Most people lie on the table with no idea whether the discomfort they're feeling is doing something useful or actually causing harm. Nobody teaches you this. So they either grit their teeth through something genuinely damaging, or they tap out the moment it gets uncomfortable and wonder why nothing ever changes.
This is probably the most important thing I explain to new clients. And I explain it a lot.
Pain Is Not the Goal
I want to be clear on this straight away: I'm not trying to hurt you. More pressure does not automatically mean better results. That's a myth the industry hasn't done enough to correct.
What I'm trying to do is create an adaptive response in the tissue. Get blood moving, release tension, reduce the adhesions that are restricting movement or causing referred pain. Sometimes that process is uncomfortable. Sometimes it isn't. Neither of those things tells you whether the treatment is working.
Pain is a signal. The question is what it's signalling.
What "Good Pain" Actually Feels Like
Good pain, the type that's productive in a massage context, has a very specific quality to it. Clients usually describe it as:
- A dull, deep ache
- Pressure that's uncomfortable but somehow feels "right"
- Tension releasing under my hands
- That classic "hurt so good" sensation that's genuinely hard to put into words, but you'll know it when you feel it
The most reliable indicator? It feels like it belongs there. Like I'm pressing on exactly the thing that needed pressing on. There's often a sense of relief underneath the discomfort, even while it's happening.
This type of discomfort sits at around a 6 or 7 out of 10. Noticeable. Meaningful. Not something you'd choose for fun. But manageable, and it eases fairly quickly once the pressure is released.
Your breathing stays steady. Your body doesn't tense up to protect itself. That last point matters a lot: if you're bracing, I'm working over your tolerance threshold, and the treatment stops being effective.
What Bad Pain Feels Like
Bad pain is sharp. It's sudden. It has an electric or shooting quality. Sometimes it radiates down a limb in a way that feels wrong rather than just intense. It's the kind of sensation where your instinct is to recoil, not breathe through it.
This is your nervous system flagging that something specific is being irritated or compressed. Nerve pain, in particular, should never be pushed through. If I'm working on an area and you get a shooting sensation down your arm or leg, that's information I need to act on immediately. I'll stop, reassess, and adjust before carrying on.
Other warning signs worth knowing:
- Pain that stays sharp after the pressure is released, rather than fading within a few seconds
- A burning sensation on the skin, which can indicate friction on an inflamed area
- Numbness or tingling that wasn't there before the session started
- Joint pain that feels mechanical rather than muscular
None of those mean keep going and hope for the best.
Where Most People Go Wrong
There are two failure modes I see all the time, and they're complete opposites of each other.
The first is suffering in silence. Someone's lying there in genuine pain, too polite to say anything, assuming that because I'm the professional it must be fine. It might be fine. Or I might have slightly misjudged pressure on a particularly sensitive area, and a quick word would let me fix it in seconds. I can't feel what you feel. Your feedback isn't interrupting the treatment. It is the treatment.
The second failure mode is tapping out at the first sign of discomfort. I understand why this happens, especially if you've never had a deep tissue massage before. That initial pressure into a tight area can feel alarming. But a lot of what I'm doing in a sports or deep tissue session only starts to work a few seconds in, once the tissue has begun to respond. Calling it too early means you never get the benefit.
The honest answer is that you have to learn to read yourself. Most people, after two or three sessions, get pretty good at it.
Why Post-Session Soreness Is Normal (Up to a Point)
Some soreness after deeper work is completely normal. You might feel a bit stiff the next day, similar to the feeling after a workout you weren't quite ready for. That's your tissue responding to the work I've done, and it usually clears within 24 to 48 hours.
What isn't normal: pain that gets significantly worse after leaving, sharp localised pain that persists beyond 48 hours, or severe bruising that isn't accounted for by the pressure used. If any of that happens, I want to know about it. It's genuinely rare, but the conversation matters.
Every Person I Work With Is Different
I see runners, cyclists, footballers, climbers, and desk workers from across Rotherham and the wider South Yorkshire area, and every single one of them has a different pain tolerance, different tissue density, a different injury history, and different reasons for being on the table. What feels like moderate pressure to one person can be genuinely too much for another. That's not weakness. It's just physiology.
This is why I always start with a proper consultation and build pressure up progressively, especially in a first session. If you're coming in from Sheffield or further afield and you've never had sports massage before, tell me upfront. I'll find a level that works for your tissue without pushing past the point where it stops being productive.
The goal isn't to test how much you can take. It's to get your body working better.
How to Talk to Me During a Session
Just talk. If something feels off, say so. "That's too sharp" or "that doesn't feel right" is enough. I'll adjust. If something feels particularly effective, telling me that's just as useful because it helps me stay in the right place for longer.
Most people find this easier than they expect. By the end of a session they're chatting away. The table isn't a dentist's chair. You're not supposed to white-knuckle through it in silence.
If you want to understand more about how I work and what I focus on, that's worth a read before you book your first session.
Ready to Book?
If you're in Rotherham or anywhere across South Yorkshire and you've been putting off a sports massage because you weren't sure what to expect, now you know. I'll always explain what I'm doing, check in throughout, and keep the pressure in a range that's actually doing something useful.
Good pain means something productive is happening. Bad pain means I stop and reassess. It really is that straightforward.
Book a session and I'll work out what your body actually needs.