Clinical / Medical Massage in Scottsdale
The serious effects of muscular pain
Musculoskeletal pain and injury conditions are an increasingly common reason for individuals to seek medical care in the United States. In fact, soft tissue pain and injuries are the second most common group of conditions seen by family practice physicians, exceeded in the number of visits only by infectious diseases. The economic and emotional costs of these conditions is concerning and distressing for the patient, their families, employers and the healthcare community. Yet many current treatment modalities are often unsuccessful at relieving symptoms. Consequently, healthcare professionals are exploring new and alternative approaches for the treatment of soft tissue pain.
Medical Massage in Scottsdale
Clinical Massage in Scottsdale
What is Clinical / Medical Massage?
Pain from accidents, injuries, sprains/strains, repetitive motion, poor posture and physical stress send millions of people to their doctors each year. This problem is often seated in the soft tissues of the body which are one of the most overlooked and underestimated causes of pain. Medical Massage Therapy is a clinically based approach that utilizes the focused application of advanced manual therapy techniques to treat specific conditions and their underlying causes. It is performed by a therapist with advanced knowledge, training & experience in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain & injury. Medical Massage Therapy offers a beneficial form of rehabilitative medicine in conjunction with physical therapy and/or chiropractic treatment for full recovery from your injury. Medical Massage can often be as or even more effective in treating muscular and other soft tissue injuries than either of these traditional methods.
How Can It Help?
In many cases, the soft-tissues of the body (muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, joint capsules and nerves, etc.) are the primary culprit that causes pain and dysfunction and can be easily and effectively treated with a comprehensive plan utilizing Medical Massage and corrective exercise. Typically, painful conditions can be eliminated in only a few visits by releasing chronically tight (hypertonic) tissues and restoring proper muscular health, strength and stability to your body. In other cases, we may be able to significantly reduce your pain, perhaps enough to allow you to avoid surgery or other invasive procedures. Even if you've had poor results with massage or other treatments in the past, don't feel you have to suffer endlessly with no options. We've helped hundreds of patients recover completely from soft tissue pain, injuries, restricted motion and many other disorders.
Therapeutic vs. Medical Massage?
Therapeutic massage is generally performed by therapists working in a spa or membership based clinic and is described as a general "feel-good" massage. Many times the jargon and buzzwords used to describe various types of massage treatments can imply a medically based approach. However, this is usually not the case. Regular massage therapists, while competent and well-trained in relaxation based massage, generally lack both the knowledge and experience to safely and effectively treat specific musculoskeletal injuries and disorders. Most initial massage education programs do not include adequate coursework in health and medical sciences which are needed to gain expertise in these areas. This can be achieved only through higher education in advanced concepts and technique coupled with years of experience. Medical Massage therapists utilize a comprehensive and individualized approach to administer a range of safe and effective techniques to help improve your condition at your specific stage of healing.
An Effective Solution
Medical massage therapy has a variety of beneficial effects for various pain and injury problems. It appears to not only enhance blood circulation, but the movement of lymphatic and other tissue fluids as well. This can help speed the healing of various soft tissue injuries. One of the more signficant effects of massage comes from its ability to reduce neuromuscular activity. Many overuse conditions cause excess tension in the muscular system. Few forms of intervention are as effective at relieving excess tension as massage. Medical massage therapy can be an excellent addition to other treatment approaches such as physical therapy or chiropractic as well as an effective alternative to more invasive treatments such as surgery or injections. Research has shown that the need for surgery may be greatly reduced for many conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome when massage is used as a treatment. For example, generalized muscular tension in the back, shoulders and neck muscles may mimic the symptoms that are often mis-diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Do Your Homework
Regardless of the type of massage you choose, it is always helpful to inquire into the skills and training of the therapist. It is important to remember that experience levels of massage therapists can vary greatly. Massage, although seemingly benign may, in some cases, be ineffective and even inappropriate. If you are unsure about whether medical massage may be appropriate for your condition consult your physican or call our office.