Enhance Your Care With Massage Therapy

By Shawn D. Keegan, DC

For those of you who have tried massage therapy you know nothing is better than having those trouble areas worked out and loosened up by the skilled hands of a massage therapist. But massage therapy has many benefits that you may not realize at first glance.
Many patients are prescribed massage therapy as an adjunct to their chiropractic treatment. Extensive muscular work in addition to chiropractic adjustments is very effective at prolonging the effectiveness of the adjustment. In other words, the adjustment holds longer when the muscles are in better condition. Patients who receive both chiropractic and massage may experience quicker recovery times and are far more comfortable longer between treatments.
Massage has specific physiological effects on the body. Massage improves circulation to muscles, flushing out metabolites (the byproduct of chemical reactions in the tissues). It breaks down adhesions, stretches shortened muscles, stretches scar tissue, changes the tone of the muscle it works on, and ultimately helps to restore proper joint motion. Combine that with the corrective effective of a chiropractic adjustment and just about any musculoskeletal condition may begin to feel better.
For you athletes out there, chiropractic and massage helps during pre competition conditioning and post competition recovery. All of those physiological effects listed above not only may solve problems, but they also enhance normal musculo- skeletal function. Many competitive runners and cyclists and swimmers include massage therapy and chiropractic care in their workout schedule.