Benefits of Massage Therapy

Massage therapy is a therapeutic technique that has been used to treat pain and injuries safely for centuries. It offers excellent complimentary treatment to chiropractic manipulative therapy.

Most musculoskeletal complaints involve both a soft-tissue and an articular component. Take headaches for example: people who suffer from frequent headache often have both muscular tension, and joint fixations in their cervical spines. Tight muscles restrict joint motion, which leads to stiffness and pain in the joints of the neck. On the other side of that coin; a stiff, achy joint can aggravate the surrounding muscles and cause them to tighten and become painful.

There are a wide variety of massage therapy techniques. Some focus primarily on relaxation, while others are more therapeutic in nature. Generally, relaxation massage is performed in a spa setting, and therapeutic massage is practiced in chiropractic offices by licensed massage therapists.

Benefits of therapeutic massage:
• Relieves muscular stress
• Helps with headache
• Neck and back pain relief
• TMJ (jaw pain) help
• Treats whiplash after a car accident
• Can help with post-surgical scar formation
• Relieves frozen shoulder

Types of therapeutic massage:
• Deep tissue – breaks up muscle spasm, increases range of motion, increases nutrients to muscles and flushes toxins
• Myofascial release – treats the muscle/fascia interface to enhance muscle function and reduce pain
• Trigger point therapy – provides sustained pressure on particular muscular dysfunctions to aid in reduction of pain, numbness and tingling
• Pregnancy/prenatal massage – releases tension in low-back and abdominal areas caused by carrying baby. Can also help ease delivery and labor.

While beneficial for a wide variety of conditions, massage can aggravate certain complaints and injuries. You should consult with your chiropractic physician prior to starting a massage therapy program.

Source: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/power-massage-infographic/

Author

Joseph Pate, D.C. Doctor of Chiropractic