Many people have not quite correct ideas about massage – 12 basic myths.
Myth 1. If the back is straight, then the spine is healthy
Good posture is really important for your health. However, this does not mean that the back should be perfectly smooth. In order for the back to absorb when walking, a person needs the natural curves of the spine. Unfortunately, many people are born with a smoothness of these curves, that is, their backs are too straight. Outwardly, it looks beautiful, but in fact – not very good.
Myth 2. Back problems can be solved by a chiropractor
Many people think that if your back hurts, it’s enough to find a good chiropractor who will ” put ” the vertebrae in place. I warn you right away: don’t let any bonecrusers or bonecrusers even get close to you. The reduction of the vertebrae by rigid methods is permissible only when the injury is fresh – the displacement of the vertebrae occurred 2-3 days ago. And even in this case, you need to first develop and warm up the problem area. “On a cold body” no sharp manipulations can be carried out.
Chiropractors are very fond of” clicking ” the vertebrae, especially in the thoracic and cervical regions. After these procedures, they say to the patient: “I set everything right.” But over time, these “corrections” have to be done more and more often, because the vertebrae are loosened from incorrect treatment.
I had a patient who almost died because of this “treatment”. For two years, the chiropractor regularly “adjusted” his thoracic region. As a result, the vertebrae were so loose that when he was driving in the car one day and climbed into the back seat for a purse, one vertebra popped out seriously. It was also lucky that the man managed to slow down, because literally at the same moment his legs completely failed. He sat in the car for ten minutes, and only then did his sensitivity and ability to move gradually return. If he hadn’t hit the brake in time, he would probably have died…
You should not work directly with the spine at all. The pathological processes that occur with the intervertebral discs and cartilage are almost irreversible. However, the muscles and ligaments, which are shock absorbers, stabilizers, and participants in the movement, have the ability to recover. That is why in the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, doctors primarily work with muscles, ligaments and tendons, and not with bones.
Myth 3. To keep your back from hurting, you need to strengthen your muscular corset
For a person with an initially healthy spine, strengthening the muscle corset is a good prevention. But what happens if a person already has problems (the height of the intervertebral discs is noticeably reduced, there are pain and muscle spasms), and he begins to “strengthen the muscle corset”, suffers, but trains? While the lesson lasts, the muscles work and gradually come to tone, but the problem remains unsolved – the remaining 22 hours a day, the body still works on spasm. In addition, it often happens that, abruptly starting to engage in physical therapy, a person chooses unusual loads for himself and immediately gets an additional injury.
But a competent specialist will never immediately send the patient to strengthen the muscle corset. First of all, it is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis and choose an adequate treatment. As for physical activity, here the doctor faces three main tasks: to prepare the patient for it (to remove muscle spasm, to reduce pressure on the spinal nerves, to develop ligaments and tendons in the problem area), to choose the optimal exercises and teach them how to perform them correctly.
Myth 4. Any massage is good for your back
It depends on what kind of massage. For example, now in many shopping centers they put automatic massage chairs and offer a ten-minute massage for money. I warn you: this is very dangerous! In my practice, there were patients who were seriously affected by this kind of”massage”. If we talk about a real therapeutic massage, it should be aimed at relaxing and releasing the muscles so that they can stretch and contract normally. At the same time, work should be done on the surrounding ligaments and tendons to improve their elasticity.
Separately, I want to say about traction-stretching, it is now quite often used in the treatment of diseases of the spine. The purpose of traction: soft unloading of spinal nerves and discs. With the cervical region, you need to work only with your hands, because this is a very delicate area. Of course, this requires a lot of skill. No wonder the training of specialists lasts for several months – a person who works with such a device must not only learn how to work with the system, but also be able to feel the patient. This is especially important when it comes to such a serious spinal disease as an intervertebral hernia.
Myth 5. Physical therapy for back pain is useless
I even know who is spreading this misconception. Sometimes patients like this come to me: “Doctor, why are you prescribing me physical therapy? I have already done all this in my clinic for several months. No effect.” And I answer them: “You know, there is a Mercedes car, and there is a Zaporozhets. Both are cars, both drive. But feel the difference! Because it is important both the quality of the ride, and the one who sits behind the wheel.
