Medical Massage

Back pain:

Back pain is one of the most common disorders treatable through massage therapy. 

Back pain may come on sudden due to an abrupt hard contraction that injures the muscles.  A fall, over-exertion during exercise or sports activities and strenuous physical effort such as moving a large couch, or carrying heavy weight boxes, is usually to blame in acute cases. Even a simple sneeze, or an unexpected cough may lead to a swift reaction that can strain the muscles.

Back pain may also be categorized as a chronic condition due to years of abuse placed upon the muscles of the back and ligaments of the spine.  Inactivity, poor posture, habitual tension, standing or sitting for long periods are some examples of the causes of chronic discomfort.

Professional massage therapy can aid in the healing of the abused muscle and reduce the pain-spasm cycle. Not only will massage break up adhesions (those knots you feel), it helps to loosen the tension, aiding in blood flow, and bringing relief to stressed muscles.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or CTS is a condition, which causes that tingling, “pins and needles” feeling, numbness or even pain in your hand that can also radiate into the forearm.  To be more exact, the symptoms typically include the first digit (your thumb) to ½ vertically of the 4th digit, (your ring finger).

CTS is an over-use condition that occurs due to compression of the median nerve.  This nerve runs down your arm all the way to your wrist where it enters the hand through the carpal tunnel.

Swelling of this nerve is often caused by adhesions in the extensor muscles of the forearm. Excessive repetitive movement of the arm, wrist or hands, can aggravate the muscles leading to Carpal Tunnel. Some examples include, over use of the grasping function of the hand with tools, sports equipment, grasping the steering wheel on long car trips or prolonged writing with a pen. 

The good news is that Massage Therapy is known to have a positive, healing affect on CTS. When routine massage is worked on the muscles involved, many clients recover without the need for surgery.  CTS massage is further recommended as a course of prevention depending on your daily activity or job demands placed on your body.  

 Fibromyalgia:

A fibromyalgia sufferer typically looks well, but feels terrible.  The entire body generally aches and specific tender points are intensely painful.  This painful condition is characterized by pain, sleeplessness, decreased range of motion in joints, tender points and sometimes depression. Fibromyalgia often goes through cycles of “flare-up” and remission that make it difficult for the sufferer to manage their condition.

Research is providing a new insight into fibromyalgia and highlights the roles of therapeutic massage. Current evidence would support a massage routine to assist with the two key parts a of fibromyalgia sufferer’s day.  The first is to relieve morning stiffness.  The second aspect is in setting up a sound sleep.  This would involve afternoon exercise of some form, and using massage either pre-exercise or before bed to give delicate fibromyalgic muscles their best chance of repair.

Fibromyalgia is a complex syndrome, but understanding the nature of its achy, fragile muscles gives massage therapy a pivotal role in its management.

Headaches:

Almost everyone has suffered the pain of a headache. Headaches can last for a few hours up to several days.

The most common types of headaches are muscle tension and vascular headaches.

Muscle tension headaches produce dull, constant pain on both sides of the head and may also involve an aching neck or sensitive scalp.

Muscle tension headaches are sometimes called muscle contraction headaches because it is the tightening of the muscles of the head, face and neck that causes the pain. This is why tension headache sufferers often describe their pain as a “vice-like grip” at their temples or as tightening bands around the forehead or along the base of the skull.

Vascular headaches are the ones many people describe as “pounding” or “throbbing.” They occur when the blood vessels that supply the brain and the muscles in the head swell and constrict.

Since many tension headaches and migraine headaches are accompanied by neck pain, headache sufferers find that manual therapies such as massage offer relief from headache pain and related symptoms. Because massage therapy relaxes tense muscles, relieves muscle spasms, improves blood flow and aids relaxation, it can be helpful for relieving the pain of both tension and vascular headaches.

Massage therapy helps to relieve both types of headaches by easing muscle tension, relieving muscle spasms, releasing shortened muscles and relaxing tension held in the muscles of the head, shoulders, and neck. When muscle tension eases, there is less pressure on the nerves and blood vessels that supply them. Oxygen-rich blood circulation improves, which also relieves pain.

Massage therapy not only helps the muscles of the body to relax but also effectively reduces the anxiety and mental stress that can cause or exacerbate headaches. Regular, ongoing massage therapy can also help to prevent headaches by helping to reduce overall stress and the muscle tension that can trigger headache pain and by helping to maintain emotional balance.

Neck Pain/Stiffness:

Neck pain and/or stiffness affect millions of people.  There are many causes of neck pain including "sleeping wrong", poor body posture at work, or various injuries.  In most cases the muscles of the neck and upper back are the problem although postural issues farther down may be causing the problem. 

Massage therapy is very effective at relieving neck pain and restoring full range of motion.

Osteoarthritis:

The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis, sometimes called Degenerative Joint Disease or DJD.   Osteoarthritis/DJD occurs when the cartilage in the joint wears away or is damaged by trauma.  Muscles and connective tissues around joints with mild to moderate osteoarthritis/DJD tend to tighten to support the joint.  This tightening is one of the reasons arthritis is accompanied by muscular pain. 

Massage therapy is usually successful in relieving muscular pain associated with this type of arthritis and may even help prevent further deterioration of joints.

