Vocal Massage Should Not 'HURT'

Charlie Ward • 8 November 2019

No pain no.... NO NEED! (in my opinion)

Vocal Massage is still considered a relatively new therapy to those outside of the manual therapy world, but it's actually been around for years!!!

The one thing that I constantly battle with is peoples misunderstanding about what it feels like, or what it should feel like. Some people truly believe that it's horrific and painful. What's even more scary is that people believe that it has to be in order to be effective. I've actually heard people brag about it - like it's some badge of honour that they survived?!

Now, everyone has their own opinion on this (and not just when it comes to Vocal Massage either), but I wholeheartedly disagree and think that this couldn't be further from the truth. Why?

Well firstly, a good therapist should communicate to the client at all times during a session of any therapy. They should be communicating verbally to ensure their comfort, to work with the client in order to establish areas that they feel need attention, and also to gather more information about that person and their symptoms. They should also be looking for non-verbal communication from the client - unconscious and conscious reactions to what they are doing. These might be one or more of the following - a client holding their breath, gritting their teeth, squeezing their eyes closed, clenching fists, flinches etc etc. These all give indications of how a client is receiving the treatment.

So, if a treatment is painful you will certainly exhibit some non-verbals. If your therapist is ignoring them and not communicating to you, then are they fully aware of what they're doing; do they see a treatment as one-sided and that they are the expert and know exactly what you need and what you can tolerate?

Secondly, if someone causes you pain what happens? What is your response likely to be? Would you lay down and relax, and let them continue to cause you pain? Absolutely not in most cases. You would more than likely start to (even subconsciously) defend yourself. I don't mean physically lashing out, but certainly most peoples response to painful manual therapy is to tense up, brace themselves, and sometimes hold their breath. All very natural responses to pain and things we're not comfortable with.

So I guess we need to ask ourselves; why are we having manual therapy? Most of the time it's likely that one of the reasons is because you're in pain or some level of discomfort already, or you feel like you need help to RELAX muscles and structures that you feel symptoms of tightness and/or restrictions in. Would having someone man-handle you make you relax? Does causing pain to an already uncomfortable/painful area make it less painful?

Would you really feel relaxed and invigorated after such a session; or simply just relieved that you can now relax because you and your larynx aren't being 'attacked'?

I have to stress that these are my opinions and I am sure a number of people will disagree - that's fine. The thing is, everyone has their own preferences when it comes to administering and receiving manual therapy, and that's okay too. The worlds big enough for all of us, but for me personally, manual therapy shouldn't be painful and it doesn't make sense to me that it should be either. I am not saying that there will never be moments of discomfort during Vocal Massage, (it's inevitable) but discomfort and pain are two very different things.

Discomfort in my dictionary is 'bearable' for a period of time. Discomfort is manageable. You can experience discomfort for a short time without tensing, bracing or 'running away'. And this is why I communicate continuously with all my clients both verbally and non-verbally. If I see non-verbal cues mentioned above, I will always question - 'are you okay?' 'would you like me to stop?' 'can you bare with this level of discomfort for a little longer?'. They (the client) are in the driving seat no matter how much of an expert I think I am, or how much pain I think they can and should tolerate. Manual therapy of any kind should be a two way street, and in my book never painful.

My last question to you would be - if you could achieve the same (and potentially better) results without going through pain; which would you choose? I know what I would do.

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SHOULD SINGERS USE WEIGHTS?

by Charlie Ward • 6 February 2023

There is far too much false information provided to singers about weight/resistance training being 'bad' for their voices.... and that's simply not true in most cases, because it depends on each individual and their circumstances. In this video, I present my opinion and thoughts on this matter as well as providing some simple top tips and example stretching to help with post workout tension.

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by Charlie Ward • 5 June 2020

As part of my services I always like to provide clients with self-help techniques that will enable them to take some control outside of the clinic, and after or between our sessions. These techniques are not a substitute for Manual Therapy applied by qualified practitioners and as fairly basic, but are very effective and help a large amount of people maintain better vocal health from a physical perspective, between sessions and at times of very high vocal demand, such as touring and/or recording. Feel free to check out the videos below - you might find some of the techniques useful. Any questions, just drop me a line.

BVA Tension Release 2020

by Charlie Ward • 4 March 2020

I had the absolute pleasure of being asked to present at the British Voice Associations 'Tension Release' seminar last month at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester . The weather was horrendous as we endured yet ANOTHER storm, but the atmosphere at the seminar was amazing! The sold out event saw a mixture of Singers, Vocal Coaches, Speech & Language Therapists, NLP Practitioners, Physiotherapists and Osteopaths gather to listen to presentations and discuss everything related to helping identify, manage and ultimately reduce feelings of tension for voice users. I presented on 'Manual Assessments of Muscle Tension' and also gave some insight into Vocal Massage and Manual Therapy as one option; but we also looked at 'Voice Therapy Techniques', 'The Vibrant Voice Technique' which involved the use of vibrators (yeah, that's not an auto-correct) and even delved into NLP hypnosis to address some of the more psychological aspects of tension.

