Mia
You'll find that most massages in Turkey are not as your friend was trained. Whether the masseurs are trained or not I don't know. Sometimes massages are good, other times they are not. There are so many different varieties of massage & masseuse, some gentle others really get into the muscles that unless the person concentrates on the spine & does something really manipulative, that they shouldn't, that it's hard to tell. I've had swedish massage from plenty & every masseuse is different - some much better than others.
I actually trained in Swedish Massage & before you all ask - NO - I don't intend doing it as it's bl..dy hard work if you really want to get results. It also hurts my thumbs as I like to do really get into the muscles, I tend to use a special crystal ball massager to really work those knots out now. I reserve my massages now for Carl.
Had quite a few massages in Turkey & unlike here they never take your medical history. You're in a holiday resort, they are unlikely to see you again so why would you want to sit down for 30mins having a consultation before the massage? I think it was up to your friend to tell her of any possible medical history before the massage was started.