Guest Post: Why Should You Consider Combining Remedial Massage and Chiropractic Treatment

What are the benefits of combining massage and chiropractic treatment?

Remedial Massage and Chiro at two health modalities that often work best when combined together. Yet why is that?

By the end of this blog we hope to give you:

• A clearer picture about why combining the two modalities might work for you.
• How it can help you to get pain relief faster and give you longer lasting results.
• Shed some light on which modality to go see first.

Why Should You Consider Combining Remedial Massage and Chiropractic Treatment?

I first met Travis around 10 years ago when I was working for another remedial massage company. I ended up receiving treatment from him for my lower back. It was the first time I’d met a chiropractor, let alone had a treatment from one! After the session, not only did I feel much better, but my eyes were opened to the benefits of combining remedial massage and chiropractic work.

Since then I have opened my own clinic and Back to Front Chiropractic has become one of Just Knead It’s trusted referral partners. We like to work alongside experienced Chiros, like Travis and his team because they can quickly identify and resolve underlying conditions.

Sometimes remedial massage is not enough on its own to relieve a person’s pain and tightness, especially when there is underlying joint pathology or stiffness. This is when we suggest to our clients that some chiropractic work might be suitable. We know that more often than not our clients will get faster and have longer lasting results by combining the two modalities.

How does combining the two modalities work?

Remedial Massage involves improving a person’s joint range of motion, as well as relieving pain and tightness. We do this by working with the soft tissue structures of the body. Often chiropractors will refer to us because they want us to help to free up the soft tissue around joints, which can be impacting your condition.

There is also a level of relaxation that occurs with massage. If you are the type of person who finds it difficult to ‘let go’ in an appointment, it might be worth giving massage a try, along-side your chiro treatment. It can help you ‘loosen you up’ and calm some of that anxiety that can be involved with having someone manipulate your joints.

At Just Knead It we believe in having a team approach to treatment and treating the body as a whole. Each health modality like chiro and massage focus on being really good at different areas of the body. In the case of remedial massage therapists – we focus on being great at treating soft tissue like muscles. The reason our fields as so complementary is that we work on soft tissue while your chiropractor is working on your spine, nervous systems and joints.

As massage therapists we are taught that muscle tightness and/or weakness can impact joint range of motion. Equally, joint restriction and the nervous system can impact the body’s alignment, muscle tightness and/ or weakness. It makes sense to us to combine the two modalities together because either one can impact the other.

Finally, we all spend a long time study our respective fields of health care. However, chiropractors and physios spend much more time learning about underlying pathologies and conditions. They can quickly diagnose what is going on, which can help to get you on the right treatment path faster. We like to work with allied health professionals like chiros to create a combined plan of attack which addresses all areas of your body that need treatment. We can then divide and conquer to help you get on the road to recovery faster and give you longer lasting results.

We recommend talking to Travis and his team to see if combining remedial massage and chiropractic work could work for you.

Should I get massage or chiro first?

We get asked this all the time!

Depending on who you ask you will get different answers.

It’s a difficult one because it depends entirely on the individual.

• Are the joints and nervous systems causing your muscular pain and tightness?
• Alternatively, is muscle tightness and/or weakness impacting the joints and nerves?
• Are the muscles so tight that it’s going to make more sense to see the massage therapist first impact?
• Or, will having the chiropractor relieve some of the muscle tightness by affecting the nervous system and joints going to help us do our job better?

Can you see why it is a difficult question to answer!

The key is having people on your team who can help you identify which is going to be best for you. Alternatively, we like to tell our clients to try out both and see which way works best for them.

One final thought!

Having health professionals on your team who take time to understand your body is key. There is no right or wrong answer as to which type (or combination) of allied health care professionals you should see. It is about what works best for you. The key is that your condition is improving and you are achieving your health and fitness goals.

If you would like to try remedial massage as part of your treatment plan talk to Travis or his team. Alternatively, give us a call on 3891 7629 or visit our website to book in online www.justkneadit.com.au

 

Written By Kat Murray
Founder of Just Knead It – Sports & Remedial Massage
Spring Hill and Woolloongabba