Myth #8: If “location x” is where it hurts, then thatʼs where you must focus the massage to help.

There are two reasons that massage

attention in other areas of the body may

be more helpful than where it hurts at the

moment.

1. If there is current inflammation and

acute pain in an area, many massage

techniques would simply irritate the area

further and be counterproductive, or even

outright harmful. (However, some

techniques, such as lymphatic drainage

massage or acupressure, may still be

quite helpful!)

2. Very often the location of pain is not the location of the restriction that is

causing the pain. That is, a tightness or an adhesion, some form of a

restriction somewhere else in the body, may be (and likely is) pulling on

"neighbors", resulting in pain where sensitive structures are being stressed

by the pull. Over time, the patterns of tension, along with the body's efforts

to compensate, can create very elaborate and unique patterns of restriction.

This means that any pain could potentially have it's root cause virtually

anywhere in the body, and part of the process of receiving bodywork over

time is unraveling these layers that eventually led to the symptoms. (Why

don't the symptoms just appear right away? Because we and our animals, are

so good at compensating and adapting. Much more on this in Chapter 4:

Adaptation vs. Healing in The Dog Lover's Guide to Massage and The Horse

Lover's Guide to Massage.)