The Importance of Maintenance...

by Charlie Ward • 11 July 2019

I'm extremely lucky to work with all sorts of incredible voice users and feel truly blessed to help them keep their voices in good health as part of their vocal health routines. It's especially important to look after your voice if you're using it day-after-day and night-after-night. Even more so if you're adding energetic, strenuous dance routines and performances to it; not to mention the stresses and strains of daily life! However, a huge amount of voice users don't actually look after their voices enough considering that it's essentially their money-maker!! Like anything, if you use your voice regularly, or even to excess, it will become tired. Scrap that! That statement is not actually correct. Essentially 'the voice' is just air! So, 'the voice' doesn't actually become tired, it's the muscles and structures that work together to produce sound that become tired, and as a result your voice quality and sound changes in a variety of ways. Usually it causes a croaky or hoarse quality and makes creating sound effortful and laborious. Singing or speaking should be as effortless as possible - more effort usually means over working already tired muscles. This is where Vocal Massage come in! Athletes have regular soft tissue massage, manual therapy and osteopathy type treatments during training and performance to reduce the risk of injury, the effects of training and competition. Voice users are no different - we simply uses different muscles to perform our specialism. The effects on those muscles are no different from that of an athletes. They get 'stiff', 'tired', 'sore' and sometimes even stop working or become over active as a result of being used. If you don't look after them they will eventually let you know, which usually means a reduction in vocal quality, control and range. Worst case scenario it could result in vocal rehab or a period of voice rest - which is never good when you have a run of shows or gigs scheduled, recording booked or rehearsals to get through. Vocal Massage (as it's now being coined) will help to reduce the effects of fatigue by reducing symptoms of muscular tightness, restriction, soreness and helping to lower the resting position of the larynx, which is often raised following long periods of voice use due to natural and adaptive muscle shortening. It also helps the voice user to physically relax the body and mind, not just 'the voice', helping to reduce anxiety and nervous sensations. A 'Vocal Massage' will not only focus on the larynx, but other areas such as the jaw, neck, shoulders, ribs, diaphragm/abdominal region and sometimes even the hips! Interested? Get in touch and have a chat.

Silent Reflux

by Charlie Ward • 19 February 2019

If you suffer with reflux these could help!

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by Charlie Ward • 30 November 2018

A great event for all things voice!

The Diaphragm - A Common Misconception

by Charlie Ward • 5 October 2018

Talking with singers over the last couple of weeks, has highlighted the misunderstanding associated with the diaphragm. The diaphragm contracts (shortens/tightens) when we breathe-in. Breathing out occurs as a result of the diaphragm actually RELAXING . The muscle fibres of the diaphragm recoil to their resting and lengthened state, passively pushing air out. It is not the other way around. Obviously when we sing, we need that all important ‘support’ to help control the outflow of air for sustaining phonation and reducing the strain on the vocal folds and larynx. So, instead of completely relaxing as it does during rested breathing, the diaphragm maintains tone and recoils in a controlled manner supported by the extended engagement of the internal and external intercostals resisting the recoil and the abdominals remaining relaxed. #diaphragm #vocalhealth #vocalanatomy #vocalmassage #laryngealmassage #laryngealmanualtherapy #singers #actors #voiceusers #didyouknow

Backstage @ Main Stage Godiva Festival 2018

by Charlie Ward • 21 September 2018

After a trip to the States, I touched ground in Heathrow and within hours was back to it. This time, only a few minutes down the round in Coventry. I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to the Godiva Festival this year to offer free 'Vocal Massage' to all artists performing on the main stage of this incredible festival. This festival is one of the largest in the UK and is absolutely FREE to enter. Yep! FREE to enter, and always has a great line-up of music old and new. It was a busy weekend and an amazing opportunity to spread the word about this therapy and the benefits it has for voice-users, especially those who are gigging and touring. We had some brilliant conversations with the artists, their backing vocalists and management; they tried it, they liked it, and went on stage feeling more relaxed and vocally 'free', and we helped them to wind down after their performance too. They also liked the free aluminium water bottles we were giving away. We didn't have many left by the end of the festival!! #passonplastic #refillable I have to give a big 'well done' to everyone involved in the festival, it was amazingly well managed and put together by people with a genuine love of music and a desire to put on a cracking show! I very much hope to be back next year.