Have you ever gotten (or do you get) massages?

tippy2k2

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No, not from your friend/lover/creepy uncle who gets just a little too handsy during Thanksgiving but an actual, professional massage.

I started doing an exercise program about a year ago and have been building upon it since then. However, one of the drawbacks I've been finding is that because I'm actually working these muscles out instead of allowing them to become a jelly-like blob substance, I find that I am almost perpetually sore at all times. I have heard massages are a great way to counter this (plus a few other benefits like stress relief and increased blood flow which helps lower the risk of injury) but I'm curious to hear from people who have actually gone.

So...

Have you done a professional massage? If so, was it worth the cost (sum'bitches are expensive! $60 for a hour seems to be the going rate)? Ideally, if you went for muscle help like I'm looking for, did it help?
 

Barbas

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Go to a massage parlour and ask people who've been there before. If you're going to have someone potentially poking around some of the more important muscles and bones in your body then I think you should get a reference first if possible.

I had one at a hotel in Hong Kong once as part of a stay. It was basically like how most people probably think massages go: you lie on your back in a nice quiet room and they do your front, then you lie on your front and they do your back. It certainly made me feel better than any food or drink ever has; it eliminated all aches, muscle cramps, tiredness, pain or the like, and afterwards I lay down and felt like I weighed significantly less. I remember wondering if this was what astronauts felt like when they were space-waltzing around up there.

If you've got a persistent ache or pain then you should make them aware of it and see what they can do. Just a simple few minutes of work on your shoulders by a professional feels super-good.
 

tippy2k2

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Barbas said:
Go to a massage parlour and ask people who've been there before. If you're going to have someone potentially poking around some of the more important muscles and bones in your body then I think you should get a reference first if possible.
Oh most certainly. I have a sister who used to go to the place I'm looking at so rep-wise, I'm solid there.

It's also great to know that the great feeling you get isn't exaggerated (my sister has the tendency to greatly exaggerate things when she's trying to convince others to join her*, especially when they cost a lot like these massages). With my exercise program, I feel like I have knots and tightness all over my shoulders so a massage sounds like a great way to help.

*When I say "Join Her", I don't mean couples massages cause that'd be weird :D Join as in hop on her bandwagon of interests :)
 

Lil devils x_v1legacy

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tippy2k2 said:
Barbas said:
Go to a massage parlour and ask people who've been there before. If you're going to have someone potentially poking around some of the more important muscles and bones in your body then I think you should get a reference first if possible.
Oh most certainly. I have a sister who used to go to the place I'm looking at so rep-wise, I'm solid there.

It's also great to know that the great feeling you get isn't exaggerated (my sister has the tendency to greatly exaggerate things when she's trying to convince others to join her*, especially when they cost a lot like these massages). With my exercise program, I feel like I have knots and tightness all over my shoulders so a massage sounds like a great way to help.

*When I say "Join Her", I don't mean couples massages cause that'd be weird :D Join as in hop on her bandwagon of interests :)
The best way to handle recovery and repair is apply ice to reduce inflammation and making sure you have the proper nutrients required. Taking magnesium and eating bananas help particularly well in this regard, but here is a standard list to help you understand how this works:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/md86.htm
If you are having joint pain as well, you may also wish to consider taking a glucosamine chondroitin supplement to help reduce cartridge loss. This is also given to patients after knee/ hip surgeries, but is also helpful as a preventative measure and not just used after the damage is done.

It is also very beneficial to increase your intake of antioxidants such as eating more blackberries or raspberries to help improve your recovery time.

Massage is good for relief and can be useful in physical therapy, I personally have received massages weekly for years due to tension issues, but unless it is a deep tissue massage, most likely isn't going to be as beneficial as it is just " relaxing".

http://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/patient/treatments/physical-therapy-rehabilitation/physical-therapy-rehabilitation
Some people however have the opposite response to massage and it is important to know how your body will respond to massage before doing an intense workout after having one. Some people have increased anxiety, muscle spasms, muscle fatigue and injury following massage so it is best to take it easy following one until you know how your muscles will respond.
 

tippy2k2

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Lil devils x said:
Mine isn't so much inflammation or joint pain (though that does happen if I do something stupid and push harder than I should), just a general soreness. It's nothing I can't live with (and I just bought this magnesium-fused water thingy [http://bestmicrofibercleaning.com/norwex-reviews-norwex-water-filtration-system/] that will hopefully help) since I've felt like this for about a year but if a massage would help get rid of the general soreness, it would be nice.

