Is Massage Good for Back Pain? What Actually Helps (and What Doesn’t)

Back pain is one of the most common complaints I get when someone comes in for a massage. But I had never truly understood how back pain felt until two years ago. There I was, connecting with a friend on a warm summer day. Our kids were in the pool, swimming around and having a good time. My friend and I were chatting for about an hour when we finally decided to switch it up and go to the hot tub. I repositioned myself – apparently, I had been leaning to my left for our conversation – and that’s when I felt it, “twinge!” I stopped. I knew something had happened. But I didn’t have any searing pain or anything, so we went to the hot tub. I sat in there for a while thinking that the hot, bubbling water would surely help if anything happened. After we parted ways, I went home and did some self-massage with a massage ball that I had at home. Again, thinking that this would help in case something happened.

The next morning, I woke up in some of the worst pain of my life. I mean, this was on par with contractions. Honestly, in some ways it was worse. I couldn’t stand up for more than a minute. I could barely walk. I couldn’t stand up to make tea. At the time, we lived on the third floor, so walking down the stairs was absolutely impossible. I couldn’t take my daughter to school. I had to keep her home. I thought, “this will be over soon.” But how I was so, so wrong.

Two weeks. It took two weeks for me to return to work. Thankfully I’m self-employed, so I didn’t have to call into my boss and worry about getting fired, but I truly feel for those who do. Sitting on the toilet was excruciating. After a few days I finally mustered up the courage to take myself the ER, and all they could do was tell me to walk it off, give me a lidocaine patch (which did nothing, by the way), and prescribe me muscle relaxers, which also barely, and I mean barely, touched it. Anytime that I would stand for more than a minute or two, my lower back would go into spasm.

Finally, out of desperation, I called a colleague to see if she could come and give me a massage. She was able to come for 30 minutes, and even just that little bit of time, laying face down on my carpet, helped so much more than the muscle relaxers or lidocaine patch did. Even after two weeks, I was still unsure about how I’d do back at work, but I couldn’t take anymore time off.

Back pain is a huge concern for both the people who experience it, as well as businesses.

According to a research article on PlosOne published by Fraser W. Gaspar as well as the Health University of Utah, per episode of back pain, people on average miss 26 days of work. This, in turn, leads to 83 million days of lost work per year just due to back pain.

So, is massage good for back pain? Yes, it most definitely is. It not only helps to address it in the acute stage but also helps address chronic back pain through working the muscles and fascia. While it won’t undress underlying structural issues, such as degenerative discs, herniated discs, or scoliosis, it can help with tension in the muscles which contributes to the symptoms you experience.

is Swedish massage good for back pain

Swedish massage is a classic style of massage most used for relaxation. Swedish massage therapy is best for relaxation, as it uses long rhythmic strokes to induce a state of deep relaxation. If someone is in an acute stage of back pain, I will either use straight up Swedish massage or a combination of myofascial release and Swedish massage. For my Beaverton Swedish massage, I incorporate hot stones as well as essential oils and hot towels to alleviate pain as well as to give a richer experience.

deep tissue massage for back pain

Deep tissue massage is excellent for back pain as well. Whether you use Swedish massage or deep tissue massage for back pain all depends on the individual client as well as their comfort level. Contrary to popular belief, deep tissue massage does not necessarily mean deep pressure. Those two phrases are not synonymous. Instead, deep tissue massage works slowly to relieve adhesions in the deeper tissue layers, which can get bound up in the muscle as well as the facial tissue. Our body is made up of layers of muscles and facial tissue, and you have to work slowly through the more superficial layers to be able to access the deeper layers. Why? Because if you go too deep too soon, what tends to happen is that the superficial layers of muscle will contract and not let you in.

what is the best treatment for lower back pain

People often ask me, “what is the best treatment for lower back pain?” Now, every person is different, so it really depends. If someone is in an acute flare like I was in my story, then I’d say massage, rest, and Epsom salt baths. If someone is having persistent, or chronic, lower back pain, but they can still more around just fine, work and do their normal activities of daily living, then I say a combination of stretching and strengthening exercises. You might need to see a physical therapist for strengthening exercises that are tailored to your specific areas of weakness. But, usually strengthening the core – meaning the abdominals along with the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and lower back – helps chronic lower back pain. If you have a condition, such degenerative discs, herniated discs, scoliosis, spinal stenosis, or another condition, I highly recommend seeing your doctor and getting a PT referral, along with meeting with other specialists as needed. Although I personally believe that people should try natural remedies first, like stretching, massage, chiropractic, and strengthening first, you might need another protocol specially designed for you.

what causes lower back pain

There are many causes of lower back pain. As already mentioned, someone could have structural issues like degenerative disc disease, scoliosis, spinal stenosis, herniated discs, and others. But for many, lower back pain is caused due to muscle weakness, strains, sprains, and prolonged sitting. We’re not designed to be sitting at a desk for hours upon hours per day. When you sit at a desk (or in a chair, on your couch, etc.), the front of your body becomes contracted. The muscles become shortened. There are muscles that attach onto the front of your lumbar vertebrae (lower back spine) that cross over your hip. These become shortened by prolonged sitting. And we, as a collective society, are sitting all the time now. Driving. On the computer. On the couch. In bed. Eating. So much of what we do involves sitting now. When those muscles (illiacus and psoas) become shortened, the muscles in the lower back become elongated. The ligaments and tendons that connect the muscle to the bones then become inflamed, strained, and sprained, which then can cause lower back pain. So that’s why strengthening is also so important.

what is the number one back pain relief

This is a tricky question because it can be answered in so many ways. We’ve got natural and unnatural. And then we’ve got acute versus chronic. And then we also have the severity. For the purposes of this article, I’m going to keep things natural and stay in my wheelhouse. Let’s say that someone has a severe and acute lower back pain condition, like mine. What is the number one back pain relief for that? Rest and massage. Both are equal. If I had done that, just laid flat for a few days, and then received several massages over the course of that week, I could have knocked my healing time in half. But now let’s say that someone is struggling with chronic low to mid-grade severity. For that, I say strengthening and massage are the best. Strengthening is preventative and will help build up the muscles over time. Massage will help the symptoms of back pain immediately and have a lasting effect for at least 2-7 days.

Final Thoughts on Masasge for Back Pain

Every person is different. People respond to different things. But massage therapy is an effective treatment for back pain in both the acute and chronic stages of lower back pain. Massage helps to relieve the tension in the muscles as well as the connective tissue, referred to as facia. If you’re struggling with back pain, whether it’s lower or upper, schedule an appointment. If you have any questions, you can contact Earth Breath Massage to see if massage therapy is the right treatment for you. Or, if you're ready to get relief, you can schedule a massage right now.