Treat Lower Back Pain With Massage Therapy

Treat Lower Back Pain With Massage Therapy. Back pain is a very common ailment for moms, gardeners, mechanics, weekend sports warriors, and those who sit a lot.

Most back pain suffers have tried traditional pain relief like muscle rub creams, muscle relaxant pills, chiropractors, and even physical therapy.

If your pain is still nagging you, massage should be something you are willing to investigate. The American Massage Therapy Association found in 2001 that massage clients have doubled since 1997.

Healthcare professionals are recognizing the value of massage therapy and recommending to their patients to include massage therapy as part of their pain management treatment plan.

As much as 54% of healthcare professionals, are in favor of using massage therapy, in additional to more traditional treatments. There was a study on back pain and massage therapy conducted in 2001 at the University of Miami that found that massage does lessen lower back pain, depression, anxiety and improved sleep.

It also showed that massage improved range of motion and improved serotonin and dopamine levels (as reported in the International Journal of Neuroscience, 106, 131-145).

Research shows that massage has the following benefits to those who suffer from back pain:

• It improves blood circulation, which aids in the relief of sore muscles from physical activity
• It relaxes muscles so that range of motion can be improved
• Relaxation also improves sleep, which can be a problem for those who suffer from back pain
• It increases endorphin levels.

These endorphins are chemicals that the body produces to make you feel good, which helps to manage pain The massage therapy that has been the most beneficial to lower back pain sufferers has been "neuromuscular therapy".

This therapy is also called "trigger point myotherapy". This is useful for those who suffer back pain as a result of muscle strain. The technique uses alternating levels of concentrated pressure for the areas of spasming muscles. The therapists uses the fingers, knuckles and elbow to apply the pressure.  

Quick Facts About Massage Therapy Massage Tables Any comfortable, flat, stable surface of the right height could double as a massage table, if you are only intending to perform an occasional massage in your own home. Any more serious use, though, demands specialized equipment. Purpose-built massage tables are better in several ways: They are better designed to support the body during massage, in a comfortable and ergonomically-correct way They are typically more hygienic, able to be easily wiped down after being used by one person, and before another comes in to take their place. You're less likely to end up with a table sodden with old massage oil They are often adjustable in height or other respects, making it easier to set them up correctly for the location and for the physique of the individual massage therapist. An inversion table is equipped with straps to securely tie down the customer. The table can then be mechanically tilted, so that the customer can be held at an angle, perhaps with the head lower than the feet. One claimed benefit of this is that it decompresses the spine. Over the course of normal lives, the vertebrae of our spine are pressed into one another by the weight of our bodies. This is why we are slightly taller in the morning than the evening: a night of lying down allows the spine to expand back to a greater length. The idea of the inversion table is to take this principle one step further, allowing the force of gravity to gently pull the spine out to a greater length.

The pressure should not vary for ten to thirty seconds, once applied to a spasm. When someone is suffering from back spasms the muscles are painful to the touch.

The muscle is lacking in blood flow, which causes the pain. The blood brings oxygen to the muscle and without proper oxygen the muscle produces lactic acid. The lactic acid makes hte muscle feel sore after physical activity.

Massage relaxes the muscle which in turn, releases the lactic acid from the muscle. Now the muscle should be receiving more blood and thus more oxygen.  

Theraputic Massage Terms and Facts. A deep massage, which is applied with a lot of pressure around the lymph nodes and the lymphatic channels helps to improve the lymph flow. This is also why pressure should always be applied in the direction of the heart. basically imagine you are moving all the waste to where it can escape, which in massage is thought to be the central region around the heart.