Hide/Show Banner - Font SizeFont SizeFont SizeFont Size - Home - Site Map - Print Page - Email Page - Refer a Friend - Email Us

What To Expect Before And After Your Medical/Orthopedic Massage Treatment

The Initial Medical/ Orthopedic Massage Visit Is A 3 Part Process:

You will receive an assessment which will help the therapist identify the source of your pain and decide which techniques will work best to get you out of pain as quickly as possible.

The treatment portion is when you receive the hands-on work. All the advanced techniques we use fall under the term Manual Therapy.

Recommendations for self-care will be given, specific to your condition. This self-care may include, stretches, self-massage, anything the Medical Massage Practitioner considers what is necessary to speed up healing and prolong results from each session.

What To Expect After Your Medical/Orthopedic Massage Treatment:

Most people feel relaxed and/or refreshed after a massage. Occasionally some people experience post massage soreness the day after a massage. This is nothing to worry about. Most people feel a great reduction of the original muscle tightness and/or pain after the delayed soreness resolves itself

There are several theories, none of them with universal support, about the exact cause of this delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). An old theory suggests that excess lactic acid in the muscle is the cause of this soreness. However studies conducted by exercise physiologist, Dr. George A Brooks, have concluded that “lactic acid does not cause muscle soreness, fatigue or the “burn” of intense exercise. Nor does it cause post-massage soreness. While excess lactic acid is typically present in sore muscles, it is not the cause of the soreness itself.

More research must be conducted before the exact mechanisms can be determined, but it is most commonly believed that post-massage muscle soreness is due to tight muscles having been stretched and realigned, adhesions and scar tissue having been broken apart so new tissue can form and lay down correctly, and / or deep pressure having been applied to an injured muscle to release spasm. All such procedures help muscles relax and heal. However; they can also cause soreness the next day. This delayed onset muscle soreness is not unlike what a person experiences after intense exercise.

Any time muscles tenderness occurs, place one cup of Epsom salts in hot bath water. Soak for 20 minutes and follow with a cool shower. (This soak/bath is contraindicated for anyone with cardiovascular problems or any other condition that might respond negatively to forms of heat therapy)