Chronic back pain is a common problem for many Australians. Not only does it hinder your day to day life, but can make you less happy, less productive at work and less able to enjoy your hobbies and weekends. But the good news there are natural alternatives to taking pain killers such as massage therapy.
The causes of chronic back pain include:
- Poor posture
- Lifting heavy objects with improper technique
- Being overweight
- Injuries
- Poor sleeping habits or a bad mattress / pillow
- Degenerative processes of the spine, joints and bones
- Disease, like rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, etc
- Nerve damage
Chronic back pain can occur in conditions like sciatica, prolapse disc, scoliosis or can occur when there is no specific western medicine diagnosis.
What could do a massage therapist about chronic back pain?
Massage is undeniably relaxing and could help ease chronic back pain.
Lots of pain type conditions can be eased by relaxation techniques, meditation, visualisation and physical treatments like remedial massage.
Massage increases blood flow and circulation (which brings nutrition to muscles and leads to muscle tissue recovering more quickly), improves flexibility, releases tightness, increases endorphins (“feel-good” hormones) and decreases depression and anxiety levels.
The massage therapist uses gentle techniques like myofascial release and cranio-sacral therapy.
A massage therapist performs remedial massage with different techniques and at the end of each session, will recommend home exercise with a foam roller, stretching exercises, use of a massage/trigger point ball and possible referral to acupuncture or alternative medicine, like Chinese medicine.
Each massage session, and overall treatment stragegy is tailored to every individual’s needs and requirements. No two back pain situations are exactly alike, so the types of techniques, hardness of the pressure used and even areas worked on are different for each client.
At Metro Health our therapists, Anne and Andrey offer a very personalised treatment for each client.
For more information about booking an appointment or to make a further enquiry you can either call ( 1300 132 830) or email us [email protected].
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ARTICLE Written by Andrey Mazaev, Massage Therapist
Edited by Marie Hopkinson.