PURE Spa & Beauty Blog

This week, we’re delighted to play host to the fabulous writings of Laura Carroll — owner of Prezent representation and current president of the Edinburgh Businesswomen’s Club. A powerhouse in the Scottish business world, Laura first honed her skills as a performer at the world famous Moulin Rouge (awesome!).

She knows a thing or two about being on her feet all day,
so without further ado, we now prezent…

The Good Pain Principle
by Laura Carroll

As far as I’m concerned there are two types of pain. There’s the ‘bad’ kind of pain, where you stand on a plug or bend your fingernail back, and there’s the ‘good’ kind of pain, like when your massage therapist presses her elbow into a particularly tender spot in your buttock. I’m all for ‘good’ pain, as you feel like you’re actually getting some benefit from it – even if it’s mildly uncomfortable at the time.

In turn, I was far from disappointed during my latest deep tissue massage at PURE Spa Ocean Terminal. It is the epitome of calm and chic! Sometimes it’s hard to remember that – whilst you’re lying on a heated bed, listening to the relaxing sounds of trickling water music – you’re actually in the heart of one of Edinburgh’s biggest shopping malls. But that’s what makes it so perfect. The excellent location means that not only can I arrive by bus or car I can also nip into M&S afterwards to pick up tonight’s dinner!

I was being treated to the Body Booster package and decided to opt for the deep tissue massage over a luxury facial. I felt I owed it to my body. Like most of you reading this, I spend the majority of my time either in front of a computer or on my feet for meetings. Being a busy businesswomen, I often find I have multiple aches and pains at the end of each day. My shoulders are tight from hunching over a keyboard and my lower back aches from standing in high heels. I know many of you will experience the same niggles.

According to the NHS, about 7.6 million working days were lost due to back pain in 2010-2011. Hunching over desks, too high monitors and low chairs all help to contribute to repetitive strain injury, sciatica and tension in the trapezius resulting in headaches. Women who wear high heels are also opening themselves up to a shortened achilles tendon, compression of the spine in the lower back and trapped nerves.

Now, I’m not here to preach. I personally have terrible posture at a computer, the result of which is physiotherapy for trapped nerves every other week and I wear high heels most days (I was once told by my podiatrist that the best thing to help my arthritis in my feet was to wear flat, Velcro shoes. Needless to say I laughed in her face). However, I understand the importance of managing my conditions to ensure a happy, pain-free life and allow me to do my job properly. Massage is one of the ways I try to do this.

Maggie, my massage therapist, explained that I had what she called ‘desk back’. My shoulders, neck and gluts were rock solid and full of knots. Maggie tackled this by applying pressure on the tightest parts to release them off, a technique known as acupressure and with long, sweeping motions alongside my spine. The result was a lot of ‘good’ pain!

I’d be lying if I said this is the type of massage you will fall asleep during your treatment but it was incredibly relaxing, knowing that I was helping my back recover and flush the toxins out of my body. When I got up from the bed afterwards, I was so relaxed I almost fell over. My back, neck and shoulders were the freest I felt them since my two week holiday in Crete a few months back.

It was with a heavy heart that I sat down in the bench in the changing room to put my heeled boots on and sling my laptop case over my shoulder. But I know that my massage has helped to relieve some of the damage I insist on doing to myself. So much so that I’ll be back again next month, for another dose of ‘good’ pain!