Many of you have or have had joint pain.? For those with chronic shoulder, hip, knee, and low back pain, massage may be a source of relief.? I’m excited to bring you this guest post by Kristen McKenzie, CMT.
Benefits of Massage for Pain Reduction
This past year, the American Massage Therapy Association focused its attention on discovering how the general public and the health-care community view and use massage therapy to reduce pain. Three surveys validated what massage therapists know to be experimentally true—massage reduces pain. The results further indicate that massage is no longer thought of as luxury afforded to athletes and the wealthy. Rather, massage is considered a valuable therapy in relieving and managing chronic and acute pain.
Massage Proven To Relieve Pain
The efficacy of massage therapy for pain is clear in all three surveys. In the AMTA member survey, of the people who reported having received massage previously for the same ailment, 74 percent said the massage temporarily reduced the pain; 14 percent said it completely eliminated it. These numbers verify what respondents said when they were asked about their satisfaction with their massage session—88 percent said they were very satisfied. An overwhelming number of people—96 percent—said they would seek massage to reduce their pain again.
Is There A Best Way to Get Permanent Muscle And Joint Pain Relief?
There is no “best ” way, but often a very effective way of relieving most pain is quite simple. We do it by causing the areas around the inflamed nerves to relax, thus allowing more oxygen to flow into the area and thereby bring an increased blood flow. This has the effect of causing the pain signal to turn itself off, which in turn gives the joint pain relief that is craved.? Essentially it is the lack of blood and oxygen in the painful area which causes the pain.? Increase the blood flow, decrease the pain.? It can often be as simple as that.
Trigger Point Therapy involves applying short, repeated massage strokes to tiny contraction knots in muscle tissue (trigger points) where restricted circulation and lack of oxygen cause referred pain. (Referred pain is pain that is felt next to, or at a distance from, the origin of an injury). Trigger points create pain throughout the body. And they do this in predictable patterns, producing discomfort and pain from mild to very severe levels.
Deal with the trigger points and you automatically deal with the pain they are causing – all at the same time.
Massaging the appropriate trigger points increases circulation and oxygenation in the target area. And this in turn can bring about permanent muscle and joint pain relief especially when it is done consistently.
When trigger points are the cause of the problem, trigger point therapy can be used to help deal with
· Arthritis
· Buckling knee where the muscles are weakened and can give way without warning
· Chest, Abdominal and Genital pain
· Elbow, Forearm and Hand pain
· Growing pains
· Head and Neck pain
· Hip pain and stiffness
· Knee Pain and stiffness. The quadriceps should be the first place to look for the cause of pain and stiffness in the knee.
· Locked Knee
· Mid back, Low back and Buttock pain
· Muscle tension and chronic pain
· Plantar fasciitis, formerly called “dog’s heel” in the UK and sometimes known as “flip-flop disease” in the US.
· Restless Leg Syndrome
· Runner’s knee
· Jumper’s knee
· Shoulder, Upper back and Upper arm pain
· Stiff Knees
· Stiff Hips
To conclude, therapeutic massage can reduce pain. That’s good news to share with family, friends, neighbors
and even your own health-care providers.? For more information or to get a massage from Kristen, visit her website at www.kristenbmckenzie.com.
References: AMTA & The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook – Claire Davies
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