Pain after massage over spine
Posted , 3 users are following.
Made the stupid mistake of getting one of those 10 min for $10 massage deals at a crappy local mall... The lady was pretty rough and her "technique" included rubbing quite forcefully along the center of the back, or spine (she was Chinese, and I think that's just how they massage). Mine protrudes a bit and is generally pretty sensitive. I was very uncomfortable, but because I'm stupid, I didn't say anything. She also incorporated "chiropractic" cracking (without warning), and for some reason tried cracking me 3-4 times, even though I cracked just fine the first time. I guessed, it's 10 min, what's the worst that can happen.
Well today is the day after and the whole mid-back along the spine feels very achy and tender, like it's bruised, especially if I touch there. I haven't noticed any loss of mobility or otherwise any handicap, I don't have tingling down my arms, etc. I'm just wondering if 10 min of a bad massage can actually cause permanent (or any) damage, and if it can, would I have noticed it by now? I'm feeling some discomfort all the time, even when I'm not touching the spine, though sometimes I forget about it if I'm in a relaxed slouched seating position. Note that the neck bones don't hurt, the pain starts below the neck.
I think this has happened to me once before (again when I was in China), and that pain went away, but that was years ago. Hope to get some reassurance (I know my stupidity can't be helped; just worried about the spine for now).
Thanks all
0 likes, 3 replies
glenn06752 Guest
Posted
Hey Michael - not unusual at all to feel sore after a massage. In fact, very normal. The outermost parts of your muscles have been disturbed and tampered with. I recall getting a massage one time and could not move my head or neck for several days it was so painful. Not sure if she was in deep tissue massage or what. Personally, I can't believe she "cracked" your back in a chiropractic similarity and did all this in 10 minutes. Your body wasn't relaxed and generally muscles behave badly if you're dehydrated. Always a good idea to get and hydrated before a massage.
Since my run in with a situation like yours, I never went back for a massage and I have no intentions to. I do believe in 2 or 3 days your back will be fine. Hang in there. Stay away from those mall massage specials. I can imagine you were somewhat tense, somewhat dehydrated and the more she continued, the more you knew you were heading for problems.
Guest glenn06752
Posted
Thanks Glenn. I guess I should have stated at the outset that I'm not new to massage and that I get them regularly, and am somewhat of a massage junkie. I can take very deep pressure too, SO LONG AS it's not right on my spine. So, my question was specifically whether you think that vigorous pressure over the spine for a few minutes can be harmful, and if so, would I be having other symptoms by now except just feeling very sore over those several vertebrae... But you make good points that I was definitely not relaxed, not warmed up or prepped in any way, probably dehydrated, and all of that probably contributed to the pain. Thanks again
amkoffee Guest
Posted
We all do stupid things so don't knock yourself too much. It sounds like she probably bruised your back which is something you can heal from. I've never had an adjustment done on my back. And I'm referring to your back being cracked by her. I have heard though that you can be sore for a day or two after having an adjustment done. This all being said I would report her because I bet she is not a chiropractor and is not licensed to "crack" your back.