Massage thread

Swedish > Thai > shit > Shiatsu

I never even had a massage in my life before, so I wouldn't know.

They're great because I can get another human to touch me, it's not illegal, and it's part of their job to not be visibly disgusted by me.

srs question OP i've only ever gotten a thai massage. is swedish that much more elite? i'm getting a massage soon and i'm gonna get swedish instead of thai if that's the case

I'm a registered massage therapist in Ontario, ask away

I practice Swedish, sport and myofascial massage and neuro-muscular techniques. I work on huge hulking men to tiny bird like women and everyone in between.

how much for a happy ending?

how annoying is it to have everyone in your life ask if you can give them a massage sometime?

But to better answer your question, I can't say. It's really down to the massage therapist to influence your experience... Two practitioners of the same modality have difference touch, hand size, pace, flow, warmth, tissue engagement / verbal engagement.

Above all else, communicate what you want. I'm going to assume it's not a sex parlor and it's legit and above board... So that means talking about your bodily concerns and the areas to be treated. Then, they should describe how you will be draped and if any pillows will be beneath you (ankles and hips / under the knees), the techniques to be used, any risks to treatment based on patients presentation and techniques to be used.

Finally, after an opportunity to ask questions, a mention about consent should be made then they'll leave to wash their hands and arms while you strip to your comfort level.

What kind of massage helps my pinched nerve? I'm actually serious.

I don't do those, I'm a dude. Plus, there's more than enough money to be made helping people recover from shitty injuries than stroking shaft.

Boundaries, I've set them. That being said when I learn a new tech or want to review something, I have a bunch of people that will literally jump on my table.

Where is said pinched nerve, and how is it fucking up your life? (Specific actions, adl's)

read thread I linkied
I don't know *for sure* if it's a pinched nerve, but I've asked some people about my symptoms (sharp, electric pain up my quadricep when squatting low with light weight) and they assured me that's what it is.

A pinched nerve anywhere in the spine can cause pain anywhere else though, can't it?

ok a couple of serious questions. (thanks in advance)

How does one locate knots?

Any specific tips for shoulder/back/foot massages?

Any good resources/tips to become generally decent at giving massages?

Let's say you have a proximal branch of your brachial plexus entrapped by a really tight combination of scm and scalenes mid and posterior.

About 4 visits over two weeks with detailed neck work, stretches for muscles some hydrotherapy via heat or even paraffin wax and maybe maintenance visits once a month for 3 months.

It's doable. You don't have to be in pain, depending on your unique circumstances

Ok, I read your post, and your hunch about the back might be right.

Consider the layers of muscle in your back, the continuous sheaths of fascia from your legs into your back and how they might align through patterns of force to tie into one bundle of Multifidi. Or Rotatores.

Palpation would lead me better, and watching you move, especially through your squat motion would help further.

The curious thing is that you report the sensation as traveling up, rather than down. Is it always traveling up?

Locating them, at least in Ontario as criteria for trigger point therapy, requires satisfying 2 out of 4 requirements:
Is there a palpable knot within a taught band of muscle?
Is there referral pain?
Is there any local autonomic phenomena with pressure on said feature?
Is the spot itself painful?

That being said, there is a lot of controversy regarding knots, what forms them, what gets rid of them and all of that. I can only go by my own anecdotal evidence, using different techniques based on where the knot is and the focus of the treatment.

Look up how to stretch Levator Scapulae. Infact, anyone who uses a computer 3+ hours a day should do that right now.

How to give better massages? Good question.

Well, examine your reasons for wanting to do massage and then go from there. Do you want to massage your lover? Do you want to help your team mate recover? Do you want to help ease suffering and pain? Do you want to build a career out of touch?

It's a lot to go on, but I'll try my best.

Also, it's 4 am and I'm scheduled to be at work for 9am. I'll be back later today to answer any questions. Also, huge shout out to physios, chiros and naturalpaths.

>Do you want to massage your lover?
T-this.

But all good. Rest up, user

I'd share a video but I kind of don't want everybody to know how DYEL I am. I started feeling these symptoms before I even reached 2pl8 squat. If I went to a sports therapist, I don't know if squatting such light weight would make the therapist's diagnosis more or less accurate. For all he know they would wave it off as bad form though I'm certain bad form can't lead to the sensations I feel.

"Up the leg" might have been too specific. If anything (directionally) I feel it all at once, like a line of skin on my front thigh is being pinched really really hard, or like a row of needles. It doesn't just appear and disappear, it stays there until I come out of the hole. I appreciate that you seem to know your shit. Med student or something?

can you give me a massage durr hburr

This may be because your hips are so tight that they're compressing part of your sciatic nerve. My advice is to stretch out your anterior hips-- Lunge stretches, quad stretches, and to foam roll your quads.

Honestly, you could consider going to a Physical Therapist to see what's up. Massage bro is smart, but if you're in the U.S., therapists are less trained an may not be able to properly identify or help you.

I.e. If you go to places like Massage Envy, you may have a bad time. Really depends on the therapist you get, but if you have problems it's always good to ask around for someone who's well known for treatment-based therapy. Relaxation therapy is great, but Swedish doesn't solve everything.

I do a lot of Trigger Point Therapy in combination with really slow Deep Tissue. Knots can be tricky, though, as they release in different ways in different people. Some people's knots kind of crunch away, others are really slow, and the tissue kind of "melts."