Therapeutic Crisis After an FMM Session
A small number of clients feel pain or contraction in the days after a session. Here is what it is, why it happens, and what to do about it.
It is common to have pains after a typical deep tissue session, because the therapist actually hurts the muscles. It's more rare after a Functional Muscle Manipulation session.
In the FMM we don't violate the contracted muscles, we convince them to give, to release. Yet, about 10% of new clients experience pain and contraction on one of the next few days, especially after one of their first three sessions. This we call a 'therapeutic crisis'.
The reason behind this is different
The muscular contractions are a defense mechanism against hardship, physical or emotional. When we are physically overworked, or — more often — when some event triggers some sub-conscious emotional reaction, we defensively contract the same muscles that we have kept tight all our lives to protect us from feeling too much.
When — in therapy — we remove part of that defense mechanism, we are more exposed to things that we were used to contract against. We become more open and sensitive, but also vulnerable.
If on the day of the session or the next something happens that triggers a subconscious reaction, the sympathetic nervous system calls that defense mechanism to action immediately. So, the body jumps back to 'safety', trying to find that 'convenient numbness'. But now, therapy has brought back to life physical senses in those muscles, because that's how it works. We become more aware and sensitive to our body.
It also seems like, the bigger the release is (unwinding, de-armoring) that happened in one session, and the bigger the need to protect oneself close after it, the more intense the reaction (contraction, re-armoring). So, the new-old contraction now feels like a new physical crisis.
What to do
If we manage to have a session right after this reaction, most of the times the pain subsides in the first 10 minutes and therapy takes a step forward — in fact faster than it would go if we didn't have the crisis.
Breathe deep and let go. George Rodafinos
Quick Answers
Is it common?
It's more rare after an FMM session than after a typical deep tissue massage. About 10% of new clients feel it, usually after one of their first three sessions.
Why does it happen?
Therapy removes part of a defense mechanism, so you become more open and sensitive. If something triggers a subconscious reaction, the body re-armors — and the new-old contraction can feel like a new crisis.
What should I do?
Have a session soon after the reaction. Most of the time the pain subsides within the first 10 minutes, and therapy moves forward faster than it would have without the crisis.
Feeling a reaction after your session? Don't wait it out alone — reach out and we'll arrange a session soon, when it helps most.
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