Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Go Hand In Hand
Some people argue about chiropractic and massage therapy. Which is better? The first thing to understand is that you can’t make a comparison about which is better because chiropractic and massage therapy have different aims. That said, chiropractic and massage therapy have very complimentary purposes. They work very well in tandem with each other.
What’s The Difference?
Chiropractic therapy is manipulation of the spine and joints. It’s primarily concerned with the relationship of joints and nerves to the spinal system and aims to improve conditions related to these. It’s used to treat tension, chronic headaches, tendonitis, joint pain, and most especially back pain.
Massage therapy is focused on soft tissues, such as muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Combined with exercise, it helps with soreness and muscle pain, anxiety and stress, headaches and migraines, and blood pressure. Like chiropractic therapy, it’s focused on dealing with pain, but of different sorts and in different ways. It’s also very relaxing.
It’s that relaxing part that makes it so effective to combine with chiropractic therapy. Making adjustments to the spine can be a very precise business and people aren’t normally handled that way on a daily basis. It can make people nervous and tense. When people tense up, it’s more difficult to make the appropriate adjustments. Adding massage therapy to the mix can help people relax before their chiropractor appointment, and the chiropractor appointment will help fix joint and back problems that add to muscle pain. When combined, the two compliment each other very well.
How Valid Are They?
Traditional medicine has been very hard on both chiropractic and massage therapy. It’s difficult to scientifically prove the effectiveness of both treatments to rigorous scientific standards because of the inability to do double-blind studies that modern medicine demands. The person administering the treatment knows when they’re doing it properly, so they can’t give a placebo treatment blindly.
That said, there are some aspects that studies by medical scientists have confirmed in categories of ‘likely effective,’ and ‘possibly effective.’ Without the ability to do double-blind studies, the benefits cannot be fully confirmed, but some claims do show enough evidence for medical science to acknowledge them.
What’s important to understand is that neither of these two forms of therapy are meant to replace medical treatment. They are supplemental treatments to help reduce pain and anxiety and improve quality of life and overall health. A massage won’t cure cancer, but it has been shown to be likely effective in reducing the pain and nausea cancer patients feel due to cancer treatments. A chiropractor can’t fix a broken back, but he can help reduce the soreness and pain that follows recovery after proper medical treatment. The important part is to understand what the treatments are meant to do and how to use them.
Chiropractic Massage Therapy
Some chiropractors are combining the two therapies into a single method now. They call this treatment “chiropractic massage therapy.” Mixing some of the techniques of both treatments into a single procedure helps gain the benefits of both in a single appointment. It makes the treatment overall more relaxing and easier. Combining the two gets you the results you want faster.
That said, depending on the severity of the pain or injury, chiropractic massage therapy is not always an option. That’s why before beginning treatment, your chiropractor will need to hear your relevant medical history. For very severe injuries, the two together might be more manhandling than your body is ready to deal with, especially if it’s very shortly after the injury. Your chiropractor will be able to advise you on the best options for your situation.
Let Us Help You Out!
Here at Integrity Chiropractic, we use chiropractic biophysics to develop treatments specifically targeted to your unique situation. Our targeted approach to treatment helps resolve your issues more efficiently. We also offer massage therapy as a treatment option for appropriate conditions. More so, we offer a variety of services (http://www.cachevalleywellness.com/services.html) to aid you in general wellness. The body is a complex, interconnected system and treating one problem without seeing to the care of the whole is like treating a symptom, but not the disease.
If you need our help with back and joint pain, or other forms of soreness, get in touch with us (http://www.cachevalleywellness.com/contact). We’ll give you a full examination to help diagnose the root cause of your problem and develop a treatment to help fix it up.