What is massage therapy?
Massage is a hands-on physical therapy technique in which your provider applies pressure or rubs your soft tissues and muscles. This therapeutic approach can reduce pain and tension, encourage relaxation, and improve your blood flow.
Are there different types of massage therapy?
Washington Integrative Health offers a variety of massage therapy techniques depending on your unique needs and physical condition.
- Swedish massage: This gentle massage approach promotes relaxation and blood flow while relieving muscle tension. It involves kneading and tapping as well as long strokes and deep circular motions in the direction your blood flows to your heart.
- Deep tissue massage: Your massage therapist uses this form of massage to address damage like whiplash or back strain by reaching deep muscle layers. This technique can be more intense and treats long-lasting muscle tension.
- Sports massage: This therapeutic approach combines the benefits of Swedish and deep tissue massage. Using these techniques, your massage therapist promotes flexibility and releases chronic muscle tension while supporting injury recovery and prevention.
- Myofascial trigger point therapy: Myofascial trigger points are areas of constraint in your body that cause referred pain. During this type of massage, your massage therapist applies pressure to the specific trigger points causing pain in your body to relieve your symptoms.
What are the benefits of massage therapy?
While massage has a reputation for promoting relaxation, it’s also a noninvasive approach to reducing pain and relieving the side effects of chronic conditions, like lower back pain, stress, and fibromyalgia.
Additional benefits of massage therapy include:
- Reducing anxiety
- Increasing range of motion
- Relieving osteoarthritis pain
- Easing chemotherapy-related nausea
- Improving the quality of life in hospice care
Massage therapy can also lower your blood pressure and improve your cardiovascular health.
Is massage safe during pregnancy?
Depending on your stage of pregnancy and overall health, prenatal massage may offer several therapeutic benefits, including:
- Decreasing anxiety and symptoms of depression
- Relieving back and joint pain as well as muscle aches
- Regulating hormone levels to support mood and cardiovascular health
- Reducing swelling of the joints and soft tissue by improving circulation
Your provider at Washington Integrative Health works with you to determine if massage therapy is a safe component of your prenatal care.
To see how massage therapy can improve your overall health or help you recover from an injury, call Washington Integrative Health or schedule an appointment online today.
