Our medical massage therapists carefully manipulate the soft tissues of your body — muscles, ligaments and tendons — to relieve pain, help rehabilitate injuries, improve circulation, and reduce stress which worsens pain.
While you may have previously experienced relaxation massage like that provided by spas, the primary goal of medical massage therapy is healing, pain relief and restoration of normal function. Therapists experienced in treating injuries and chronic pain tailor their use of specific massage techniques like trigger point therapy or deep tissue massage to your individual health issues.
This specialized type of massage is often included as part of a broader treatment plan that includes physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, or other injury rehab or pain relief strategies.
When to see a medical massage therapist
If you’re experiencing muscle or joint stiffness or tightness, or feel caught in a repeating cycle of stress and pain, medical massage therapy can be a valuable part of your recovery.
Your pain management physician, chiropractor or physical therapist may include medical massage therapy in your treatment plan if you’re suffering from joint stiffness, muscle tightness, aches, stress, fatigue, or general soreness. Some patients schedule regular massage appointments with a particular therapist who has gained an understanding of how their body responds to gentle manipulation and pressure. This trust often enables improved results from treatment.
Assessment and treatment
Your massage therapist will review your medical history and symptoms, including pain, stiffness, tightness, limited mobility, stress, fatigue, and other symptoms, as well as your desired results from treatment.
How soon will I feel better? Will it hurt?
Massage itself is not an inherently painful treatment technique, although it may produce some temporary minor discomfort. It should never cause sharp, stabbing or acute pain. In fact, patients usually describe any discomfort during treatment as a “good hurt.” Your massage therapist will check in with you throughout your session, and your feedback will guide your treatment. Since too much pressure during a massage can cause new muscle spasms and soreness, the preferred medical practice is to use less pressure, over several sessions, rather than using too much pressure in a single session and risking further injury.
Most patients begin experiencing improvements in mobility and pain relief following their first treatment.
Treatment techniques
Massage therapists use a variety of therapeutic techniques:
- Stretching and deep tissue massage, with very firm pressure, most helpful for increasing mobility and reducing muscle tightness
- Sports massage for pain related to muscle injury, increases in fitness training, or overuse
- Swedish massage, intended to produce the greatest degree of relaxation and stress reduction — especially valuable for chronic pain
- Trigger point therapy and myofascial release, which combines gentle stretching and targeted massage to restore mobility and release knotted muscles
How can Randolph Pain Relief & Wellness treat my pain?
Do you already know your diagnosis and the kind of treatment you need?
Just schedule a prompt appointment with the appropriate specialty.
Not sure what’s wrong, how to treat it, or prior therapies haven’t helped?
We offer two options:
- Schedule an initial diagnostic assessment, or
- Call our Pain Navigator service, at no charge
