While pain is the most glaring sign that something is wrong in the body, other symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, stress and depression, insomnia, and poor immune and digestive health are all indicative of a larger problem. When formulating treatment plans, massage therapy is an often undervalued aspect of holistic medicine that can not only provide relief but also promote healing in the body.
Often compared to chiropractic, therapeutic massage is a drastically different treatment. However, these therapies go hand-in-hand to provide patients with the utmost relief and recovery.
How Does Massage Therapy Work?
The effectiveness of massage therapy comes from the pressure and movements used to manipulate the soft tissue of the body. Using specific motions, a massage therapist targets individual muscles, tendons, ligaments, and connective tissue. Much like how a chiropractor manipulates the bones, joints, and discs of the musculoskeletal system, a massage therapist manually adjusts the soft tissue of the body so that everything is working in harmony.
Overall wellness means that each part of your body – from the smallest nerve to the largest bone – is in alignment with its neighboring parts. When an underlying problem is present in the body, such as postural alignment, a herniated disc, or even arthritis, it’s not just your bones that feel the wear and tear. The soft tissue of the body that helps you to move, twist, and bend, feels the effects as well. They will respond to any imbalance in the body, and that’s what massage therapy aims to treat.
There is a variety of massage techniques, from the popular Swedish massage to deep tissue massages, which are typically used to treat muscle damage from injuries. The motions in these techniques vary, as the former includes long strokes, kneading, and circular movements, whereas the latter requires more pressure to release tension from tight muscles. Other common forms of massage therapy include:
- Sports massage
- Neonatal massage
- Trigger point massage
- Shiatsu massage
- Hot stone massage
- Reflexology
