Massage Therapy
By Beth Sabor
Often times we hear people talking about needing to relax or going to the spa for a day of pampering. There was a time in my life that I couldn’t have agreed more. Having first hand seen the results, I now sing a different tune.
Massage is a wonderful, if not one of the most effective, forms of relaxation. However, what about when someone is suffering from chronic muscle pain. Perhaps you have headaches, a bad back, and maybe sore ankles. As a practicing massage therapist, I am always looking for what causes people to be in pain. So many times a client comes to me as a last resort to resolve some undiagnosed chronic ache or pain. They have been to every doctor possible and no one can seem to find a reason for the issues. Upon coming to see the massage therapist, they are only looking for some day to day relief. Little do they know that the massage therapist may actually be able to facilitate a major change.
So now you want to know what causes this chronic pain. Every therapist has there own idea. And to be honest, most are correct. I believe that a lot of chronic pain is caused by postural issues and muscle memory. Our bodies are designed by nature to be in a certain position. We have an amazing network of bones and soft tissue to defend this belief. Over a period of time, months or even years, we change this position. Through repetitious action or injury, we can actually change the position of our soft tissue and bones. This does not, however, change how we were designed to be. Now we have a situation where bones that are supposed to be here are over there and muscles that should be performing that job are performing this job. What a mess!!
Take for example rounded shoulders and forward head posture. We have all seen someone walking down the street like they are trying to get back on all fours. We have muscles in the back that are for holding us upright. Sitting at computers and driving cars for long hours, our muscles get tired and in turn, can no longer hold that position. Doing this time and time again eventually stretches out muscles to the point of no return. If you were to take a rubber band and continually stretch it, eventually it gets overuse syndrome until one day it snaps! Our muscles are basically the same way. Some of our chronic pain comes from muscles that are so stretched out; they are actually beginning to tear. On the opposite side, we now have a muscle, in this case our pecs, that are so tight from being in this shortened state, and no fresh nutrients can even reach the area. A tearing muscle, a dehydrated muscle, bones that have slowly been pulled out of alignment. It is no wonder we feel pain! To add even more to the mix, in order for continual day to day function, our head and hips move to compensate for the shoulders. Our body has what is known as a rightening mechanism. This means our eyes always want to be looking at the horizon. In order to do this with rounded shoulders, one must lower their head down and forward. As you might have guessed, our hips move to accommodate gravity, otherwise we would tip right over! This is just one example of postural distortion. With as complicated as our bodies are, imagine the possibilities! As you can see, this chain reaction makes it very difficult to correct overnight.
This is where massage and many other modalities come in to help. By working to increase the overall health of the tissues involved a massage therapist can: release trigger points, increase joint flexibility and range of motion, help bring fresh nutrients to the involved areas and draw toxins out, and best of all to retrain the muscles to work in balance and harmony with the rest of the system. One of a massage therapist’s most important jobs is to educate clients on possible repetitive use issues and healthy lifestyle changes. This includes helping the client to become more aware of their body and to tune in when something may not be ideal. With the help of personal trainers (Destination Fitness!), people with postural issues can strengthen the correct muscles and stretch the opposing groups. This speeds up the postural changes and helps the correction to last on a long term basis.
The importance of massage in relationship to complete health and wellness is profound. No longer is massage regarded as simply a “treat”. Those suffering from chronic pain and other such related issues can truly benefit from what today’s massage programs are offering.