probably slightly impair athletic performance (or just do much less good than a proper warmup).probably cause rhabdomyolysis (too much protein released into the bloodstream from crushed muscle).distract patients from more appropriate care.aggravate existing injuries and chronic pain problems.directly cause new injuries, mostly bruises and nerve lesions (mostly minor, but certainly not all, and again).So what specifically could possibly go wrong with massage? 4 Side effects and other harms of massage, especially the dangers of deep tissue massage Edzard Ernst, “Serious adverse events are probably true rarities.” 3 And yet, reviewing the literature again in 2013, Ernst and Posadzki found at least 18 reported examples of “moderately severe” reactions to normal massage, especially of the neck. Nevertheless, according to one of alternative medicine’s most vigorous critics, Dr. But what if you surveyed 1,000 patients? Or 10,0000? Massage is not completely safe - what is? - and other adverse effects would almost certainly turn up in a big enough survey. You could probably do several studies of 100 patients without encountering a single nasty situation.

This study is underpowered it cannot and does not rule out rare and/or serious side effects of massage therapy, which do exist. (Benefits for musculoskeletal problems were not documented.) Interestingly, 23% reported unexpected benefits that had nothing to do with aches or pains. The massages they were getting must have been quite gentle. This would mainly be a familiar slight soreness that is common after a massage, known as “post-massage soreness and malaise” ( PMSM) - and I’m surprised only 10% reported it. A 2007 survey of 100 massage patients 1 found that 10% of 100 patients receiving massage therapy reported “some minor discomfort” in the day following treatment. While serious injuries in massage therapy are extremely rare, the cases that are diagnosed and reported in medical journals are probably outnumbered by less dramatic examples.Īnd minor side effects are downright common. But things can go wrong, or at least a bit sour, especially with “deep tissue” massage. People think of massage therapy as a “safe” therapy, and of course it mostly is. Although often rationalized by massage therapists as a healing crisis or the effects of “detoxifying,” it’s probably a minor muscle crush injury (rhabdomyolysis).Īthletic performance may be slightly impaired by pre-event massage - a minor consideration for most of us, but not for serious competitors.įinally, sometimes massage therapy is a costly distraction from more appropriate care (as with any alternative medicine). On the milder side, patients often feel sore and a bit icky after massage (post-massage soreness and malaise). Occasionally it causes new physical injuries, usually just minor bruises and nerve lesions, but sometimes worse: there’s a small but serious risk of spinal injury or stroke with any neck manipulation, and blood clots can be dangerously dislodged causing pulmonary embolism (a “stroke” in the lung). Some chronic pain patients may be disastrously traumatized by intense massage (what I call a “sensory injury”). It may aggravate problems, instead of helping. Strong, deep tissue massage causes the most trouble, of course. Massage therapy is quite safe, but nothing’s perfect.

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