Most people know massage is great at relieving tension and producing deep feelings of relaxation and well-being. But for the millions of Americans suffering from joint pain, massage offers other benefits: immediate and long-term relief for their uncomfortable symptoms.
At Easy Reach Chiropractic, Barbara Adonis, DC, and her team help patients of all ages manage joint pain with massage therapies tailored to their unique symptoms, lifestyles, risk factors, and underlying health issues, for optimal relief and enhanced quality of life. Here, learn how massage therapy could help relieve your joint pain now and in the future.
Lots of issues can cause or contribute to joint pain, including traumatic injuries like falls and car accidents. But for chronic joint pain, inflammation is often to blame. Joint inflammation is at the heart of one of the most common causes of joint pain — arthritis — and it plays a role in other joint conditions, too, like bursitis, tendinitis, and even pain syndromes, like fibromyalgia.
Joint inflammation causes tissues in and around the joint to swell, prohibiting normal joint function and causing pain, stiffness, reduced range of motion, and sometimes tenderness or warmth around the joint.
Inflammation also affects the structures around the joint, including your tendons, ligaments, and muscles, particularly if joint pain causes you to change the way you move or use your joints.
Though any joint can develop painful symptoms, a lot of pain occurs in the weight-bearing joints, like your ankles, knees, hips, or lower spine.
Your shoulder joints and joints in your upper spine are prime sources of pain, too, in large part due to tension, poor posture, and lifestyle habits, like carrying heavy loads or spending a lot of time hunched over a phone or computer.
Although the causes of joint pain may vary, virtually all types of joint-related discomfort can benefit from massage therapy. At Easy Reach Chiropractic, we use massage therapy on its own or in combination with other pain management techniques for maximum pain relief and better joint function overall.
When joints are stiff or painful, the surrounding muscles often tighten in response, leading to stiffness, pain, and increased inflammation. Massage works by releasing tight muscles, improving joint alignment, and distributing pressure and strain more equally.
Massage also helps improve blood flow around the joint, delivering oxygen and other nutrients important for healing and joint function while removing wastes and toxic byproducts associated with inflammation and tissue damage. Clearing these byproducts out of the tissue environment can ease soreness and support faster, more complete healing over time.
Therapeutic massage is also quite effective in regulating and normalizing your body’s inflammatory responses. The gentle pressure and rhythmic movements associated with massage promote better lymphatic drainage, while relieving stress that can play a role in chronic inflammation.
Finally, massage helps you cope with joint pain more effectively, reducing anxiety that often goes hand in hand with chronic discomfort. Plus, regular massage sessions can help you sleep better, giving your body the rest it needs to heal tissue damage and improve your physical and emotional wellness over time.
Though some acute joint pain may resolve on its own with a little TLC, chronic joint pain tends to get worse over time unless it’s managed on an ongoing basis.
To learn how massage and other pain management techniques can help you find long-term relief, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Easy Reach Chiropractic in Lake Worth and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, today.
