Massage Therapy: Could It Be the Answer To Your Pain Problems?

Massage therapy is often overlooked as a treatment option when you’re suffering from pain. Medications and more invasive treatments are often prescribed, but they’re really just covering the problem. 

A holistic approach is sometimes the best choice when it comes to physical medicine and treating pain.

At Integrated Body and Medicine, our team helps you get the specialized care you need when you can’t seem to kick your pain to the curb. Our team consists of expertly trained professionals who offer a number of different types of pain-relief therapy.

Understanding massage therapy

Massage therapy eases muscle tension and promotes a sense of well-being and relaxation. A licensed massage therapist who’s been specially trained performs this type of therapy.

Massage is a mixture of techniques that allows the massage therapist to both manually manipulate your muscles and ease soft tissue tension throughout your body. Not only is it a benefit for your muscles, but other parts of your body as well, including:

• Ligaments
• Connective tissue
• Tendons
• Skin

Massage therapy has one specific goal — to allow your nervous system to slow down and take a break. This is helpful in a number of different conditions and may help you by relieving tension and stress built up in your body. It may also:

• Heal injuries
• Support overall wellness
• Relieve pain symptoms
• Promote relaxation

There are many different types of massage therapy, each one with the aim of helping you feel your best and allowing your body to take a break from pain and discomfort.

Types of massage therapy

If you’re experiencing chronic pain, massage therapy is an avenue that we explore with you for relief. There are several forms of massage therapy that can help you relax and maximize pain relief.

Lymphatic massage

The lymphatic fluid in your body is essential for removing toxins and waste. A lymphatic massage is a lighter touch massage that allows this fluid to move freely, helping to decrease inflammation throughout your body. 

Arthritis is one condition for which we would recommend this type of massage.

Trigger point massage

Trigger points are areas of small muscle spasms that cause a lot of pain. This type of massage hones in on those areas to increase blood flow and relax the spasm. If you’re suffering from chronic pain, trigger point massage might help.

Myofascial release

If you suffer from muscle tightness in your neck, back, and shoulders, myofascial release may be just what you need. 

The fascia is a supportive layer of tissues under your skin that allows you to move easily. The goal of myofascial release is to work on the muscles and fascia that supports them to release deep-seeded tension and tightness.

Deep tissue massage

If your muscles are chronically tight or you’ve suffered an injury and have recurrent pain, you may benefit from a deep tissue massage. This massage requires a more aggressive touch to get into your tight muscles and tissues to release them.

If your pain is due to tight muscles from playing sports or from exercising, consider a sports massage. It focuses on the muscles that you overuse when you’re physically active.

Benefits of massage therapy

Massage therapy goes far beyond just a day at the spa. In fact, it has several benefits to your overall health, including relieving acute and chronic pain.

If you’re looking for an overall sense of wellness, massage therapy:

• Improves sleep
• Decreases stress
• Decreases muscle tension
• Improves fibromyalgia
• Helps with cancer pain

When you can’t seem to get your pain under control, consider massage therapy. You may be surprised by the results.

If you’d like to learn more about how massage therapy can help you, call our office or schedule an appointment through our online system today. We serve the greater Highland, Indiana.