That last note is also good to know. I wasn't going to do a big workout afterwords since I figured it would probably effect your muscles, it's still useful to have the info.

Also as a side note, I love that bodybuilding website; I've been using it to learn about different exercises and those videos/demonstrations are incredibly handy.
 

Scarim Coral

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Nope and as far as I know I don't intend to get one in the future. Got nothing against it, I just ain't spending my cash on it.

Sure I admit I do got abit of an stiff muscule in one or two places but that is because I don't excersie properly (flexing wise).
 

Lil devils x_v1legacy

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tippy2k2 said:
Lil devils x said:
Mine isn't so much inflammation or joint pain (though that does happen if I do something stupid and push harder than I should), just a general soreness. It's nothing I can't live with (and I just bought this magnesium-fused water thingy [http://bestmicrofibercleaning.com/norwex-reviews-norwex-water-filtration-system/] that will hopefully help) since I've felt like this for about a year but if a massage would help get rid of the general soreness, it would be nice.

That last note is also good to know. I wasn't going to do a big workout afterwords since I figured it would probably effect your muscles, it's still useful to have the info.

Also as a side note, I love that bodybuilding website; I've been using it to learn about different exercises and those videos/demonstrations are incredibly handy.
The general soreness is actually caused by inflammation however:
http://muscleevo.net/sore-muscles-after-a-workout/

So you treat it the same as any other injury with ice, reducing the inflammation, ensuring you have enough water and nutrients required to help prevent injury and aid healing. It is just to a "lesser degree" than a more serious injury and should greatly reduce the recovery time. Massage doesn't actually reduce that, in fact often after a massage you may be more sore, but it helps keep the region loose and prevent the area from becoming too stiff by ensuring it gets circulation moving rather than being too sedentary.
 

DrownedAmmet

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I get a free one once year as a Christmas present from work and it is pretty awesome! I would totally do it once a week or once a month if I could afford it

Afterward I usually feel like I can go and run twelve marathons, or deadlift a car or something, so I would recommend trying it out. I never would have gone out to get one, but getting a free one showed me how useful it could be
 

Lufia Erim

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I did once. It felt great. I went to a spa with my gf and we had a message included in the package from professional masseuses. Unfortunatly for me when my gf made the reservation the secretary ask if we prefered men or women. And my gf gf said it doesn't matter. So st the designated time we went to the massage spot and were greeted by two men. Then they told us that we could either keep our swin suits on ( since we were in the water not too long ago) or get naked. My gf got naked but i didn't because i was a) not too comfortable getting massaged by a man, and b) i hate being naked in general.

The massage in and of itself was really awsome, but i would have prefered to have been massaged by a woman.

And being the petty man that i am, i gave my GF shit for getting naked while being massaged by a dude while i was there.
 

Lil devils x_v1legacy

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Lufia Erim said:
I did once. It felt great. I went to a spa with my gf and we had a message included in the package from professional masseuses. Unfortunatly for me when my gf made the reservation the secretary ask if we prefered men or women. And my gf gf said it doesn't matter. So st the designated time we went to the massage spot and were greeted by two men. Then they told us that we could either keep our swin suits on ( since we were in the water not too long ago) or get naked. My gf got naked but i didn't because i was a) not too comfortable getting massaged by a man, and b) i hate being naked in general.

The massage in and of itself was really awsome, but i would have prefered to have been massaged by a woman.

And being the petty man that i am, i gave my GF shit for getting naked while being massaged by a dude while i was there.
So she could get massaged naked by a man without you there and it is okay? XD
 

Ihateregistering1

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I've been to someone a few times who is a licensed massage therapist, and is now the masseuse for an NBA team. This was back when k was way more hardcore about working out, and I was in the gym 5-6 times a week.

