massage session a few weeks later, she was delighted. She told me that she'd done the things I'd suggested and that her low back pain hadn't returned. I was pleasantly surprised.
After that incident, I started experimenting with self-massage and teaching my clients the things I learned. The more results I saw, the more encouraged I was to keep learning and sharing my knowledge with others.
I think massage is a great way to facilitate healing. I also think that we need to take responsibility for our health. Getting to know your body and how it works is part of that responsibility. When you are aware of your body and taking an active role in your healing, you'll heal faster and be healthier in general.
Most people do some self-massage naturally. What is one of your first instincts when you have a bad headache? You rub your temples, right? When their neck or shoulders ache most people grab them.
Before you slump down in your chair defeated because I'm giving you one more thing to do in your already hectic day, hear me out. This isn't a chore. It's not one more thing to cram into your already packed schedule, something else to check from your to-do list. This is a way to keep your skin and muscles healthy while easing
stress and pampering yourself.Besides decreasing your stress, self-massage helps increase circulation, reduces blood pressure, andreduces muscle pain and tension. It can be useful in managing fibromyalgia, headaches, arthritis, depression, insomnia, andchronic fatigue. Self-massage also helpsincrease self-esteem andbody acceptance.
Self-massage can also help you become more familiar with your body. When something is wrong you'll notice it more quickly and will be able to pinpoint what is wrong more easily. The better you know your muscles, the better you'll get at massaging away your own aches and pains.
Let's take a look at three forms of self-massage. Each is different and one might suit your lifestyle more than the others. Whatever suits your lifestyle, I recommend making one or all of these methods of self-massage part of your health care routine.