Massage Therapy FAQ
What is Therapeutic Massage?
When you consult with a physical therapist, you can expect to receive a combination of physical therapy services that are either active (where you, as the patient, perform specific tasks) or passive (where treatment focuses on you receiving care rather than you participating in it). Both have highly valuable benefits for acute or chronic health conditions, especially when provided in conjunction with each other.
One of the most beneficial types of passive treatment we offer is massage therapy. That’s right: physical therapists (not just massage therapists) are explicitly trained in therapeutic massage and can use it to your direct benefit (who knew massage therapy could potentially be covered by your health insurance)?
Therapeutic massage involves a wide range of explicit manual techniques that can be used to target specific tissues in your body, including muscles, fascia, lymph nodes, joints, and tendons. Therapeutic massage is beneficial to:
- Athletes and anyone who needs to relieve tension deep in their muscles
- Pressure point massage is effective for relieving tender points within the body’s fascial tissue
Who is Massage Therapy for?
Everyone from young toddlers to seniors can benefit from massage therapy. This technique offers a variety of benefits that are truly safe for just about anyone.
Specific benefits of therapeutic massage include:
- Improved circulation and lymphatic drainage
- Accelerated healing
- Reduced swelling and inflammation
- Improved range of motion
- Reduced pain
- Decreased adhesions and scar tissue formation
- Decreased stress
- Improved mood
We use therapeutic massage to help people manage or recover from a wide range of conditions, including fibromyalgia, back and neck pain, arthritis, migraines, diabetic nerve pain, sports and auto-accident related injuries, and even psychological disorders including anxiety and depression (since mental and emotional stress is often neurologically carried into and stored in physical tissues). A professional massage provided by a physical therapist can even ease the effects of chemotherapy and can hasten the healing process in post-surgical patients.
Are you wondering if massage therapy is right for you? (Hint: it probably is.) Contact Reddy Care Physical Therapy today to request a consult with an experienced physical therapist today.
