My massage therapist told me about adhesions and realigning connective tissue and all the stuff she does for a client to alleviate tension & restore things to good working order.
Naturally, I whipped out my phone when I got in the car and started looking stuff up:
She mentioned that adhesions are why massage hurt, basically–breaking them up isn’t fun and games.
Adhesions:
an abnormal union of membranous surfaces due to inflammation or injury.
Breaking them up allows blood to return to those tissues, which aids the euphoric feeling we have post-massage. Plus, it sends toxins and yuckiness to our body’s elimination system AND helps regulate hormones.
Pretty cool.
You can read more about Deep Tissue Massage and breaking up adhesions at About Health.