Chiropractic care and massage therapy are complementary forms of healthcare that can work together to improve your overall health and well-being. Both practices focus on the musculoskeletal system and are often used to treat a variety of conditions such as neck pain, back pain, headaches, and more.
At Chiro2261, John our Bateau Bay Chiropractor uses massage prior to adjusting for several reasons, including to enhance Chiropractic treatment. Apart from the fact that the pre chiropractic adjustment massage feels great, there are some significant benefits too…
1. Enhanced Relaxation
Even a brief pre-adjustment massage can help to relax you and reduce muscle tension that you may be experiencing due to injury, strain or compensatory effect of a misaligned spine. The more relaxed you are, the more directed and effective your chiropractic adjustment.
2. Improved Circulation
Massage therapy helps to improve blood flow to the muscles and tissues, while chiropractic care can improve blood flow to the spine and nervous system. By combining these two practices, patients can experience improved circulation throughout the entire body. Studies have shown that Chiropractic adjustments can also positively impact blood pressure.
3. Increased Range of Motion
Massage therapy helps to loosen up tight muscles, reduce spasms and increase flexibility, while chiropractic care can realign the spine and improve joint mobility. When used together, these two practices can provide you with a greater range of motion than prior to your appointment.
4. Reduced Pain and Inflammation
Back and neck pain can be the result of inflammation surrounding joints of the spine. This may lead to tight and spasmed muscles surrounding the area. Combining massage with chiropractic adjustments can increase blood flow to injured tissues, alleviate pressure on the nerves and lead to a reduction in pain.
5. Improved Posture
Poor posture is sometimes like a chicken and egg issue. That is, was it your tight and tense muscles or your misaligned and strained spinal joints that came first to cause poor posture? Using massage prior to Chiropractic adjustments means you can tackle both issues in one appointment. Though, posture is a functional habit and will often take a course of both massage and chiropractic treatment to make effective and long-lasting change.
6. Greater Overall Well-Being
Both Chiropractic treatment and massage therapy work together to promote relaxation, reduce pain and inflammation, improve circulation, increase range of motion and improve posture. There is also emerging evidence to suggest positive impacts of Chiropractic care in the treatment of depression. This can lead to a greater sense of overall well-being and an improved quality of life.
The Bottom Line on Chiropractic treatment combined with Massage Therapy
Essentially, your chiropractic treatment at Chiro2261 is based around your history, the issue you have presented with and your physical examination by John the Chiropractor at our Bateau Bay Chiropractic clinic.
While John the Chiropractor uses massage prior to chiropractic adjustments, in some instances he may recommend other treatments such as stand-alone massage therapy, physiotherapy treatment or follow-up with your general practitioner for medications or further diagnostics.