You had a great massage. You left feeling looser, you could move better, and that stubborn spot in your neck or low back finally wasn't bothering you as much. Then a few days later, you notice it creeping back.
Why am I still sore? Why does this spot keep getting tight again?
It's a question I hear all the time at A Kneaded Massage—and usually, the answer isn't that your massage “didn't work.” The bigger question is: What is your body doing during the other hours of your week?
When a client keeps coming in with the same problem, two of the first things I look at are simple:
How do you work?
And:
How do you sleep?
Think about the two things most of us do for the longest consecutive periods of time. You might spend eight hours sitting at a desk, driving, standing at a workstation, working with your hands, or repeating the same movements. Then you spend another six, seven, or eight hours sleeping—often in roughly the same position every night. That's a huge percentage of your day. If your body spends hours in positions that contribute to tension, a one-hour massage can't erase everything you're going to do to it afterward.
Every client is different, but there are a few recurring problem areas I see frequently in my practice.
Desk work, phones, driving, stress, and spending hours with your arms in front of you can all contribute to tension through the neck and shoulders. Sometimes the place you're feeling the discomfort isn't even the only area that needs attention. That's why a session for neck tension may also involve working through the shoulders, upper back, chest, or other surrounding areas.
Sitting for long periods can leave the hips and low back feeling stiff and uncomfortable. But standing all day doesn't automatically solve the problem either. Our bodies like movement and variety. Spending hours in almost any one position can eventually leave certain areas feeling overworked.
This one surprises people. Typing, using a mouse, working with tools, gripping, lifting, playing sports, and other repetitive hand movements can create a lot of tension through the forearms. If you use your hands for work all day, those muscles may be working much harder than you realize.
This is how I often explain it to my clients: My goal is to help get you closer to square one.
During your massage, we can work on the tight areas, address surrounding muscles that may be contributing, improve movement, and calm down some of the tension your body has accumulated. But then you leave. And you go back to work. You drive home. You sit at the computer. You pick up the kids. You exercise. You sleep in your normal position. In other words, you go back to doing many of the things that contributed to the problem in the first place. That doesn't mean massage didn't help. It means maintaining the progress takes more than the hour you're on my table.
There are 168 hours in a week. Even if you get a one-hour massage every week, there are still 167 hours when you're not on the massage table. Those hours matter. That doesn't mean you need perfect posture all day. Realistically, nobody is going to maintain perfect posture every waking minute. Instead, pay attention to the things you do the longest. Can your workstation be adjusted? Are you staying in the same position for hours without getting up? Could you change your sleeping position or pillow setup? Can you take short movement breaks throughout your workday? Are there simple stretches or mobility exercises that make sense for what you're dealing with? Small changes performed consistently can help you hold onto the progress we're making during your massage.
Sometimes soreness and tightness are simply signals that your body is being asked to do a lot. Massage can be an important part of managing that—but it isn't the only part. That's also why I don't perform the exact same massage every time you come in. We look at what's bothering you today, what you've been doing, what may be contributing to it, and tailor the session accordingly. The goal isn't just to make you feel good for an hour. It's to help you leave feeling better and give you a better chance of staying that way. If you're dealing with a stubborn area that keeps tightening back up, let's take a look at what's going on.
A Kneaded Massage
Naperville, Illinois
Relief. Recovery. A Healthier You.