Constant stress and internal tension lead to body pain and limited movement. Such symptoms significantly reduce a person's quality of life. Anyone can face such problems, it is important to understand what to do when they occur. One of the effective methods to relieve tension in the body is massage. Many compare the procedure with a course of treatment with a chiropractor. Let's figure out whether a massager can replace sessions with such a specialist?
What and how does a chiropractor treat?
A manual therapist is a doctor who diagnoses and treats diseases of the musculoskeletal system. To eliminate clamps and pain in the joints, sprains of ligaments and muscles, a manual therapist uses different techniques. The therapy is based on manual action on the human body. As a result of several sessions of manual therapy, pain in the body decreases, reduced function of the joints is restored and their mobility improves. A manual therapist treats diseases such as:
- radiculitis;
- scoliosis;
- pain in the neck, back, lower back;
- osteochondrosis;
- sprains and ligament tears;
- joint dislocations;
- arthrosis and arthritis.
A manual therapist helps a patient to rehabilitate after a domestic or sports injury and to straighten out their posture. To do this, doctors use methods of joint mobilization, muscle stretching, and soft tissue relaxation. A set of techniques relieves tension in the body, restores joint mobility, and improves blood circulation.
What is the difference between massage sessions and manual therapy sessions?
Manual therapy sessions and massage procedures have the same goals. In both cases, a person strives to improve the functioning of the musculoskeletal system, reduce the severity of pain in the body and eliminate tension. However, the methods of influencing the body are different.
Using a massager is a softer technique that aims to relax muscles, relieve stress, and improve lymph and blood circulation. Depending on the model of the massage device, vibration movements, warm-up, stretching, and compression can be performed.
Manual therapy is based on deeper manipulations, the main goal of which is to correct mechanical disorders (scoliosis, hernia) and restore joint mobility. Scientists from the Franco-European Society of Chiropractic in France conducted a study and proved that manual therapy is an excellent way to eliminate neck pain of unclear origin, which can lead to serious complications and pain in the back, lower back, buttocks. Often, a manual therapist performs sharp movements in order to restore the position and mobility of joints.
Despite the differences, in some cases a course of manual therapy can be replaced by massage. The procedure not only relaxes the body, but also increases the flexibility of joints, reduces the severity of pain and swelling in the body, and reduces inflammation. This is a safe and effective method for most patients.
Effectiveness of using a massager for pain and swelling in the body
Massagers (roller, lymphatic drainage) are an effective tool for relieving body pain and eliminating swelling in the legs. When using the devices , blood circulation and lymph flow improve, which accelerates the removal of toxins from the body. Reducing intoxication leads to relief, reducing pain in the neck, back, lower back, hips and legs.
Regular use of the massager helps reduce the severity of symptoms of chronic pathologies (myositis, arthritis, osteochondrosis). In addition, massagers are effective in relieving muscle clamps after exercise or after a hard day on your feet. The presence of infrared heating in the device enhances the relaxing effect, improves the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the tissues.
Thus, massage can become a worthy replacement for manual therapy. However, before using the device for the first time, it is recommended to consult a specialist.
