Massage, Pain, Stress and Trauma: What the "MASSAG" Model Helps Us Understand

Wednesday 29th April 2026 @ 7 p.m.

Presenter: Anna Maria Mazzieri

Synopsis: In this session, Anna-Maria Mazzieri will explore a big question that matters to many therapists in practice: when tissue feels taut, guarded or sensitive, how much of that is simply a local tissue issue - and how much may reflect a nervous system that is activated, protective or on high alert?

Drawing on a recent paper she co-authored, Anna Maria will explain how chronic pain, stress and trauma can affect the body’s sensory systems, making people more reactive to pain, more guarded, and sometimes less able to experience touch as safe or soothing. She will then look at how massage and other soft tissue approaches may help by influencing both the body and the nervous system.

The session will break down the MASSAG model in a practical, accessible way. It will help therapists think about how touch, pressure, movement, safety, trust and context may all shape a client’s pain experience. It will also explore ideas around inflammation, fascia, muscle tension, nervous system regulation and the brain’s interpretation of bodily signals.

Biography: Anna Maria Mazzieri is a Soft Tissue Therapist and educator with over twenty years of experience spanning clinical practice, vocational education, and more recently research.
Founder and lead tutor of The ST School, a well-regarded training provider delivering the Level 5 Diploma in Soft Tissue Therapy. She is a strong advocate for raising academic, clinical, and professional standards within the profession, and for embedding evidence-based practice, critical reasoning, and contemporary clinical frameworks into massage and soft tissue therapy education.
Anna Maria collaborates internationally with researchers and academics and has co-authored several peer-reviewed articles examining the mechanisms of massage and manual therapy.
Her most recent work, the MASSAG model, published in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews (2026), proposes an integrative neuroscience framework linking emotional trauma, pain, and the mechanisms of massage.
In 2025, she started a PhD at HSU Centre for Pain and Active Inference Research, investigating touch, multisensory integration and embodied selfhood in chronic pain populations.
Her teaching is characterised by a dynamic, enquiring approach that encourages curiosity, dialogue, and critical discussion, supporting therapists to develop confidence, depth, and clinical integrity.

Chair of the SMA, Yvonne Blake, will open the event at 7pm. We're looking forward to seeing you there!

Yvonne Blake

Anna Maria Mazzieri

We ask you to ONLY register for this event if you are able to attend LIVE.  

All SMA Study Events are recorded and made available to eligible members after the event has taken place.

If you are NOT an SMA member, attending this event will cost £25. We will then register you as a Friend of the SMA and you will gain access to all the SMA's live Study Events for the following 12 months.