8 Reasons to Try Orthopedic Massage Today

When you think of massage, you may think primarily of massage techniques used in spas and designed for relaxation. Did you know that there is also a form of massage that accompanies physical therapy?

Orthopedic massage is a useful form of therapeutic massage that focuses on the muscles and tissues surrounding the joints. Not only is this a great massage for injuries but it also serves as a preventative tool.

Who can benefit from orthopedic massage? Read on as we cover eight key reasons to talk to your physical therapist about incorporating orthopedic massage into your treatment.

1. Treating ACL Injuries

The ACL is a ligament in the knee that enables movement and stability. We often work with patients who have torn or otherwise injured their ACL while exercising or playing sports.

An injury to the ACL can severely impact your ability to walk and move without pain. Without proper treatment, you may find yourself needing ACL restoration surgery, which Healthline notes can come with risks such as:

• Blood clots
• Infection
• Stiffness
• Loss of range of motion

When used early enough, orthopedic massage may help to treat ACL injuries and prevent the need for surgery.

2. Recovering From Accidents

Even if you don’t have visible injuries, car accidents can put a huge strain on the body, causing issues like whiplash. Because it creates stiffness in the neck and shoulders, whiplash can impact everything from your capacity to work to your ability to sleep.

Orthopedic massage can play a vital role in accident and whiplash recovery by targeting damaged tissue and reducing pain and inflammation. If you are filing a lawsuit, taking all reasonable steps to recover is a must.

3. Recovering from Surgery

In some cases, orthopedic massage can prevent the need for surgery. However, it can also play a crucial role in surgery recovery, particularly after surgery on one or more joints. Proper massage techniques can:

• Minimize pain and stiffness caused by limited mobility
• Reduce swelling and inflammation at the surgery site
• Minimize the formation of scar tissue at the surgery site
• Improve range of motion during the healing process

Any musculoskeletal surgery will require pain management and exercise to recover from, and skipping these steps can make the healing process less successful. When paired with other forms of targeted physical therapy, orthopedic massage may speed up the healing process.

4. Improving Injury Recovery

ACL tears are one of the most common injuries that require massage therapy. However, they are far from the only injuries that can be treated with these techniques. Other injuries you can treat with orthopedic massage include:

• Foot injuries
• Tennis elbow
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Ankle and wrist sprains

For example, the Cleveland Clinic reports that more than two million Americans are treated for plantar fasciitis each year. This foot injury occurs when something injures or irritates the plantar fascia, a ligament-like band that runs from the heel to the ball of the foot. Depending on the cause and location of plantar fasciitis, you can seek flare-up relief with orthopedic massage.

5. Preventing Secondary Injuries

When you’re living with an injury in one area of the body, you may start to compensate to maintain your mobility or reduce daily pain. For example, you may hold your weight on one side to avoid putting pressure on an injured ankle. You may adjust your posture to keep from exacerbating nerve damage in the spine.

Over time, something as simple as adjusting your gait or posture can lead to injuries in other muscles or joints. Intervening early with orthopedic massage can prevent the need for compensation and keep these additional injuries from occurring.

6. Decreasing Chronic Pain

Chronic pain (long-standing pain that continues outside of a typical recovery period) often lives in the tissues, muscles, and joints. For example, arthritis causes pain in the joints thanks to increased tissue loss. Fibromyalgia can cause pain throughout the body, though many patients report specific pain points in the joints, as well.

Oftentimes, patients experiencing chronic pain are told that their only effective recourse against chronic pain is medication. While medication plays an important role in pain management, orthopedic massage may reduce medication reliance. It may also reduce the number of days that patients deal with debilitating or disruptive flare-ups.

7. Supporting Range of Motion

Range of motion refers to your ability to comfortably move your joints. For example, a good range of motion will allow you to raise your arms over your head or sink into a low squat.

You can lose your range of motion after sustaining an injury. Medline Plus also lays out the changes in muscles, bones, and joints that can reduce the range of motion with age. 

Orthopedic massage can promote deep tissue relief and reduce inflammation, which can support your range of motion as you get older. This often works best as a preventative technique, allowing you to maintain mobility rather than trying to regain it.

8. Preventing Sports Injuries

Athletes are prone to significant injuries even if they don’t play impact sports. For example, even a seemingly low-impact sport like swimming involves repetitive motions that can strain or tear the ligaments and joints.

Spa massage is a known muscle recovery technique, warming and releasing strained muscles. Orthopedic massage can help to keep the joints from tightening up or becoming inflamed. This is a great way to prevent sports injuries caused by strain or overuse of the knees, ankles, and other joints.

Schedule Your Nashville Orthopedic Massage Today

Orthopedic massage does a lot more than relax you and ease basic aches and pains. Instead, practitioners target the joints and surrounding tissue and muscle to promote targeted healing. Orthopedic massage can benefit everyone from athletes in the prime of their career to patients fighting chronic fatigue.

At MPower Physical Therapy, we approach physical therapy the way professional athletes approach training. We help patients both in and out of our top-tier facilities through exercise, massage, and a holistic approach to wellness.

Our goal is to serve as many patients as possible, which is why we accept over 30 major insurance providers. Contact us today to schedule your next appointment.