Muscle Soreness After Massage? Discover Causes, Fast Relief Tips & Prevention Hacks!

Massage therapy offers numerous benefits, including stress reduction, muscle tension relief, and enhanced relaxation. However, experiencing muscle soreness after a massage is a common phenomenon. This article explores the causes of post-massage soreness, provides practical tips for relief, and discusses preventative measures to ensure a comfortable and effective massage experience.

Is Soreness After a Massage Normal?

Yes, experiencing mild soreness after a massage is quite common. This discomfort is similar to what you might feel after a workout or intense exercise. Just as you may feel sore after a workout, massage can stimulate areas of your body that you haven’t targeted recently. If you’re feeling pain in a certain part of your body, you may unconsciously ignore this spot, which can cause tension. A massage can highlight areas of your body where you’re holding on to tightness.

Causes of Post-Massage Soreness

Pain and soreness after a massage can be caused by several factors, including:

Muscle Inflammation: The massage stimulates muscles, increases blood flow, and releases tension, which can lead to temporary soreness as your body adjusts. A buildup of lactic acid and other metabolic byproducts also causes post-massage pain.
Micro-tears: Physical manipulation of muscles that haven’t been worked on recently can cause micro-tears in muscle fibers.
Pressure Applied: The amount of pressure applied to your muscles during a massage can contribute to post-massage pain. Also called an aromatherapy massage, it’s typically a gentle massage.
Unaccustomed Muscles: Some people may experience pain if their muscles aren’t accustomed to the pressure or techniques used in the massage.
Individual Sensitivity: Everyone’s body reacts differently to massage. Some people might be more sensitive and experience soreness even with a gentle massage.
Muscle Manipulation: The pressure and movements during a massage can break apart spasms or micro-scars in the muscle fibers. This can lead to soreness similar to what you might experience after exercising.
Inflammation Response: Your body might respond to the muscle manipulation by initiating an inflammatory response, which can cause soreness.

Types of Massage and Soreness

Certain types of massage are more likely to cause post-massage soreness.

Aroma Oil Massage: This type of massage combines light to medium pressure and gentle, flowing strokes and circular motions, similar to Swedish massage. The aroma oil massage uses essential oils to enhance the experience and promote relaxation and well-being.
Deep Tissue Massage: This type of massage targets deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue, making it effective for chronic tension and knots. Deep tissue massage uses stronger pressure and may cause more soreness. It’s often used in people who have injuries or chronic pain. Trigger point, tuina, and sports massage are also options that use stronger pressure.
Thai Massage: Thai massage incorporates stretching and deep pressure techniques, which can be intense, leaving muscles feeling tender, especially for first-timers or those with tight muscles.

How to Relieve Sore Muscles After a Massage

Usually, any post-massage soreness will subside within a day or so. In the meantime, there are several ways to relieve soreness.

Read also: Scalene Muscle Relief

Stay Hydrated: Drinking plenty of water before and after your massage helps remove toxins released during the massage and aids muscle recovery. Avoid alcoholic, sugary, and caffeinated drinks. Along with water, opt for healthy options such as coconut water, fresh fruit or vegetable juice, or herbal teas.
Stretch it Out: Following your massage, do a few gentle stretches on your own. Stretching can also help to increase blood flow and circulation in the muscles, which can help to reduce inflammation and promote healing.To stretch gently after your massage, focus on your breath and relax your body. Begin with simple stretches that target the areas of your body that were worked on during your massage. This helps release muscle tension, improve flexibility, and improve circulation. It’s also a great way to tune into your body, alleviate stress, and quiet your mind.
Heat Therapy: Warm your body up to promote relaxation. A warm bath can help painful muscles relax, while cold packs can reduce inflammation and swelling. Take a hot shower or go to the sauna. Add baking soda or Epsom salt to a bath and soak for up to 30 minutes. You can also use a heating pad or hot rice bag on any painful areas for up to 15 minutes at a time.
Essential Oils: You can also use essential oils for pain relief. Certain herbs and oils contain natural anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties that can help to soothe sore muscles and promote relaxation. Add a few drops to your bath or shower or use a diffuser. Or, you can combine essential oils with a carrier oil for topical application or to use in a compress. Some herbs commonly used to reduce inflammation and promote relaxation include chamomile, lavender, and arnica. These herbs can be used in teas, tinctures, or topical creams. Essential oils, such as peppermint, eucalyptus, and rosemary. These oils can be added to a warm bath or used in a massage oil to promote relaxation and relieve soreness.
Topical Treatment: Applying a muscle rub or CBD lotion is also a great way to administer self-massage a few times per day. You can spend a few minutes applying the ointment while giving yourself a mini-massage in the process.
Herbal Relief: There are several herbs that may stimulate muscle relaxation and reduce inflammation. You can take them as a capsule, tincture, or tea. Some herbal options include turmeric, clove, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, garlic, and cayenne.
Rest: Take time to rest and recharge. If you can, build in time to rest after your massage. Allow your body enough time to rest and recover. Avoid engaging in any challenging physical activities that might stress your muscles even more. Resting allows your muscles to relax and helps your body fully benefit from the massage therapy. Elevate your feet and legs with pillows and take some time to listen to your favorite music, read a book, or sleep.
Guided Meditation: Lie on a cushioned mat or bed and listen to a mindfulness recording. This could take the form of a guided meditation, a body scan, or yoga nidra. Check in with your body and notice where you can release tension.
Cold Therapy: Applying cold to the affected areas can help to reduce inflammation and swelling, which can cause discomfort and pain. You can use an ice pack or a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel to apply cold therapy. Use an ice pack on any painful areas for 15 minutes at a time a few times per day. Or, take an ice bath to relieve inflammation, alleviate soreness, and boost blood flow. To target a small area of the body, you can use a small container of ice.
Return to light exercise: Engaging in gentle physical activities like walking, light stretching or practicing gentle yoga can aid in promoting blood circulation without exerting excessive strain on the muscles. Light exercises help prevent stiffness and encourage the release of endorphins, the body's natural pain relievers, assisting in reducing soreness.
Over-the-counter pain relievers: In certain cases, nonprescription pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen can be used to alleviate soreness after a massage. But you should consult a healthcare provider before taking any medication, especially if you have underlying health conditions or are taking other medications. These pain relievers can help manage discomfort, but they should be used cautiously and as directed.

