By Sumaiya Farheen and Andrew Siyabalawatte, March 2023.
There are several reasons why you may feel worse right after a session. This can happen following osteopath, chiropractic, or massage treatment. To try and help you understand that this may not be a negative thing, we explore the reasons below.
The Body’s Defence Mechanism
We face many types of stress, both physical and emotional, every day. Our body handles stress through tissue repair, a strong immune system, proper sleep, and good nutrition. Stress causes problems when it becomes excessive or when the body cannot repair itself effectively. That is when symptoms such as pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility appear. This is when treatment is necessary.
Common Causes of Post-Treatment Soreness
Healing
The healing process is a natural process that your body undergoes to repair and regenerate damaged tissues or cells. When you receive an osteopathy treatment, your osteopath may manipulate and mobilise the muscles, bones, and joints in your body to promote healing and alleviate pain. During this process, your body may experience some discomfort or soreness, which is a normal part of the healing process.
Injury/Trauma
If you leave a trauma or injury untreated for 48 hours, your body actively tries to compensate and fix the problem. If it cannot heal itself, the adaptation may make treatment more uncomfortable. Treatment works to reset the body’s natural defense mechanisms, restore proper function, and return the body to its normal state.
Osteopathy focuses on manipulating this mechanism, to restore harmony and balance to the body. Commonly, arthritis (both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid) and slipped discs affect the body enough to create long-term postural imbalances and joint stability issues shortly after onset.
Spinal Joint Misalignment
Spinal joint misalignments are commonly treated by an Osteopath or a Chiropractor. Misalignment in the spine or peripheral joints, can cause pain and discomfort.
Osteopathic or chiropractic techniques such as functional release technique and HVLAT (high velocity low amplitude thrust) are known to improve overall body function. Regular osteopathic treatments along with regular exercise, can correct spinal joint misalignments for the short and long term, by helping you improve your posture and implement change to your daily habits. If the misalignment has been present for several days, there maybe more discomfort or soreness following adjustment. This byproduct of treatment is usually temporary and depending on the severity of the issue, it may subside within a few days.
Why It Is Possible To Feel Worse Following A Massage Session
Massage is like exercise, following application there is an induced demand of blood to your muscles, which in turn, carry nutrients to the tissues in demand and removes toxins from the blood. This process can temporarily increase inflammation (the healing response) to areas that the body feels need attention. This inflammation can bring discomfort.
Another reason is delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which occurs when muscles that are not used to being activated are stimulated. People with postural or spinal imbalances, especially those overusing certain muscles, often experience this effect.
If you are concerned about any discomfort or soreness after a treatment session, it is important to speak with your osteopath or massage therapist. They can assess your symptoms and provide advice on how to manage them.