Is massage really necessary?

I did a search and couldn’t find what I was looking for. Sorry if this has been debated before. I have had periods where I go for 12 months with no massage, and I have had periods where I have one every 2 weeks for a year. To be honest I have no idea if they help or not. I did not seem to get more injuries when I didn’t go. The reason I am asking this is because I pulled a hamstring 2 months ago and thought I had recovered from it. Went to get a deep massage twice after pulling the hamstring, each time complaining of a tight hamstring and a niggling pain in my knee tendon. Therapist didn’t seem worried and suggested to keep on training. I now have tendonitis in my knee and am off training for 3 weeks. I was a bit pissed off that the therapist didn’t pick up on the injury. So now I’m thinking of changing therapists or an even more economical option of buying a foam roller and stretching plenty.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Will

never had one in my life and I am ok at 32 years old.
massage therapists aren’t going to be able to diagnose injuries. even doctors have a hard time with that.

I have never gotten a message, ever.

Necessary? Nope.

Helpful? I’ll suggest “yup”.

The health/recovery benefits are written about in many places. You can do some empiracle research on that through a web search.

A less empiracle benefit is that it makes you feel good on a physical and even emotional level. Training is hard, you have to “push” yourself through discomfort and repeat mental scripts about being tough and enduring. That is fatiguing.

Massage, for some people, is a chance to mentally and emotionally go in the opposite direction. You simply turn to goo. There are different types of massage obviously, and some require physical effort on the part of the participant such as A.R.T. These types of massage almost lapse into a gray area between massage and physical therapy. But a massage where the athlete is passive and relaxing helps facilitate mental and physical recovery. Massage may also teach you how to relax more actively- or relax more “on purpose” or “on command”.

If you see the interaction between people like Greg LeMond and Otto Jacome, his “soigneur” or “keeper”- the fellow who perfromed his massage, you saw a very personal relationship. LeMond, as with many riders and their soigneurs, would confide in Jacome. The rider wears a mask of strength on the bike, but on the massage table, alone with the soigneur, it was not unusual for the tears to flow. A good massage therapist can also be a good confidante.

Do you need massage? No. Is it beneficial on a physical and mental level? Many resources suggest it is.

on the massage table, alone with the soigneur, it was not unusual for the tears to flow

This sounds like a line from one of those romance novels with Fabio on the cover.
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this may be the most Tom post Tom has ever Tommed
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Is it necessary? No. Is it helpful when performed by a skilled therapist? Yes.

You youngsters won’t understand, but I stretch daily and get a deep-tissue massage once a week. Even though I’m very knowledgeable in anatomy, trigger point work, have all the tools and use them during my daily stretching sessions, there are kinks and such that I just can’t work out on my own.

If you are going to use massage to supplement injury recovery, you must see someone who knows their stuff and regularly works with athletes and has a reputation for healing. My therapist is an athlete himself and runs a massage school, so all good.

You can do a pretty good job of diagnosing and working on various muscular issues yourself if you are diligent. I highly recommend The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook and this great online reference.

In the right hands, though, an excellent sports massage is a wonderful thing. Get referrals from other athletes or you are wasting your time.

Opps, I need to amend my post. I have had about 2 months of A.R.T. to fight an injury andr eally liked it but it’s not part of my routine. When I see “message” I think the more traditional kind…and no, not the happy ending kind…

My wife is a therapist and I agree it helps. The problem, as others have mentioned, is finding a truly good therapist who knows what they’re really doing. Many other therapists my wife knows have no clue about proper sports and/or deep tissue massage, even when they say they’re trained in it. Take the advice of others and get referrals and shop around. Give any new therapist you try at least a good handful of tries because it takes most therapists a little time to get to know your body to be able to help you as much as possible. Once you find a really good therapist, you’ll know it pretty quick and stick with them.

I’ve always meant to read one of those, but never have…

I find personally that foam rolling once a day really loosens thing up. If you are looking for a good foam roller check out the TP one. I’m a fan of the hollowed out inside and I stuff t-shirts and what not in there while traveling to conserve on space.

It’s moving your muscles without you having to do anything plus it is just feels good to be touched. Pretty much everyone responds to touch in a positive way. A massage is probably more mental than physical. I’m certainly no expert, I’ve only had 2.

massage therapists aren’t going to be able to diagnose injuries. even doctors have a hard time with that.

In general I agree but a good therapist can point out tightness that may contribute to an injury( such as a tight TFL and GM causing IT-Band syndrome). You shouldn’t go to message therapist specifically for injury diagnosis as they are not trained for it.

A less empiracle benefit is that it makes you feel good on a physical and even emotional level. Training is hard, you have to “push” yourself through discomfort and repeat mental scripts about being tough and enduring. That is fatiguing.
Do you need massage? No. Is it beneficial on a physical and mental level? Many resources suggest it is.

I agree.

My personal opinion is that you have to find a good therapist (one who works with athletes and is referred to by Chiro/PT) and work with them consistently (could be weekly to monthly… everyone responds differently). I use one as part of my injury prevention routine and I am often close to crying “uncle” on the message table.

Just my opinion but I believe more in message therapy than chiropractor’s. Don’t confuse a message therapist and a physical therapist.

Just my opinion but I believe more in message therapy than chiropractor’s. Don’t confuse a message therapist and a physical therapist.

As with any profession or trade it depends on who you use…there are always bad ones and good ones.

I just find it painful and expensive.