Combining Both Massage and Chiropractic Care

When physical dysfunction of your body occurs, whether by accident, injury, or just regular wear and tear, getting treatment is recommended to speed your recovery. Knowing who to see is an important consideration as you are trusting your well being to the actions of another. Recommendations from friends are a good place to start, but it is important to know the roles of the different health care providers that are available for you to see.

In simple terms, chiropractors work on bones and massage therapists work on muscles. If you are in pain or have limited mobility, treatment from therapists in both modalities may be needed for you to feel both happy and healthy again.

Tight muscles increase the tension on their attachment points. As the body of the muscle fibers condense into a tendon, it has the ability to provide such a consistent force on the bone that it can actually pull it from its natural position.

Balance in a body is the key... in respect to the left/right and front/back axis lines. If you could picture a neck from behind, the muscles that run from behind your ears to the point of your shoulder are your trapezium muscles. If both left and right are tighter than they should be, the person may suffer headaches and physical discomfort - but if just one side is tight it can easily pull the neck out of alignment. With many people spending considerable time on computers, the right shoulder can be hitched higher for longer periods as the mouse is on that side. Related complaints are a common occurrence. The muscles are tight... but the mobility of the neck is limited and cause extra pain when moved.

If this problem is address early, before the bones are out of alignment, the muscles can be massaged until left/right balance is restored. If the vertebrae are out of line, seeing a chiropractor is the quickest way to get them back in alignment again. But seeing a chiropractor without addressing the tight muscles will only be a short term fix. Although you will leave their clinic with reduced pain and increased range of movement, the tension in the muscle will soon cause dysfunction again. Only seeing a massage therapist will reduce muscular tension, but it may not be enough to restore correct alignment.

There is a general theory... that if you see a therapist 3 times, and your problem isn't better, or you aren't confident that progress is likely... it is time to see another therapist. It is also important to know that a variety of modalities may be needed simultaneously to approach your problem from all angles.

It may seem overkill, but getting an hour massage, and then seeing a chiropractor immediately after, may be what you need to get you back to 100% as quick as possible.