Plantar Fasciitis:

If you've ever been diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis, you know how agonizing this condition can be. Symptoms usually start with pain on the bottom of your foot when you first put weight on it after being at rest. This, then, usually progresses to pain that lasts longer and longer, and, in some cases, can eventually lead to bone spurs.

What is happening is that the fascia on the sole of your foot (the plantar surface) becomes irritated and inflamed. When it becomes irritated, or stretched more than it cares to be, it pulls on its attachment point. The pain is felt at the back part of the arch of the foot, just in front of the heel. It can be a sharp pain, or burning, and it's almost always worst when you first stand on it. 

Massage Therapy can be useful in several ways. A well-trained or experienced Massage Therapist should be able to treat the symptoms, and to recommend exercises to help prevent recurrences, as well as help the condition to subside. Treatment can be painful, as it is often necessary to work on the tender site at the back of the arch. The good news is that the pain doesn't usually last long, and most people report a diminishing of pain in a matter of seconds.

Rotator Cuff:

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and their tendons, which envelope the main shoulder joint (where the upper arm bone sits on a shallow socket in the shoulder blade). The rotator cuff allows the arm to raise and rotate (at the shoulder joint) and helps to stabilize the shoulder joint during movement.

A strain or tear in the rotator cuff may occur suddenly from trauma (such as a fall) or gradually from chronic overuse. It may also develop due to poor posture, placing undue stress on the shoulder joint, or advance aging leaving tendons weaker, less elastic and thus, more susceptible to injury.

Deep tissue massage is often used in the treatment of rotator cuff injuries, as well as Ice therapy if the injury is acute. Massage therapy relieves pain and increases range of motion while it increases circulation and speeds healing.

Sciatica:

Sciatica is a painful condition in which the roots of nerves leading to the back of the leg are abnormally compressed. This condition is characterized by pain and/or numbness down the back of the leg. Abnormally tight muscles in the low back can cause sciatica symptoms, as can muscles in the buttocks area, which can press on the sciatic nerve.  There are even muscles which "refer" their pain in a pattern which mimics sciatica.  

In these cases Massage Therapy, particularly Neuromuscular Therapy, can minimize or even eliminate the pain and numbness.

Tennis Elbow or Golfer's Elbow:

Tennis elbow or Golfer's elbow is a pain that occurs in the outer or the inner bone of the elbow. The damaged part in tennis elbow or golfer's elbow however, is not the elbow bone but a tendon or tissue that connects the bone structures of forearm and upper arm.  Stress of repeated twisting movements or overuse causes small tears in the tendon. If the tendon is not allowed to heal, tears can become bigger or turn into ruptures

Though anyone can get tennis elbow injury, the age group most effected by is between 35 to 55. A severe case of tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow may take months to recover while a mild case will take only a couple of weeks.

The name tennis or golfers elbow can be misleading. Anyone is prone to tendon injury. Professions requiring hands-on physical work such as construction, and other activities that require repeated twisting motion of the hand, wrist or forearm such as gardening or sewing.

Massage therapy can be a highly effective treatment for tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow. Special massage therapy techniques allow tendons, tissue and muscles in the hand, wrist, forearm, upper arm, shoulder and neck, to become flexible, cleansed, lengthened and strong.

Massage therapy is a wonderful tennis and golfer elbow injury prevention, as well as treatment.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome:

Characterized by pain and/or numbness from the neck or shoulder down the arm, this condition is actually from a number of potential sources.  The syndrome may be caused by pressure on the nerve roots leading to the arm by muscles in the neck, by the clavicle (collar bone) and first rib, by a muscle of the chest called pectoralis minor, or a combination of all of them.  

Massage therapy, especially Neuromuscular Therapy, and Myofascial release are often completely successful in treating this syndrome.

TMJ Pain/Dysfunction:

Characterized by pain in the jaw, clicking when opening or closing the jaw, headaches and grinding of teeth, TMJ Dysfunction is no laughing matter.  Many things can contribute to TMJ Dysfunction including missing teeth, trauma to the jaw from accidents or sporting events, stress, or even postural distortions.  

Massage therapy, in conjunction with care by your Dentist, can relieve tension and holding patterns in the muscles and connective tissues of the head, neck, and jaw to help normalize jaw function and relieve pain.  Additionally, postural patterns, which pre-dispose a person to jaw problems, may be corrected by massage therapy.

Whiplash/Neck Injuries:

If you have ever been in a car accident, particularly a rear-end collision, one of the most common injuries you could sustain is whiplash. Like the lash of a whip, the neck is susceptible to injury as a result of the whipping motion. When the neck and head are forcibly whipped forward on impact, and then forcibly whipped back, there is a possibility of damage to the soft tissues, including the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Severe whiplash can also injure the inter-vertebral joints of the spine, discs, cervical muscles and nerve roots.

Whiplash is treatable and most symptoms will resolve over time; however, early intervention is key to a speedy recovery. If left untreated, pain and discomfort may become chronic and could affect the quality of your life, so be sure to consult with your physician and massage therapist immediately following a whiplash injury.

Disclaimer: 

The information presented on this web page is for informational purposes only. This information does not take the place of advice from a physician. Massage therapist do not diagnose medical conditions. You are highly advised to seek the advice of your physician before seeking massage therapy as a medical treatment.