Is it safe to use a muscle relaxant when doing a massage?
My girlfriend likes to rub this lotion on my back that acts like a muscle relaxant before she massages me. She lets it sit for about ten minutes, and then gently massages my upper back around my shoulder blades. It hurts like hell and leaves my shoulders and back feeling dead. Should she be doing this?
If she is "gently" massaging your muscles, then it shouldn't hurt like hell. If she is putting a topical analgesic on your skin and then grinding the demons out of your muscles, then that would explain the "dead" feeling afterward. If she likes to massage your back, then let her, because it is probably doing you more good than actual harm, but communicate with her and let her know when she should back off. Although the initial feeling from the massage hurts, how does it feel the next day or two days later? If you feel a lot better than before you received the massage, then it may be worth the discomfort. Find out what the lotion is actually designed to do. Most topical 'muscle relaxants' (if that is what they should even be called) are actually a form of analgesics that slightly 'deaden' the pain sensors in the skin, thereby giving a sensation of muscles relaxing. Oftentimes it is the perception that your muscles are relaxing rather than an actual change in the tonicity of the muscles. You could ask her to try the massage without this lotion to try and notice a difference.
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