It's fun and feels pretty good (even deep tissue), but unless you're a hardcore athlete who works out a lot, I wouldn't recommend it. A good therapist will go for around $50 an hour, and if you're going 4-5 times a month that's a big chunk of change. I just didn't think it made me feel that much better or improve my athletic performance by that much.

Still, for a one time thing? Sure, it's fun.
 

Jux

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Been a number of times. They feel great, but be very wary of buying into the supposed health benefits. Depending on your level of soreness, there may be alternatives to massage therapy that work better for you, are more effective, and are cheaper.

If you find you're sore for more than 72 hours after a workout, that may be a sign you're overworking yourself. There is such a thing as pushing yourself too hard.

If you go to a gym that has a cold plunge, that may help with the recovery process. Again, proven results here are inconclusive, but they're not harmful as long as you are safe about it (no overexposure, proper water temp). I personally find them more beneficial than massages, but maybe that's just me.

Get enough sleep, a lack of sleep is going to hinder the recovery process.
 

tippy2k2

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Lufia Erim said:
The massage in and of itself was really awsome, but i would have prefered to have been massaged by a woman.
I suppose that would be my preference but I don't really care all that much. I imagine these guys are like the TSA; it's a job and they've seen it all.

I booked my session because I at least want to try it but I'm not sure if I have a guy or a gal so that'll be like a fun surprise! :D

I think it'll be a guy (appointment gal said that they recommend that massage therapist because they have very strong hands since I'm interested in the "Deep Tissue" massage) but we shall see...
 

Something Amyss

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Jux said:
Been a number of times. They feel great, but be very wary of buying into the supposed health benefits. Depending on your level of soreness, there may be alternatives to massage therapy that work better for you, are more effective, and are cheaper.
After injuring my shulder, I tried everything up to and including surgery on it, and was still in pain a lot. So I tried masage therapy on the "what do I have to lose?" model. And it worked. I mean, it didn't totally mend my shoulder or anything, but it's helped manage my pain. Granted, this doesn't mean other options aren't better, but nothing I tried worked. It could even be a placebo, but since I'm not harming myself and I have limited recourse otherwise, I'll take it.

This little anecdote isn't to say you're wrong, mind. Especially since I just copped to the possibility of placebo. I think the main reason to get a massage is that it feels pretty good.

But yeah, this would not be my first line of response to pain.
 

Silentpony_v1legacy

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I got one once. Was terrible. She barely spoke English, ended up jabbing her boney fingers into my back and gave me a nasty kink in it for a week.
Horrible experience, would not recommend.
 

Souplex

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Gotten 'em at street fairs a couple of times. They're nice.
 

Jux

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Something Amyss said:
After injuring my shulder, I tried everything up to and including surgery on it, and was still in pain a lot. So I tried masage therapy on the "what do I have to lose?" model. And it worked. I mean, it didn't totally mend my shoulder or anything, but it's helped manage my pain. Granted, this doesn't mean other options aren't better, but nothing I tried worked. It could even be a placebo, but since I'm not harming myself and I have limited recourse otherwise, I'll take it.

This little anecdote isn't to say you're wrong, mind. Especially since I just copped to the possibility of placebo. I think the main reason to get a massage is that it feels pretty good.

But yeah, this would not be my first line of response to pain.
Yea, if it helps, keep doing it. I didn't really expound on what I meant by 'health benefits' in my post, but I've seen people claim massage as basically a panacea to anything and everything. Then you have some people telling you to 'drink lots of water after a massage to help flush out the toxins' (apparently released from the muscles during a massage), and other such nonsense. And that isn't even going into reflexology or hot stone massages.
 

lacktheknack

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Got one at a swanky Cambodian hotel (we literally went there for the massage and left, didn't even stop at the restaurant). It was absolutely glorious. I felt loose for three days after.

Apparently, I find 110-pound ladies walking around on my back to be relaxing. xD