Understanding Remedial Massage and Chiropractic Treatment
Posted on: 20 May 2020
If you suffer from muscle, tissue or joint pain due to an injury, bad posture, strain, misaligned bone structure, etc., you need to see a chiropractor, especially if the pain is centred on your back or backbone/spine, neck and shoulders. Here's what you need to know about remedial massage and chiropractic treatment:
What Is Remedial Massage?
Remedial massage is the application of pressure on various muscles in your body to ease pain and enhance healing. Additionally, remedial massage is believed to increase blood flow around injured areas of your body, which helps in the removal of damaged cells, adhesions, scar tissues and blockages that are formed when an injury occurs.
Remedial massage should be performed by a qualified and licensed practitioner because the practitioner must understand the anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of your body. Such knowledge helps the practitioner to balance your muscle or soft tissue tone, length and tension, which promotes normal bone, joint and capsular repositioning.
Since remedial massage requires knowledge of bone structure, you might be required to visit a chiropractor, who can combine both remedial massage and chiropractic treatment for effective treatment.
What Is Chiropractic Treatment?
This is what is commonly known as cracking bones; the chiropractor pulls or pushes some of your body joints to pop back the bone into position. This helps realign bones that have popped out of position and also straighten backbones.
Once this has been done, remedial massage can be performed to ease tension and pain and improve blood flow.
What Can You Expect When You Visit the Chiropractor?
- Question and Answer Session
Of course, your chiropractor may want to know the reason you are experiencing back pain; therefore, you should be ready to tell them when your pain started, what you were doing before the pain started, what you think is the cause of the pain, what remedies you have tried, etc.
You may also be asked whether you feel pain in other areas of your body that are not near the injured area. Sometimes, pain radiates and can be felt elsewhere; the chiropractor can use remedial massage to trace the source of such pain.
- Physical Exam
Your chiropractor may want to examine you physically, where he or she puts his or her hands on your body to feel if some bones are misaligned and whether your muscles feel rigid or stiff. Some misalignment is visual and can be noticed if you lie on the chiropractic chair on your stomach and your body indicates a tilt, which is observed when one of your legs appears longer than the other or one of your scapulars seems lower than the other.
- Tests
You might be required to take scans, which can either be MRIs or x-rays. The scans help your chiropractor get a better visual of the musculoskeletal system area in distress.
- Treatment
When your chiropractor collects all the necessary details to help in understanding your problem better, he or she can create a treatment plan, which can include remedial massage and chiropractic treatment. It may also include carrying out various exercises and stretches and taking or applying medication.
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