Preventing Post-Massage Soreness

Communicate with Your Therapist: It’s important to establish open communication with your therapist. Before your appointment, talk to them about any concerns you have regarding your body and discuss the pressure you prefer. You should also tell your massage therapist about your medical history, changes to medications, allergies and recent illnesses. Each of these may factor into the massage techniques used and your body’s response to them.Your therapist will check in during the massage, but if you feel uncomfortable or want them to try a different pressure, speak up. The massage shouldn’t feel painful at any time. Let your therapist know if there are any places you want them to use a different type of pressure on or avoid altogether. Voice your intentions for the massage. A massage to relieve deep muscle knots will be quite different from a massage to stimulate relaxation, so keep this in mind. It’s also important to let your therapist know if you have any medical concerns or injuries. If a technique does not feel therapeutic to you, but simply feels like pain, please speak up.
Choose the Right Massage Therapist: Make sure that the establishment you’re going to employs Licensed Massage Therapists. An unlicensed therapist may accidentally injure a client, apply too much pressure and cause bruising, or damage. Also check out: How to Choose the Right Massage Therapist.
Hydrate Properly: Aim to drink water before and after your massage session to reduce soreness. Hydration also helps maintain the suppleness of the muscles and supports their healing process.
Light Stretching: Engaging in light stretching routines after a massage session can help ease muscle tension and soreness. Stretching enhances flexibility and promotes blood circulation, aiding in the recovery process. Focus on gently stretching the areas that feel particularly sore or tense. However, it’s essential to proceed gently to avoid causing further irritation or strain to your muscles.

When to Seek Medical Advice

See your doctor if you have neck or back pain after a massage or on an ongoing basis, especially if you’re unsure of the cause. If you experience pain that’s severe or long lasting, it could be due to an underlying condition or untreated injury. Either way, it’s important that you have a consultation to decide upon the best treatment plan.

Talk to your doctor about massage options if you:

Have cancer
Are pregnant
Have burns or wounds
Have a fracture
Have a bleeding disorder
Take blood-thinning medications
Have severe osteoporosis
Have severe thrombocytopenia
Have deep vein thrombosis

Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and Massage

Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) describes muscle pain and tenderness that typically develop several hours postexercise and consist of predominantly eccentric muscle actions, especially if the exercise is unfamiliar. Although DOMS is likely a symptom of eccentric-exercise-induced muscle damage, it does not necessarily reflect muscle damage. Exercise consisting of predominantly eccentric muscle actions has the potential to cause greater injury to muscles than that involving largely isometric or concentric actions, especially if the exercise is unfamiliar.

A study examined the effects of massage on DOMS, muscle strength, range of motion (ROM), swelling, and a biochemical marker of muscle damage in the blood using the arm-to-arm comparison model. Delayed-onset muscle soreness was significantly less for the massage condition for peak soreness in extending the elbow joint and palpating the brachioradialis muscle (P < .05). Soreness while flexing the elbow joint (P = .07) and palpating the brachialis muscle (P = .06) was also less with massage. Massage treatment had significant effects on plasma creatine kinase activity, with a significantly lower peak value at 4 days postexercise (P < .05), and upper arm circumference, with a significantly smaller increase than the control at 3 and 4 days postexercise (P < .05).

Is It Worth It To Get A Massage, Even If It Hurts Afterward?

The answer is yes! Massages have many benefits, from reducing stress and tension to improving flexibility, circulation, and reducing inflammation. It may also help to improve sleep quality and reduce stress levels. Even though there may be some temporary discomfort after a massage, the long-term benefits can be worth it.

Reasons why you feel sore after a massage

We feel sore after massages for the same reason we feel sore after a good workout, Massage therapist Victoria Bodner explains. “It forces blood into your muscles and helps bring in nutrients. This process can temporarily increase inflammation in areas that the body feels need attention.”

Some of the reasons you may experience soreness after a massage include:

Muscle manipulation. The pressure and movements during a massage can break apart spasms or micro-scars in the muscle fibers. This can lead to soreness similar to what you might experience after exercising.
Inflammation response. Your body might respond to the muscle manipulation by initiating an inflammatory response, which can cause soreness.
Dehydration. If you’re not properly hydrated, it can contribute to soreness post-massage.
Tense muscles. If your muscles were particularly tense or knotted before the massage, the manipulation could lead to more soreness as those knots are worked out.
Individual sensitivity. Everyone’s body reacts differently to massage. Some people might be more sensitive and experience soreness even with a gentle massage.

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