Five Ways Massage Therapy Can Help You Live an Active, Healthy Life

Are you struggling with chronic pain and sore or stiff muscles? Massage therapy is a natural, conservative treatment that relieves musculoskeletal pain and promotes internal healing. Here at Dr. David Bax Injury and Rehabilitation Center in Indianapolis, we offer a variety of hands-on treatments to ease pain, help your body heal and relax your mind. The treatments we offer include chair, Swedish, soft tissue and deep tissue massage.

During a massage treatment, our therapist, Kristina, uses a calm and gentle touch to relax your body and mind. If you are new to massage therapy, it is natural to wonder how these treatments can help your body. Below are five reasons why we love massage, and how it can help you recover from injury.

Massage Therapy Contributes to Whole Body Wellness

Speeds Healing

Massage therapy complements chiropractic care by speeding healing. We have found that some conditions, such as sciatica or fibromyalgia, respond best to a combination of chiropractic adjustments and massage therapy. Our goal is to promote whole body wellness, so our chiropractor, Dr. David Bax, often recommends a combination of care for optimal results.

Increases Blood Circulation

When our muscles are injured, toxins and lactic acid naturally build up over time, blocking our body's natural ability to heal. As Kristina kneads your muscles, fresh, oxygenated blood will enter, flushing out these toxins.

Relieves Pain

If you are struggling with muscle pain and spasms, Kristina will apply pressure to specific points on the body to relieve this pain. Kristina may also use gentle pressure to help muscles stretch and relax connective tissues.

Recovers a Full Range of Motion

Following a musculoskeletal injury, our bodies may be stiff, sore or unable to move naturally. By promoting internal healing and gently stretching connective tissues, massage helps our bodies recover a full range of flexibility, motion and movement. It also helps to reduce swelling, which is important to helping our bodies move.

Centers Your Mind

Healing is as mental as it is physical. Stress causes our blood pressure to rise and puts our body on high alert. During a massage, our blood pressure levels and the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, drop as endorphin levels rise. Endorphins are nature's painkillers and mood enhancers, which help our patients to feel calm, centered and at peace after a session.

What do you love about massage? What is your favorite type of massage and why?