In addition, physical therapy should not be prescribed according to the generally accepted scheme, but should be selected individually, strictly taking into account all indications and contraindications. If the doctor is concerned about something, he must send the patient for an additional examination to a specialized specialist (for example, to a gastroenterologist, a specialist in the cardiovascular system, etc.). Because there are often situations when a particular physiotherapeutic effect may be undesirable due to diseases in another area.
Myth 6. The most common disease of the spine is osteochondrosis
Unfortunately, indeed, many doctors, after a cursory examination of a patient who complains of back pain, write a diagnosis of “osteochondrosis”in the card. But there is no benefit from such a “diagnosis”. The fact is that osteochondrosis, when translated from the medical language, stands for “some changes in the bone and cartilage tissue”. This kind of change is present in every adult on the globe. So when the doctor says with a serious look: “You have osteochondrosis”, you can answer him: “You also have osteochondrosis, only you don’t hurt anything, and I do. So explain the reason for my poor health.”
Competent specialists try not to use the diagnosis of “osteochondrosis”, and, for example, in modern American medicine it is not used at all. How can I start treatment if it is not clear what specific problem I am talking about?
In order to understand why the back hurts, you need to examine the condition of the intervertebral discs, nerves, muscles, ligaments, and at the same time check whether the patient has any systemic diseases (such as infectious arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis). Only after all these issues are clarified, you can start working with the problem – in a complex way with the use of massage, stretching, physiotherapy, and physical therapy as needed.
Myth 7. Massage can be done as often as you want.
In fact, this is such an intensive procedure that daily sessions will negate the positive effect – the body does not need such a load. As often as possible, you can do a massage every other day. And optimally-2-3 times a week. Traditionally, the course consists of 10 procedures, but it is better to choose a program for yourself, taking into account individual characteristics. This can be 5-7 therapeutic sessions or 12-15 relaxing, toning and correcting the figure. After the end of the course, you can do a massage once every two weeks-just to maintain your tone. Even a single session gives a good “shake” to the body – the difference in health before and after is felt, life becomes easier and more pleasant.
Myth 8: “Massage should not be done at all»
A very worthy delusion, if you are young, healthy and beautiful. If one of the components is not enough, then the massage should be done before it is too late. This is the simplest and most physiological method of modern naturopathic medicine. What can replace the warmth of human hands and the ease of obtaining the desired result? The masseur performs for you what you are too lazy to do: strengthens the muscles, restores the mobility of the joints and the elasticity of the skin, facilitates the work of the cardiovascular system, removes swelling. It also helps you cope with stress and physical overload, restores the immune system and returns the joy of life. You can certainly do without all this, but is it necessary? Did you know that our skin is a source of endorphins (pleasure hormones), under the influence of massage techniques, a huge amount of them is produced. And you are happy again with that wonderful childhood happiness, for which there is no need for any reason, except one-to open your eyes in the morning.
Myth 9. Massage should be started after 40 years.
40 years is the age of delay, because at this moment the body is preparing for menopause and has already started all the processes of skin aging. It is necessary to warn them, not to allow the face to sag limply, the eyes to go out, and the skin to turn gray. You should start at the age of 25 with preventive massages 1 time a week with a course of 10 procedures. And after 30 years, do 2 times a year a course of 10 massage sessions every other day. And when the age of reducing the hormonal activity of the body approaches, you will be ready for it, and your skin will not lose its elasticity at once and will not sag.
Myth 10. The duration of the massage can be 2 hours or more
A pernicious misconception that can affect the health of long-term massage lovers. There is a physiological norm of tactile impact on the human body – about one hour. Exceeding this norm leads to negative consequences for the entire body. Skin receptors (mechanoreceptors) quickly adapt to tactile effects, sensitivity to massage techniques decreases by 30-50%, and, accordingly, the effectiveness of massage decreases. You can lie down for 3 hours, but there will be no benefit to the body from this, but there will be harm… Compare your feelings with the use of sweets: one candy was eaten-delicious, and a box-bad. Our brain has arranged everything in the best possible way to protect against excessive sensations, from which you can suffer. We even have specific neurons called novelty neurons, because the thirst for change and new sensations allows a person to move up the evolutionary ladder. So remember the pun: “It’s better to eat less than sleep.” The body has taken care of our protection from an overdose of sensations by reducing sensitivity to them.
