This article discusses how middle-aged and older adults can manage pain better and improve their quality of life. Here are a few conditions that can break down on the body and massage therapy can help improve outcomes.
Frozen shoulder
This is a condition that can develop rapidly after an injury or slowly from repetitious motion. It can often be job or sports related. Whether it be a rotator cuff tear, or scar tissue in the joint itself, a shoulder injury can be painful and slow to heal. Many other muscle groups around the shoulder can fatigue and shorten below normal resting lengths when a shoulder injury does not get enough therapy. Losses in range of motion are not uncommon.
Orthopedic massage and Swedish massage can greatly reduce the pain, and slow the rate of rate of motion loss. This is because massage in general reduces muscle pain guarding. Deep tissue massage also can help prolong the durability of fatigued muscles. Clinical research has demonstrated massaged muscles simply heal quicker. If surgery is needed, Swedish massage, trigger point, and deep tissue massage can help reduce scar tissue buildup greatly improving the chances of a full pain-free return to normal shoulder movement.
Tennis elbow
This can be the straining of any ligaments or tendons that hold the elbow joint together. Pain can be just in the elbow or up and down the whole arm. Sensitive nerves can easily become trapped due to how the elbow both hinges and rotates. Because of the shoulder and elbow’s coordinated movement with one another, nerves and tendons can often get impinged. The entrapment can be both at the shoulder and the elbow. If muscle and tendon strains don’t receive physical therapy the wrist can weaken, contributing to carpal tunnel. Full recovery often needs physical therapy.
Getting orthopedic massage and deep tissue massage can release many areas of entrapment up and down the shoulder, elbow and wrist. Swedish massage can help treat the neck, shoulder, elbow and wrist together in one session. You heal much faster when these problems get treated together instead of in isolation. A monthly massage routine can help keep the shoulder complex open providing good nerve and blood flow down the arm. This is a great preventative tool to manage the condition.
Plantar fasciitis
This is a very painful condition that makes walking difficult and painful. The onset is usually very slow, and the recovery can be even slower. Repeated straining of ligaments and facia on the bottom of the foot are implicated. This is often do to the disorganized nature of how scar tissue forms in the feet. Shoe inserts and physical therapy are the standard treatment protocol.
Deep tissue and Swedish massage can help rehabilitate the calf muscles, hamstrings and lower back which can become compromised and painful due to the compensation patterns from the foot injury. Orthopedic massage can also help to realign newer scar tissue so that the injury heals quicker with less pain. Stretching can also help keep the muscles and ligaments lengthened so they don’t fatigue and become inflamed.
Osteoporosis
This condition, that mostly affects women, is characterized by shrinking bone tissue with a increased risk of fracture. In mild to moderate cases massage can relax and sooth muscles that might have been underused for a period of time. Weight bearing exercises, among other things, are often recommend for treatment. Regular sports massage and orthopedic massage can help with the pain and muscle strain that individual might experience while incorporating weight bearing exercises into their lifestyle. Deep tissue massage can also help with blood flow to the deeper tissues. Blood supply is very important for rebuilding bone as is diet and exercise. Yoga, Tai chi, Swedish massage, and Shiatsu based massages all help with balance and proprioception leading to less falls. Monthly massage sessions can help women feel balanced and robust enough to participate in good lifestyle habits that help reverse such conditions as osteoporosis.
Conclusion
Mechanical stress on the body and limited range of motion effects our pain in real time. They also affect happiness and quality of life. The best pain treatment for these types of injuries is physical therapy, but accompanied by a consistent massage routine so when physical therapy ends you have a avenue to allow these injuries to continue to heal.
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Content contributed by Julanne Tutty. LMT – Salem, MA – Contact Info