Pain is your body’s warning system, telling you that something is not right. Pain can take over your life, affecting how you undertake your daily tasks, it can be caused by a variety of reasons including muscle overuse, injury and trauma.

Acute pain is typically due to an issue with soft tissue within the body and lasts less than 3-6 months. Once the injury has been healed the pain will subside. Massage can help to increase healing, disrupt pain signals and increase blood flow to the area, allowing essential oxygen and nutrients to repair damaged muscle fibres, in turn reducing pain. Massage also helps to relieve tension in muscles, allowing them to relax from a state of contraction. Muscles which are unable to relax can cause muscular knots and muscle tightness causing further pain. When muscles stretch and loosen this increases flexibility and an increased range of motion, helping to prevent further tension.

Chronic pain is complex and lasts for over 6 months, this is a combination of injury along with the pain being maintained by the brain and nervous system and social/emotional factors. Chronic pain increases stress due to decreased range of motion, increased pain and being restricted from carrying out day to day tasks. Chronic pain increases the level of Cortisol hormone which causes inflammation, anxiety, memory and concentration issues, headaches, sleep issues and weight gain. Massage can reduce cortisol levels by 30% whilst increasing levels of Serotonin which has a pain killing effect by up to 28%. It is important for the body to have the opportunity to re-learn that the injury has healed and that the pain signals are no longer helpful to the body.