Hypertonic and hypotonic patients should be very attentive to the duration of the massage. In the first case, a long and strong massage will cause an increase in pressure due to a sharp change in the volume of circulating blood and the release of metabolites into the intercellular space, and possibly a hypertensive crisis. In the second case, prolonged tactile stimulation and a long stay in a horizontal position can cause a decrease in blood pressure, dizziness and nausea. Don’t forget the golden rule: everything should be in moderation.
Myth 11. Massage should be painful
Did you know that pain is a necessary mechanism for human adaptation to the environment? If we were not in pain, it is unlikely that doctors would have saved us during an attack of appendicitis or a myocardial infarction. Pain is a signal to action, it is a warning about problems in the body and about danger. The muscles react to pain with a sharp contraction, prepare for flight or attack, and you are lying on the massage table, where to run and why?
Muscles are our main blood depot. Under the influence of pain impulses, the muscle contracts and blood and fluid with toxins are squeezed out into the internal organs, subcutaneous fat, glands and main vessels. There is a toxic-slag shock throughout the body. Instead of healing, we get the most powerful intoxication. Body aches, head aches, nausea, etc. With age, our intercellular matter already becomes like a swamp, where large protein molecules, “fragments” of viruses, and antigens are deposited. And to prevent premature aging, it is necessary to “drain the swamp” and improve lymph formation, rather than add new toxins. We cause ourselves pain and do not understand why our tissues become more and more swollen and flabby. We need to change the paradigm: massage should not be painful, but deep. You come for a massage for neck pain. You only want one thing to make it easier for you. There is no need to cause you even more pain by working with painful muscles. There are hundreds of absolutely painless ways of treatment.
Pain is just a signal, and you don’t have to consciously inflict it on yourself. Our muscles under the influence of constant stress are hypertonic, we carry on our back a heavy load of unprocessed emotions and problems, we are enclosed in a shell. You can get rid of it only through muscle relaxation, stretching and kneading the muscle without pain, or using a reflex-segmental effect: it hurts at the bottom – we work at the top, it hurts at the top – we work at the bottom. The Golden rules of reflexology.
A real massage will give rest not only to tired muscles, but also to an inflamed mind, as they are in a feedback loop: brain-muscle-brain and vice versa. Massage should be deep, not painful, should heal, not harm. A competent specialist will always find such techniques where you can experience the full depth of sensations from the skin to the bone, but without pain. Ask yourself a simple question: “What do I want? Experience pain or become healthy?» Not only ask, but also answer it. There is already too much pain in life to consciously inflict it on yourself.
Myth 12. Anti-cellulite massage and weight loss massage should be hard, strong and painful. This massage “crushes” the adipose tissue»
One of the most common misconceptions, based, apparently, on the idea that fat is broken down by force. Try to take a piece of any fat and break it down into water and fatty acids. Perhaps you are versed in alchemy? Or are you a famous magician and wizard? However, I think it will turn out, as in the famous Pushkin’s fairy tale, when Balda squeezed an egg instead of a stone. He was deceiving the imp, and you were deceiving yourself. Think about it, if everything is so simple, then why don’t you crush your fat yourself? The savings would be huge. And where are the billions of women 90-60-90? Not everything is as simple as advertised.
Numerous experiments clearly confirm the impossibility of direct exposure to subcutaneous fat. Destroyed capillaries, ruptures and bruises in the muscles, and fat at least henna. No matter how hard you push, it is still in the same place and not a single fat drop in the free space.
Adipose tissue is our strategic reserve and a source of reserve energy, it matures sex hormones and stores fat-soluble vitamins. Why would the body part with such a valuable cargo? It is necessary to understand once and for all a simple truth: the process of weight loss and the fight against cellulite is not easy and long. Lipolysis of adipose tissue is a complex multi-stage process involving neurotransmitters, thyroid and steroid hormones, and insulin. To start this process, you will need a well-coordinated work of the nervous and endocrine systems of the body, plus your daily work to limit caloric intake, increase motor activity and relieve stress.