Understanding the Difference Between Massage Therapy and Chiropractic Therapy
Many people are perplexed by the complicated discipline of chiropractic therapy.
Its ability to treat ailments without producing any side effects is astounding and ‘too good to be true’ for some people.
Moreover, due to simple unawareness, many people falsely presume that massage therapy and chiropractic care is similar; which could not be further from the truth.
It is important for more people to realize this fact, so that they know what each type of therapeutic method can do for them. While both medicinal treatments are excellent for resolving a list of issues, they are nevertheless distinct.
Coverage Area
Massage and chiropractic therapy both rely on the strategic manipulation of body parts. However, they both target different aspects of the body to achieve results.
Massage therapy is the art of easing tense muscles to alleviate muscle pain, tension and free blood flow in constricted muscles. A chiropractor, on the other hand, specializes in carefully adjusting the spine to ensure that a body’s nervous system is performing at its optimum.
As the nervous system directly controls every organ and limb of a human being, chiropractic care for neck adjustment and spine adjustment, by extension, helps alleviate problems in other portions of the body.
While this difference may seem a little nuance, it is actually rather dramatic as they both treat completely different ailments.
Cures
Massage therapy is a legitimate method of resolving numerous health problems without resorting to invasive treatments. Manipulation of soft muscle tissue on the top layers of the body can reap numerous benefits. Massage is known to improve blood flow, alleviate muscle pain and numerous other problems which result in boosted immunity and an increased life expectancy.
Chiropractic treatments, due to their more in-depth body manipulation, treat more complex problems.
Joint pain, headaches, sciatica and several other issues are resolved through chiropractors by careful spinal adjustments to free pinched nerves that create functional problems within the body. Problems that arise because of whiplash, sports, work, and car accident injuries heal quickly with chiropractic treatment.
Both therapeutic treatments, however, have the capacity to alleviate stress and make a person feel relaxed. This is primarily because they both make the body feel refreshed and rejuvenated, causing people to feel elated in the days following a session. Many people seek these treatments just so that they can feel relaxed afterwards.
As demonstrated, chiropractic therapists and massage therapists both target different parts of the human body.
They are medical genres that are completely independent of one another. Yet, when performed together, they can produce amazing results on a patient. Chiropractic care releases the subluxations within the spine and combined with massage’s capacity to loosen tense muscles, a patient is discharged feeling as if their body is new.
They are a perfect combination. This is why many professional chiropractors offer massage therapy for ideal and more impactful results.
Cascade Spine & Injury Center is one such establishment in Northeast Portland. We offer chiropractic and massage therapy, ensuring that our clients get the best of both.