Massage Therapy is extremely beneficial for the overall well being of anyone. For thousands of years, healers have recognized the effects of various massage techniques for maintaining a strong, healthy body.
Massage Therapy
Therapeutic massage is a good complement to chiropractic treatment. Both are holistic in nature and facilitate the natural healing process by keeping your body in proper alignment and ensuring a free flow of nerve impulses and circulation of fluids. Together, chiropractic and massage provide you with a more complete and effective system of healthcare. Massage Therapy is extremely beneficial for overall health and wellness.
Besides relaxation and stress management, there are several other benefits from massage therapy, such as increasing blood flow, pain relief, and balancing energy.
Benefits of Massage
The therapeutic effects of massage are recognized and supported by scientific research. They include:
- General relaxation
- Improved circulation
- Muscle relaxation
- Alleviation of certain kinds of muscular pain
- Improvement in cellular nutrition
- Relief from the negative effects of stress
- Reduction of anxiety
Relief and Recovery
The pain which brings you to a chiropractor often involves problems in the musculature. These problems might include:Poor Circulation: Tight muscles may also constrict blood vessels, thus slowing blood flow to an area, a condition called ischemia. Ischemia causes pain. By increasing circulation to an area, massage reduces ischemia and therefore the pain it causes.
Trigger Points: Trigger points are specific spots in muscles and tendons which cause pain, and which may radiate pain to a larger area. They are thought by some to be small areas of spasm. Trigger points may be caused by sudden trauma (e.g. from falling or being hit) by repeated use of a particular muscle, or may develop over time from chronic muscular tension in an area. Direct pressure with the thumb or fingers on a trigger point will often deactivate it, thus relieving the pain it causes.
Damaged Tissues: Accidents at home, work, play, or on the road can leave bruises, sprains and other injuries in the soft tissues. Massage improves general and local circulation, helping to clear cellular debris from an injury site, and bringing nutrients needed to heal the damaged tissues. This massage helps speed recovery.
Pain-Spasm-Pain Cycle: You may get caught in the pain-spasm-pain cycle. This phenomenon is started either by pain or spasm in a muscle, which perpetuates itself in an endless loop. For example, you may tense up from pain- this causes more tension- more pain-more tension-more pain and on and on until something breaks the cycle. Massage, often used with ice, helps break this painful cycle.
Pinched Nerve: Nerves run alongside of, between, and through muscles. Tight muscles can squeeze and put pressure on nerves causing constriction, which interferes with the free flow of nerve impulses and sometimes causes pain. Through muscle relaxation, massage alleviates the constriction of nerves due to muscle tension.
Today’s Health Problems
Many of today’s major health problems are caused by chronic stress and conditions of modern living and working. Prolonged mental and emotional stress may lead to tension headache, backache, ulcers, colitis, blood sugar irregularities, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Too much stress has also been proven to impair the immune system leaving us vulnerable to many diseases, and inhibiting recovery as well.
Therapeutic Massage Helps
Therapeutic massage received regularly helps work out chronic muscular tension. Massage melts away a certain amount of tension in each session, and if received regularly, keeps tension from building up again. It helps you identify and correct patterns of holding tension. You can learn to relax and let go of tension you may not have even been aware of.
Therapeutic massage and stretching can help you regain and maintain proper alignment. As muscles are relaxed and restored to their optimal length, correct posture and alignment are more easily sustained.
Massage can also trigger the relaxation response, relieving the negative effects of stress and restoring balance in the body. Some positive effects of the relaxation response include slower heart rate, deeper breathing, more relaxed muscles, and better internal circulation.
To schedule an appointment for massage therapy, call (615)-771-7720.