Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group inflammation from massage?

so i had a massage/stretching trying to loosen things up. first time ive been there in lonnnng time. i felt better when i was done and thru the rest of the day. next morning [yesterday] my knee felt like it wanted to swell. today.. its swollen and so is the other one. in addition my shoulder and elbow are a bit tight feeling [inflammation].

so the question is...
any of you notice increased inflammation after massage or phys therapy?

My massages always help, but my husband will probably never get another one because they make him so stiff and sore. Did you drink a lot of water before and after? That always helps if the therapist releases any stored up toxins, which there might have been since you hadn't had one in so long. Sorry you're sore. That's no good.

thanks erica
thing is im not sore, its the swelling thing that im asking about. yes i had plenty of water thanks

Oh, so glad you're not sore!

lol

Yes. I get myofascial therapy done on a regular basis to release nerve compression, open up vascular constriction and to relax my muscles. It doesn't feel good and more often than not I'm sore the next day. I call it wringing the muscle monster out of my bones.

I had it done yesterday in follow up to a flare over the weekend and now I have tennis elbow and my left arm is inflamed and sore. Pretty good trade off considering what I went in with. It takes a few days to get the full effect or benefit of the therapy and by then the soreness/inflammation is usually gone and my ROM has greatly improved.

OTOH, if you're referring to a regular old massage, I'd have to question the benefit if it indeed caused or increased inflammation. Perhaps the wrong technique was used for the issue being addressed???

Deb Mc

i guess thats why im asking. no not typical massage.. more so stretching and some physical therapy type counterstrain and fascia stuff. my inflammation has been down except certain times of the month which i already went thru that mess 2 wks ago so it shouldnt be that. just trying to figure out what the cause is. really dont think i ate anything offensive.

i can't be massaged, even gently, it causes my muscles to spasm more.

and if a muscle is in more of a spasm, stretching only makes it angrier, but counterstrain (passively having the muscle relaxed / shortened) works well for me. and if i've torn a tendon or ligament, stretching often does more damagee for me. but i can stretch a muscle that is not already in spasm, area is not already inflamed.

the things that work well for me in PT are ultrasound, ice and heat, and counterstrain, and joint mobilization, and traction for the neck. just about everything else they've tried just irritates more, and they've tried a lot over the years.

It is curious this spondylitis monster. Curiouser and curiouser. I've been completely rolfed twice, once at age 23 and once around age 37.

I'm too ticklish to get a major massage. But, I do love a good upper shoulder/back massage. Even my boss comes by and massages my neck and upper back. It looks a little different with us guys, but I don't care what people think.