Neck & Back Pain Relief |
So many have known this simple fact for years! But it sure is nice to see a medical study that finally proves it. So how does this really work? How can massage therapy really help relief back pain and in that case, muscle pain in general? Well, first off, there are many differing philosophies about how to bring about effective change on muscle tissue.
Many Chiropractors feel that all muscle spasms can easily be fixed with an adjustment of a subluxated joint. While the Physical Therapists of the world feel that a muscle spasm is a sign of muscle weakness and needs to be exercised, stretched and strengthened. Then there is the army of Massage Therapists that believe a muscle spasm just needs to be “pressured” into submission. The truth of the matter is….they are all partly correct!
Chances are, if you have been having a chronic muscle spasm, you will probably need the assistance of all three professionals. When a joint is “out” or subluxated, the attached muscle tissue will go into spasm either from being overly stretched or from being forced into hyper tension. This may in turn fatigue the muscle tissue rendering it in a weakened state. But until you get the underlying muscle tissue to stop the involuntary spasm, you will have little to no success with your chiropractic “adjustment” or the physical therapy “exercise”.
That is why so many times one must return frequently to the Chiropractor to get an adjustment again, because the muscle tissue is still in spasm, pulling and fixating the joint back to where it was before. As for excercise…you CAN NOT exercise inhibited muscle tissue…PERIOD. So if the muscle is in spasm, there is ZERO point in trying to strengthen it.
This is were Massage Therapy can compliment both Chiropractic and Physical Therapy, by first, stopping the muscle spasm and returning normal blood flow to the area. Then the chiropractic adjustment will hold better and the exercise program can then actually increase the strength of the muscle tissue with out just forcing the body to compensate by using the other surrounding muscles.
I’m not even going to touch the subject of what a medical doctor will do………medicate it or chop it off??? Wow what an option!
Check out this links for Medical Studies that show the effectiveness of Massage Therapy!
Also click here to see what other pain symptoms that Massage Therapy can help relieve!