Healing past injuries with massage

If you have been experiencing ongoing pain from an old injury such as chronic back, knee, or shoulder pain, there may be something you can do to start feeling better.  Massage therapy just might be the answer to alleviating such painful issues.

The benefits you can receive from massage therapy will depend on several related factors including, how long you have been living with the injury and how serious it is.  It is not uncommon for older injuries to require more extensive work.  Unlike a regular massage visit, a massage therapy session targeted towards healing an injury will likely be deeper and concentrated on certain areas instead of a general relaxation massage to the whole body.

Massage therapy is an ideal treatment for any injuries involving the soft tissue of muscles and tendons and is very successful at stretching muscles and releasing tightness.  These types of injuries often occur because your muscles have contracted in order to compensate for another injury to your body.  Overly tight muscles can cause pain in distant areas as well as the site of the original injury.  Muscle stiffness can also create improper joint movement.

Using massage therapy for old injuries has proved to be a great solution for many individuals suffering with ongoing pain.  In a recent study, surveyed readers reported massage as equally effective as chiropractic care and ranked massage therapy much higher than other kinds of treatment like physical therapy and medications.  If you have an injury that just doesn’t seem to go away, consider trying massage therapy as an option for relief.  Be sure to communicate with your massage therapist prior to your appointment about the details of your pain.  Address the following topics:

• The original cause of the injury
• When you first started feeling your chronic pain
• Any instances that may have reinjured you
• The precise symptoms of your injury

This information is very important to relay to your massage therapist because the body will often try to protect one area by overcompensating to another area.  Finding the source of an injury is crucial as this issue can continue to create new problems.  With the right communication and a good therapist, you can start on the road to recovery from your chronic pain so you can live a better life.

If you have any questions related to structural integration, other types of massage, or if you would like to schedule an appointment with Structura, please call us at 801-897-8711.