Massage Therapy for Pain Management
Massage Strong in Lexington & Nicholasville
Licensed Massage Therapists for Pain in Lexington & Nicholasville
Massage Strong specializes in pain management, offering high-quality massage therapy services to people located in Lexington, Nicholasville, and surrounding communities. Our skilled team of massage therapists concentrates on providing effective pain relief, injury therapy, and mobility to our clients. Our goal is to promote chronic pain management, healing, and functional progress in the human body as an alternative to chemical pain management. Our therapeutic massage services can be beneficial to people who are suffering from various types of chronic pain.
Chronic pain refers to persistent pain that continues for more than 12 weeks despite treatments and medication. Many individuals experience chronic pain for a variety of reasons. Typical causes of chronic pain include physical injuries, trauma, nerve damage, surgical procedures, weight issues, sedentary lifestyles, and athletic or active lifestyles. Read more about the common types of chronic pain that people encounter.
Chronic Pain
Back Pain
Neck Pain
Shoulder Pain
Tension Headaches
Leg Pain
Hand Pain
- Back pain – Back pain is commonly caused by muscle or ligament strain, ruptured or bulging disks. osteoporosis, or arthritis. Back pain may involve muscle aches or shooting, stabbing, or burning sensations. It could prevent a person from walking, standing, bending, or lifting properly. Massage therapy can help relieve chronic back pain.
- Neck pain – Neck pain usually occurs because of poor posture, heavy lifting, repetitive motion, pinched nerves, whiplash, or fibromyalgia. Neck pain is characterized by muscle spasms, muscle tightness, or headaches. It leads to difficulty in moving the neck or head. Massage therapy may help ease chronic neck pain.
- Shoulder Pain – Shoulder pain is typically brought about by tendon inflammation, fracture, or arthritis. Shoulder pain involves the instability of the bone structure or soft tissues in the shoulder area. It could lead to a limitation of physical activities. Working at a sitting desk for long periods of time also frequently cause shoulder pain, which can be chronic if not treated.
- Tension Headaches – Tension headaches are often triggered by stress, eye strain, colds, dental problems, caffeine consumption, or excessive smoking. Its symptoms are muscle tightness and discomfort in the head, scalp, or neck. It could prevent a person from performing daily activities properly. Tension headaches are often accompanied by pain in other nearby areas including shoulders and neck.
- Leg Pain – Depending on the location, leg pain may be caused by sports injuries, disease, or physical trauma. Leg pain is usually accompanied by sharp, burning, dull, tingling, numbing, radiating, or aching sensations. It affects the ability of an individual to stand, walk, or run properly. Sometimes the chronic pain experienced in our legs is actually caused by underlying pain problems, which can be resolved with massage.
- Hand Pain – Hand pain is brought about by repetitive motion injuries, joint inflammation, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Hand pain leads to discomfort to the connective tissues, muscles, bones, joints, tendons, or blood vessels in the hand area. It may limit the functions of the hand, including the ability to grip or manipulate objects. Hand pain can also stem from nerves in other areas.
Massage Therapy for Chronic Conditions
Therapeutic massage by Massage Strong is an effective treatment for certain chronic conditions that involve chronic pain. Discover how massage can improve the following chronic health issues:
Fibromyalgia
It is a chronic condition that causes widespread pain in the human body. It is characterized by fatigue, sleep conditions, pain sensitivity, and mental and emotional stress. Massage therapy is considered as an alternative treatment for fibromyalgia which immediately relieves pain, anxiety, and depression in patients.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis refers to the growth of tissue outside the uterus which resembles the uterus lining. It could lead to infertility, pain, spotting, bleeding, and stomach issues. Massage therapy may provide short-term and long-term relief from the muscle spasms and pelvic pain caused by endometriosis.
