Massage Blues - What happens after a massage?

I just had a new client come in and tell me that after every massage she’s ever gotten, she’s felt crappy the next day. I responded to her with this:

It rather depends on what it means to you to feel “crappy” because it is true that massage often leaves one feeling tired or worn out. Many people say that the next day - a deep massage will feel like they worked out the day before.

Even very “light” techniques like Cranio-Sacral (which I am getting certified in this year - yay!) and Reiki can leave a person feeling emotionally and physically “crappy” as well.

A classic Swedish massage is like 7 miles of hiking to the circulatory system because of all the stuff that gets all loosened up during the massage. Later on, all that released lactic acid, waste products, chemicals and “other” just get processed out of the body for the next day.

During deep tissue - deep pressure is applied to sore spots and so the area can feel sore and “worked”

It is a common concern how the body feels, reacts and how the emotional state of a body will be after receiving massage. It is very common to have the experience of cold-like symptoms, fatigue, irritability and even crying or emotional release after the massage.

I always suggest to my clients that they drink water - lots of water - the following 24 hours after their massage. That way the circulation of fluids and the healing process, in general, is helped along because it dilutes and flushes the entire system.

It is often a good idea to avoid coffee, alcohol and heavy greasy foods after a massage.

Always check in with yourself after a massage, for emotional disturbance. I find the most common “emotional” stuff that comes up after a massage is just irritability and sadness for no reason. This is totally natural. It’s just the combination of the chemicals and hormones that were sitting in your tissue that have been released to be cleaned out AND the emotions that may have been “stored” in places that were released and relaxed during the massage.

If you ever have issues after a massage, call your massage practitioner. They know what’s going on and they will have the information to help you understand what’s happening.

Don’t let the downside of massage keep you from getting one. The freedom from pain, pattern and holding is far worth the 24 to 36 hours of slight discomfort that comes after a massage.