u/ImaginaryEvidence998

So before I got my helix pierced, my piercer said he'd "massage" my ear first. He claimed it was to break up cartilage and some other stuff I forgot since he was already beating up my ear while explaining and I was in excruciating pain. It hurt so bad I felt like quitting before I even got the piercing. He also told me he knew the massage was worse than the piercing and if I could survive the massage I could survive the piercing and sure enough I didn't even feel it since my ear hurt so bad from the massage. Is this normal? Is this "ear massage" a real thing from piercers to break up cartilage and let the needle slide through better? I haven't gotten any other ear piercings since so I'm not sure if other piercers do this.