Do massages help?

From my personal experience, massage feels good at the time, but what really addresses these types of problems is the PT approach. I went to a massage therapist associated with a PT office whose aim was to help me realign the misaligned muscles. He gave me exercises that I diligently did as instructed. It takes time to retrain the body. Proper ergonomics also is vital, and they can help you with that as well.

From my personal experience, massage feels good at the time, but what really addresses these types of problems is the PT approach. I went to a massage therapist associated with a PT office whose aim was to help me realign the misaligned muscles. He gave me exercises that I diligently did as instructed. It takes time to retrain the body. Proper ergonomics also is vital, and they can help you with that as well.

I get massages regularly, almost weekly really, to help manage tension that can otherwise create an unsafe situation for me at work. Meaning I don't want to set myself up for failure because I can't move or bend the way I need to. Once or twice a month I get deep tissue massages and she stretches me out which helps so much. Beyond that, I have a physical therapist and I go to the gym.

I find Thai massage along with targeted acupressure to be most effective. It involves doing a lot of floor stretching, really helps my back! Lots of great videos on YouTube if you want to see it in action. If you can handle the pressure deep tissue is great too. Swedish massage feels nice but benefits are short lived in my opinion...

My back is killing me. I hurt it in a non-work related way, but I have a 12 hour shift coming up, and I am seriously considering booking a massage.

I've only had one massage in my life, but I'm wondering if there's anybody out there who gets them regularly, and if so, do they really help with pain/stress/sleep/etc.?

Movement helps your back. My physical therapist gave me exercises to stretch my back and to improve strength in my core, which supports the back. She also recommended that massage on a monthly basis may be helpful, but the thing that helps the most is movement. I noticed that I'd be stiff and in excruciating pain after my 45 minute drive to work, but the 10 minute walk in from my car would loosen me up enough that I could work without pain.

They help with stress in my opinion. When I had a lipoma on my neck that was causing issues with my left shoulder/arm, they helped with the stiffness and pain. (I literally could not intubate for two years due to arm weakness which I thought was just arthritis from typing). The only thing that worked better than the massage for the pain was cutting the lipoma out.

I don't get them regularly, but I think they do help. And I don't know if you have one in your area, but I've gotten a couple at a massage school in my area, which is about 1/2 price of what a certified massage therapist costs.