Spencer Massage

Relaxation Massage - Sports Massage - Therapeutic Massage - Cancer Massage - CranioSacral Therapy

George Allen Spencer, LMT, NCBTMB - 4256 N. Ravenswood, Suite #309, Chicago, Illinois
By Appointment only. - 773.489.4374 - Email:

Pain and Massage - In most cases, receiving massage should not hurt.

Does Massage Hurt?

There are three basic types of massage: Relaxation, Sports, and Therapeutic/Clinical. In each of these, many of the techniques are often the same. The differences arise with the intent of the session. Depending upon the type of massage you're receiving, you may feel slight discomfort during the session that may last for up to 48 hours.

Relaxation Massage

The obvious intent of a Relaxation Massage is to relax you and help you manage your stress level. Generally, the strokes are long and flowing with light to medium pressure (sometimes deep, too). The work is non-specific. However, if a sore or tight spot is located during the massage, special attention may be applied to certain muscles or muscle groups to relieve the soreness.

Sports Massage

If you're receiving Sports Massage, the intent is to relax the muscle groups and ancillary muscle groups that have been stressed and strained as a result of exertion and to aid your body's natural healing processes in order to help 'fix' problem areas. The work is broken down into non-specific and specific. During a Sports Massage, as the specificity and pressure increases, you may feel pain depending upon the condition of the muscles being worked. This pain may last the duration of the session and, in some cases, may continue for up to 48 hours.

Therapeutic/Clinical Massage

For Therapeutic/Clinical bodywork, the goal is to address the areas of not only the actual pain area but muscles, ligaments, tendons, and sometimes nerve entrapments affecting the pain area. As with Sports Massage, non-specific and specific techniques are applied to the pain pattern location and the area often associated with that area. (For example, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome can often be traced to the neck and shoulder area.) As the specificity of the work increases, you may experience transient pain that may last the duration of the session as well as up to 48 hours.

What's non-specific and specific work and do they hurt?

Non-specific work is generally used to increase the overall circulation into the area being worked and to gently break up any myofascial adhesions and restrictions in the areas in and around the pain pattern. Common and effective non-specific techniques include myofascial release techniques, compression, and gliding. While non-specific techniques are not painful, as the circulation in the area increases, you may experience some low-grade pain. The techniques did not create the pain, but has allowed your body to register the pain. At this time (or at a later session), we can then address the painful area.

Specific techniques are more goal-specific for particular muscles. For example, whereas non-specific techniques are used to facilitate change in a general area, specific techniques are used when I want to affect change in a specific muscle and/or tendon. Some types of specific techniques include various types of friction, sustained ischemic compression, and trigger point therapy. If you are going to feel any discomfort during a massage, be it Relaxation, Sports, or Therapeutic/Clinical, you will generally experience the greatest level of pain when I'm using specific techniques. Additionally, if you don't normally stretch your muscles, you may experience some discomfort or pain while in stretch.

When you say I may experience pain, how much will it hurt?

Do you know the old saying: No pain, no gain? Well, if your idea of a successful massage is one wherein you receive a lot of pain, then I may not be the massage therapist for you. Let me explain.

If you're coming to me for either a Sports or a Therapeutic/Clinical Massage, your body is likely already in a state of sub-acute or chronic pain. My goal as a massage therapist is to relieve as much of that pain as possible without creating any additional pain. With that being said, however, you will probably experience a certain degree of acceptable pain during the session. There are a number of reasons for this occuring (eg., increasing overall circulation into a previously blocked system serves to re-inervate nerves thereby increasing the pain response). During a massage session, I use a 1 - 10 pain scale.

What's a 1 - 10 pain scale?

During a massage, I will always work within your level of pain tolerance. You may say you can take a lot pain, but your body responds differently to varying degrees of pain. Some pain is good. But, once you pass the point of 'good pain', your body will instinctively shut down in an attempt to protect itself. Where 0 = No pain, and 10 = The Worst Pain Possible, I prefer to work at the level of pain that feels like the area is being released but before the level that you find yourself flinching even a little.



If pain is caused as a result of muscle stress, it is generally advisable to allow the body to naturally heal itself while in the acute stage by remembering RICE: rest, ice, compress, and elevation.