I received a massage yesterday! Now today ....?

[jennifer L]

I got a relaxation massage yesterday - for the first time. It felt wonderful, it felt like the therapist knew exactly where the sore parts were and toughed them out!

Unfortunately, today I'm in pain. It's not my back or arms that hurt, it's my neck and base of my head. It's actually painful to move my head.

I know a little bit of pain is normal after a massage - but this much?

Anyone else have this problem or knows why this is happening?

 

[MT07]

If it was your first massage, then you will be more sore than if you've been receiving massage for a while. Reason being, massage stimulates your body to rid itself of toxins built up in its muscles. Too much of this dumped into your system can leave you feeling ill.\

In your case, it sounds like your therapist did too deep of a massage for your first time. Even though it felt wonderful, the first massage should always be a moderate pressure. If you wanted to run a marathon you wouldn't start by running all those miles...you'd start with maybe one mile, if that. Just like working up to that marathon, you have to work up to a deeper massage because your body won't be used to it.

 

[kdr_cmt]

Did they explain to you the importance of drinking lots of extra water after having a massage? Massage pulls water and metabolic waste from your muscles and pushes them into your bloodstream. The reason you want to drink lots of water after a massage is to flush the wastes from your system and rehydrate your muscles. Otherwise you can bet on feeling really sore - and even achy and feverish - the next day.