A growing body of research supports massage therapy as an essential adjunct to pain management. Hospital accreditation organizations are increasingly examining it to enhance the overall experience of recovering patients in an acute care setting.
Several studies have shown that massage can decrease anxiety and depressed mood. It can also help relieve chronic pain, such as arthritis and fibromyalgia.
The Role of the Massage Therapist in Pain Management
A well-trained massage therapist is an invaluable resource in the management of pain. Several studies have shown that massage can help reduce the need for prescription opioids, improve patient perceptions of pain, and provide other beneficial effects on health and well-being.
Proper massage training Atlanta involves the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body using various techniques that are specialized to the individual’s condition. They can assist in treating different medical needs, ranging from musculoskeletal injury and disease to cancer and cardiac surgery or procedures.
Identifying and Treating Painful Areas
The massage therapist’s ability to identify and treat painful areas is the basis of their work. The pain may come from a trigger point or a chronic strain pattern of muscle tension developed over time.
Trigger points are widespread sources of pain. They may appear as knots or tight spots and are believed to be caused by stress, poor posture, and overuse of specific muscles.
Therapeutic massage can relieve these trigger points, decreasing pain and increasing the range of motion. It can also help reduce the frequency of migraines and improve sleep patterns.
Massage has been used for over 5,000 years as a natural healing method. Today, doctors and health care specialists use it to treat various ailments, from pain to headaches. In some cases, it may complement medical treatment and reduce the need for medications. For instance, some cardiac surgery patients who receive 1 – 3 massage therapy sessions postoperatively have reduced demand for opioid pain medications and more favorable outcomes.
Preventing and Treating Injuries
Preventing injuries is the most crucial goal of massage therapy. Whether through proper posture while providing massage, a quality training program, or simply practicing good body mechanics, therapists should aim to prevent injury.
Good posture while delivering massage can help reduce neck pain and low back discomfort caused by awkward positioning on the massage table or leaning over it. Body-based mindfulness practices such as yoga can also improve a therapist’s ability to avoid injury.
Massage helps prevent injuries by increasing tissue elasticity. When tissue elasticity is high, muscles can stretch to their full length, which prevents muscle pulls and strains from occurring. Tissue elasticity can be increased through friction created during the massage between the skin and fingers. This increases blood flow and improves the temperature of the tissue. It can also decrease tissue inelasticity and increase the range of movement.
The Role of the Massage Therapist in the Acute Care Setting
From increased concern about the opioid epidemic to patients looking for more integrative, holistic ways to manage pain and anxiety in the hospital, massage therapy is finding its way into healthcare settings. This is an excellent boon for massage therapists interested in working in the medical field, but it also comes with the added requirement of quality training.
In the hospital setting, massage therapists work under the supervision of the integrative medicine physician and perform therapeutic massage and bodywork for patients to reduce pain, normalize joint function and increase circulation. This is done through gentle Swedish effleurage, petrissage, acupressure, craniosacral, or cross-fiber myotherapy techniques given at the bedside.
