Top 3 Benefits of Massage

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Top 3 Benefits of Massage Therapy for All Injuries

Chronic injuries are more common than acute injuries. Most chronic injuries occur over a more extended period, often making them more challenging to diagnose and treat. If you have chronic pain, or you tend to reinjure the same part of your body, Massage Therapy at Purposed Physical Therapy & Massage in Greenville – Spartanburg, SC, can help.

Frequently, chronic injuries result from previous injuries that don’t properly heal, creating muscle imbalances, tightness, or weakness. Also, a chronic injury can result from continuous long-term habits, such as walking/running, training issues, improper cardio, desk jobs, working on a computer, and non-supportive footwear.

So, let’s take a look at the top 3 benefits of Massage Therapy for all injuries.

Benefit #1 – Massage Therapy Helps Lessen Muscle Tightness

Massage Therapy for chronic pain relieves muscle tightness. Muscle tightness tends to increase when you suffer from chronic pain.

Healthy muscle tightness restricts excess movements that might cause pain or worsen the damage to your tissues. But muscle tightness by itself tends to increase pain, especially over time. And eventually, muscle tightness makes it difficult to perform the activities of daily living. It makes it more likely that you will reinjure yourself.

To break this vicious cycle, Massage works to reduce your muscle tightness by increasing the blood flow to those muscles. Blood flow increases when you get a Massage because of the friction between your physical therapist’s fingers and your skin. Blood flow raises the temperature of your muscles. This increased blood flow improves tissue elasticity, letting your muscles relax, and tightness reduces. The relaxation of your muscles reduces restriction and tightness, so your pain eases, too.

Benefit #2 – Massage Therapy Helps Increase Range of Motion

When damage occurs to the tissues in your body, your muscles tend to contract around that area, which is supposed to prevent further damage. When your muscles contract, the tension increases and restricts your range of motion. Long-term damage, or repeated injury to the same part of your body, can cause prolonged restriction, making pain and stress even worse.

During a Massage, the friction between your skin and your physical therapist’s hands increases blood flow, causing a slight rise in the muscle temperature. The rise is enough to help relax and loosen muscles reducing muscle tightness and tension and increasing tissue elasticity. Then, muscles can stretch to their full length, which increases your range of motion. When you can move more freely with less muscle tension and tightness, your pain reduces, too.

Benefit #3 - Increased Mental and Physical Relaxation

When you hurt all the time, your muscles tense up without you even thinking about it. Your shoulders ride up, and it gets hard even to push them down far enough to relax. Then, no matter which part of your body hurts, your movements become restricted. Sometimes that restricted movement is because your pain increases as you move. Other times your tight muscles make it hard to move comfortably. And eventually, your whole body just refuses to obey your desire to be active because of the pain.

A Massage works to increase your relaxation physically and mentally. Physically, a Massage increases muscle relaxation and immediately relieves some of that restricted movement. Your relaxed muscles let go of that tightness and tension. You loosen up. Your muscles respond to the Massage because of an increase in the blood flow and temperature, which then results in that greater range of motion. Once your range of motion increases again, it decreases your pain and sets up a cycle to increase your relaxation.

A Massage increases mental relaxation by stimulating the release of positive hormones in the brain like endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine. These hormones reduce stress, depression, and anxiety and increase happiness, relaxation, and motivation. The level of positive hormones in your body increases when you get a Massage – no wonder you feel so good afterward!

Is Massage Therapy Right for You?

Investing in Massage Therapy is a way to invest in your health. If you have chronic pain or a chronic injury, Massage is an effective tool to reduce your pain and increase your ability to get on with your life!

There are several clear benefits of Massage Therapy. These benefits help you manage your pain and feel more engaged and motivated.

Decreases anxiety / depression
Enhances quality of sleep
Increases energy
Better concentration
Increases circulation
Reduces fatigue
Alleviates low-back pain
Improves range of motion
Eases dependence on pain medications
Enhances immunity through stimulating lymph flow
Exercises and stretches weak, tight, and atrophied muscles
Supports athletes at every level to prepare for, or recover from, workouts
Increases joint flexibility
Promotes tissue regeneration, reduces scar tissue and lessens the appearance of stretch marks
Reduces post-surgery swelling and adhesions
Reduces muscle cramps and spasms
Relaxes tired, injured, and overused muscles
Release endorphins—the body’s natural painkiller
Helps relieve migraine pain

Chronic pain and chronic injuries are often the results of repetitive trauma to your muscles, bones, tendons, and joints. A chronic injury results from prolonged, repetitive motion, particularly common in many endurance sports like running, swimming, and cycling.

So, chronic injuries are frequently called “overuse injuries,” suggesting the injuries result from overusing an area of your body while participating in a sport, exercising over a long period, or making any other motion continually. Not every chronic injury is from sports or exercise. Many people have neck, shoulder, wrist, or back pain that can be traced back to the hazards of their desk job.

Common chronic injuries are:

In Conclusion

If you are coping with long-term, chronic pain that has lasted more than 12 weeks, or you tend to reinjure the same area, then consider checking out Massage Therapy at Purposed Physical Therapy & Massage in Greenville – Spartanburg, SC. We’ll help you lessen muscle tightness, increase range of motion, and increase your mental and physical relaxation. Ultimately, Massage Therapy helps reduce your pain so that you can get on with your life!

Posted on 2021-10-27