If you work at a desk all day or spend significant time in front of your computer, you probably know the pain and stiffness accompanying repetitive injuries to your wrists, neck, arms, or back. It can be challenging to maintain a healthy lifestyle if your body is in constant distress.
Fortunately, massage therapy can offer some relief from these common problems and prevent the early onset of debilitating conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome or tendinitis.
In this blog, we’re going to discuss what repetitive injuries are and how massage therapy can help you manage them.
Repetitive Injuries
Repetitive injuries aren’t new, but they continue to plague us today. These injuries can often cause temporary damage to nerves, muscles, ligaments, and tissues. If they aren’t detected early on, they can also cause permanent damage. Here are two major types of stress injuries.
1. Repetitive Stress Injuries
Repetitive stress injuries, sometimes referred to as RSIs, occur when the body makes the same motion.
Some examples of repetitive movements that can lead to repetitive stress injuries are using a mouse for long periods and gripping an object tightly for hours.
We have all heard of carpal tunnel syndrome, but other common stress injuries are tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, piriformis syndrome, and shin splints.
People with this condition experience numbness, tingling, and burning sensations. These symptoms may be relieved with anti-inflammatory medication or surgery.
Not every injury needs medical attention, but early identification can avoid severe long-term consequences.
2. Repetitive Motion Injuries
Frequent repetitive motion injuries affect people of all different occupations but are especially common among workers in physical labor. Muscles can tighten up and weaken, leading to decreased performance, pain, and even injury.
Repetitive motion injuries can affect our muscles, tendons, joints, and nerves. They often result from repetitive motions or sustained awkward positions, which cause the muscles and other body soft tissues to become inflamed.
Massage Therapy And Repetitive Injuries
Massage therapy is one of the treatments most physiotherapists suggest to individuals dealing with repetitive injuries.
These injuries cause inflammation and soreness in the muscle tissue, leading to pain and stiffness if left untreated for too long. However, with massage therapy, you can see significant improvement in the pain.
Here are a few benefits of massage therapy.
1. Can Reduce Muscle Tension
Repetitive motions can cause tension to build up in our muscles throughout the body. Massage therapy will ensure improved blood circulation, which will essentially promote healing throughout the body and cause tension to be released from the muscles.
2. Can Improve Flexibility
Repetitive injuries are often inflexible due to the muscle imbalances that may develop. Massage therapy helps break down the adhesions, scar tissue, and muscle trigger points. This will allow a person with repetitive injuries to have more mobility and feel less pain or pressure on their joints.
3. Can Help Alleviate Pain
Massage therapy is often used to reduce pain. Specifically, massage can help relax tight muscles and restore range of motion. This process can help reduce the pain associated with repetitive injuries like tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. It also has a positive effect on those recovering from surgery.
4. Can Promotes Good Circulation In The Joints
Good circulation in the joints is essential to promote healing. This can be difficult for people with repetitive injuries, such as athletes and those who work on their feet. A massage therapist’s professional help can improve blood flow to these areas.
5. Can Increase Range Of Motion In Affected Areas
Massage therapy, and specific manual therapy, are excellent at increasing the range of motion in areas where a repetitive injury has developed. The goal is to restore normal function in the affected areas and decrease pain and inflammation.
After receiving massage therapy, you can move about your day more freely and without pain or discomfort.
Massage Therapies That Help
1. Swedish Massage
Swedish massage is most commonly used to treat RSI injuries. Swedish massage is a relaxing massage that uses long, flowing strokes to relax muscles and increase blood flow.
It’s often used to treat muscle pain, stiffness and inflammation but can also help with joint damage caused by overuse or injury.
2. Sports Massage
Sports massage is a more intense type of massage that uses deeper pressure than Swedish techniques can provide to break up scar tissue. It is fast-paced and designed to reduce muscle pain and stiffness.
Your sports massage therapist will use a combination of pressure, stretching and joint mobilizations to relieve muscle pain and stiffness. This treatment can also help you recover after an injury because it loosens tight muscles that prevent you from moving freely.
3. Deep Tissue Massage
This massage therapy works on realigning deeper layers of muscles and connective tissue. Most massage therapists use deeper strokes during deep tissue massage. That’s why there’s a chance that you’ll feel sore after a session, but it should go away soon enough. If you’re concerned about the soreness, you can talk to the massage therapist beforehand, and they’ll make sure to minimize the intensity of strokes.
Book An Appointment With An Asian Massage Therapist In Fayetteville, NC!
At Eden Massage, our practices and massage therapies are based on traditional Chinese medicine beliefs. Our licensed Asian massage therapists are trained in different techniques and methods of massage therapy. With the help of reflexology, they help your body achieve a relaxing state.
We offer a range of other massage therapies, such as deep tissue massage, Swedish massage, Shiatsu massage, and sports massage. Our Asian therapists are also trained in acupuncture, Gua Sha, and cupping therapy.
Contact us to learn more about our massage therapies.
