What is massage therapy?
Massage therapy is a very beneficial treatment that eases muscle tension, relaxes frozen muscles, and works out knots in your tissues. Your therapist at Integrated Pain Solutions skillfully manipulates your muscles using a variety of expert techniques.
As well as having an effect on your muscles directly, massage therapy is calming and relieves stress. One of the most common reasons for having taut, knotted muscles is tension, but massage therapy can have profound emotional benefits that address the causes of muscle tension.
Can massage therapy help with chronic pain?
Massage therapy can also be a very useful component of your chronic pain treatment program. Expert therapeutic massage techniques can ease the discomfort of a variety of conditions, including:
- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Osteoarthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Headaches and migraines
Massage therapy is often an element of physical therapy treatments for chronic pain. Dr. Snowball works closely with your massage therapist to ensure you get optimal results from your treatment.
You could also benefit from having massage therapy alongside participation in activities like yoga or tai chi. Integrated Pain Solutions offers yoga classes for patients using Zoom conferencing technology for your convenience.
What techniques are used in massage therapy?
One of the key techniques used by massage therapists at Integrated Pain Solutions is myofascial release. Fascia is a connective tissue that runs through your muscles, organs, bones, and other tissues, attaching them all together.
If the fascia suffers damage from trauma or surgery, or muscle tension causes inflammation, it can constrict and cause chronic pain. Myofascial release is a technique that relieves the constriction in the fascia.
The massage therapists at Integrated Pain Solutions specialize in using Janet Travell's principles. Dr. Travell was an expert in myofascial release who made enormous strides in using trigger point therapy, a method of massaging severely constricted fascia to relieve pain.
What happens during my massage therapy session?
Your massage therapy session at Integrated Pain Solutions is a lot like going to a spa for a massage. All you need to do is relax while your massage therapist locates your trigger points and applies pressure.
After the myofascial release process, your massage therapy session continues with techniques suited to your condition. Fibromyalgia and arthritis, for example, require very gentle treatment, while other conditions might benefit from a more robust approach.
After your massage therapy session, you might feel sleepy as well as relaxed. When this wears off, it's not unusual for patients to feel brighter and more energized, as well as have less pain.
To discover how massage therapy could help with your chronic pain condition, call Integrated Pain Solutions today, or book an appointment online.
