Relaxed.

Mindful.

Cured?

These are just a few things that come to mind when we say massage therapy.  The art of healing touch has been practiced for centuries.  But the modern take on an ancient practice, has been combined with other therapies for purposes within the medical community.  While not all massage techniques are the same, the goals are often similar – to produce functional, flexible, pain-free body mechanisms.

Massage therapy is defined by www.nwhealth.com as is manual manipulation of soft body tissues (muscle, connective tissue, tendons and ligaments) to enhance a person’s health and well-being. There are dozens of types of massage therapy methods (also called modalities.)

Therapeutic massage is what the staff at the Back Pain Clinic Belleville perform on their patients during, or to complement, a chiropractic  procedure. This type of massage focuses on the goal of obtaining a therapeutic benefit.  For example, a patient may make an appointment for neck pain; however, when they arrive to the office, the pain might be so intense that the patient is unable to twist their head left or right.  At this point only a technician skilled in therapeutic massage would assess and treat the pain by releasing tension in the muscles and tendons that are causing irritability.  Depending upon the degree of pain, the patient could be overly sensitive to touch – making the massage less than relaxing.  Keep in mind the point is to manipulate the tissue in order to return to total functionality.

So if it’s not bones and nerves we’re worried about, why does muscle pain matter to chiropractic caregivers?

Muscle pain matters: it’s an important problem. Aches and pains are an extremely common medical complaint,and trigger points seem to be a factor in many of them.  They are a key factor in headaches (possibly including migraine and cluster headaches as well, neck pain and low back pain, and (much) more. What makes trigger points clinically important — and fascinating — is their triple threat. They can: 1) cause pain problems, 2) complicate pain problems, and/or 3) mimic other pain problems.

If you claim to have “tried everything, and nothing works,” then make an appointment with Dr. Fast. His vast skill set will have you pain-free in no time!