Studies indicate that one in five Canadians suffers from debilitating chronic pain. This pain can prevent a person from working, create greater risks of physiological disorders, cause considerable discomfort daily, and significantly interfere with life’s overall enjoyment.

The delays to non-emergency care during the covid-19 pandemic have impacted regular treatment schedules and caused undue hardship for those living with ongoing pain. Research has shown that massage therapy is a valuable treatment option that can reduce a person’s pain and improve their ability to function.

Many factors beyond Hands-On treatment can help people with chronic pain. While massage therapy treatments were suspended during the covid-19 pandemic, the RMT’s offered Telehealth sessions focussing on assessment and remedial exercises. I look beyond the Hands-On treatment, such as health history, assessments, and referring out, to ensure a individuals’ positive outcome.

Another critical factor to consider beyond hands-on treatment is how I communicate with my clients; with this in mind, I consider empathy and its importance in communicating with clients in pain. In addition to physical health concerns, which identifies the impact chronic pain is likely to have on a person’s mental health. I will discuss the links between chronic pain and depression and how massage therapy can make a difference. Most RMT’s will see people with chronic pain in their practice at some point. This issue provides a thought-provoking review of techniques, tips and treatment protocols.

Affective touch:

Therapeutic massage gives a feeling of safety, comfort and relief. Touch has been shown to provoke neurochemicals’ release (endogenous opioids and oxytocin) associated with relaxation and pain relief. Massage therapy has also been shown to influence cortisol levels, but the effect is small and, in most cases, not clinically significant.

Providing Compassionate Care in reassuring touch provides the client with the message of safety. Studies have shown this reduces physiological and behavioral reactivity to stressors and improves mood or affect. It can be a magnificent benefit for those living with chronic pain.

Depression and Chronic pain are closely related. Pain can cause depression — and depression can cause pain. Sometimes depression and pain create a ferocious cycle in which depression worsens symptoms of pain, and then the resulting pain worsens feelings of depression.

Chronic pain can cause low self-esteem due to work or financial issues or the inability to participate in social activities and hobbies.

The physical pain that is often chronic goes hand in hand with psychological depression. With this comes a structural collapse in clients, which involves a shortening of the abdominal muscles and tightening of the diaphragmatic arch, which pulls the chest down and forward.

Often, clients who come for massage for pain relief also suffer from depression. Of course, as massage therapists, we do not do psychotherapy. However, depression has significant physiological and anatomical components; in this area, massage can genuinely have a substantial and profound effect.

Although many body conditions that cause chronic pain and tension in the fascia, have no cure, the evidence is clear. Massage therapy can offer personalized relief and help people discover ways to manage better and reduce chronic pain in their lives.