MASSAGE

What is Massage Therapy?

Because we want to provide the best care options to enhance our patient’s quality of life, we offer various therapies to achieve the overarching goal of every patient who steps through our doors; and increased quality of life. Primarily utilized for pain relief, massage therapy uses manual manipulation of soft tissues to relieve pain in the back, neck, shoulder, and other regions of the body. There are different massage techniques that all have their own benefits and characteristics. The different massages that we offer, their benefits, and the problems that they address will be described below.

Benefits

There are numerous benefits to massage therapy. These include:

• Pain Management
• Increased circulation
• Injury prevention
• Targeted muscle tension relief
• Decreased stress levels
• Increased relaxation
• Lowered blood pressure
• Improved immunity
• Increased sleep quality
• Decreased joint inflammation
• Decreased anxiety
• Increased energy
• Increased flexibility
• Restless Legs

Problems Addressed

Massages can help with both specific and general physical conditions. They are great for anything from athletic recovery to stress relief. Some of the specific conditions that massages aid in are as follows:

• Stress Relief
• Digestive disorders
• Fibromyalgia
• Headache
• Insomnia
• Nerve pain
• Post-surgery
• Scar tissue
• Soft tissue strains and injuries
• Sports injuries

Therapies Offered

At Chiropractic Health Associates, we offer various forms of massages based upon the patient’s needs. Each of the following offered massages come with their own uses and benefits.

Deep Tissue Massage

This massage technique is generally used for pain management and targeted muscle tension relief. Deep tissue massages focus on a specific problem area on the patient’s body and aims to decrease stiffness and pain in that area. In comparison to other kinds of massages, deep tissue massages are not as rhythmic as its counterparts. They involve the manipulation of the connective tissues in the body- muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other tissue deep within a patient’s body

Sports Massage

Sports massages use both manual manipulation and assisted stretching to prevent injury and decrease pain levels in athletes. These massages can target deep tissues and superficial tissues alike, it depends on what the athlete’s goals are. Sports massages can be used for recovery, regular maintenance, or prior to competitions. They are also used to speed up recovery after injury and for muscle strains.

Prenatal Massage

These massages are used for stress relief and pain management among pregnant women. They can also help with swelling due to pregnancy in the arms and legs. These massages are especially beneficial when medication is not providing relief and when medication is limited. WIth this kind of massage, it is understood that some positions are uncomfortable to get into. Because of this, the massage therapist will communicate various positions that the patient can be in to receive the massage.

Relaxation Massage

This form of massage involves smooth, rhythmic, and flowy strokes with the goal of relaxation. Relaxation massages are more therapeutic and similar to Swedish massages. The purpose of relaxation massages are to improve circulation, release muscle tension, and relax the nervous system.

Swedish Massage

This form of massage is the most common one performed. There are many different strokes used in a Swedish massage. These strokes are rhythmic, light, soft, long, kneading, and tapping. Opposed to deep tissue massages, Swedish massages focus on the uppermost layers of muscles and the skin. It is primarily used to relieve muscle tension and is beneficial post-injury. Swedish massages can be both relaxing and energizing.

Cupping

One final therapy that is offered in conjunction with the massages, or as its own separate therapy is cupping. Cupping therapy is similar to a massage where its goal is to release muscle tension and decrease pain. However, it is also used to decrease inflammation and improve blood flow. If it were to be compared to a massage, it is most similar to a Deep Tissue massage. The cups themselves can be made of various materials such as glass, bamboo, earthenware, and silicon. Here, we use silicon cups for cupping therapy.