Interstitial Cystitis
Interstitial cystitis is a chronic bladder condition. Its symptoms include long-term pain and urination issues. Massage can minimize bladder strain.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a long-term illness that is characterized by extreme tiredness. It may also bring about muscle pain, joint pain, sore throat, sleep issues, dizziness, and heart palpitations. Massage therapy can reduce fatigue, anxiety, and depression that are associated with CFS.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), also known as IBS, refers to Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Both are health conditions that involve the chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Massage therapy can improve the lymphatic drainage and digestive system of patients with IBD.
Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ)
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ) is the overall term for health issues related to the lower jaw. Its symptoms include jaw muscle stiffness, locking, clicking, popping, or limited movement. Massage therapy may decrease the pain and stress related to TMJ.
Arthritis
Arthritis is a condition that involves the inflammation of the joints. It may affect one joint or multiple joints. The symptoms of arthritis are joint swelling, stiffness, and pain plus a limited range of motion. Massage therapy can minimize arthritis pain and joint tension.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) refers to the pressure on a nerve in the wrist area. It leads to sensations of tingling, pain, and numbness in the hand and fingers. Massage therapy eases the inflammation in the carpal tunnel by stretching the muscles and fascia in the hand, wrists, arms, neck, and shoulders.
Nerve Damage or Sciatica
Sciatica is a health issue that entails the compression of the sciatic nerve. It is rooted in the lower back and continues down to the leg. It is characterized by nerve pain in the leg, numbness, and posture problems.
Massage Therapy For Pain Management – Types of Chronic Pain
There are different types of chronic pain that a person may experience because of different medical conditions:
Dull Aches
These are deep aches, which are generally described as pain in a wider area of the body.
Sharp Pain
This is an immediate, intense spike of pain in a localized part of the body.
Squeezing
It commonly refers to the crushing, tightening, or squeezing pressure in the chest area.
Pinching
It is usually described as tight squeezing in a very concentrated area of the body, making the pain feel more intense without shared distribution of the pain.
Tingling
This is an itchy, numbing type of pain that usually affects the hands, arms, legs, and feet. Tingling is sometimes described as being pricked by pins and needles.
Pressure
It is a form of pain that is caused by the force applied to the muscles. Pressure normally feels like a dense tension.
Cramping
This is a painful, involuntary spasm of one or more muscles, usually described as sharp and convulsing pain.
Burning Sensation
This is an irritation in a part of the body that feels hot and flushed, usually with visual redness accompanying the pain around the affected area.
Stinging
This is a burning type of pain that is accompanied by an electric-like shock that spreads along the limbs.
Numbness
This is the term for the loss of sensation in a certain part of the body. Sometimes the tingling feeling accompanies numbness, where the surface of the skin has lost sensation and the nerves are feeling prickly.
Tenderness
It describes the discomfort that the person feels when the affected area of the body is touched. Bruises are usually a good example of how tenderness feels.
Natural Treatments
Natural treatments are alternative forms of therapy that are used to manage or treat health issues without chemical medicine. They are more advantageous for patients with chronic pain than conventional medical treatments and narcotics. Alternative treatments are typically non-invasive. They generally involve fewer side effects and do not carry the risk for chemical dependency or substance abuse. Massage therapy is one of the natural treatments that can effectively relieve and treat chronic pain. These are some of the benefits of therapeutic massage by Massage Strong:
- Relieves Muscle Tension – Massage eases the tension of the muscles in the body. The controlled application of pressure on the body relaxes the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. It eases the spasms and contractions of muscle tissue that cause pain.
- Increases Serotonin – Massage stimulates the body’s production of serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins. These four hormones boost the mood of a person positively, and also tell the brain to feel physical relief where there is pain. Hormones are chemicals that are produced by various glands in the body.
- Nerve Stimulation – Massage reduces nerve compression. As a result, the nerves can resume their normal activity of passing messages to and from the brain to enhance the functions of the organs and muscles. Pinched nerves or nerve damage is often treated with massage therapy. The pressure during the massage is often applied in other areas to relieve the nerve pain, rather than only massaging the direct problematic area. Since our nerves in our body are connected, massaging the opposite end of the affected nerve can help reduce the pain.
- Reduces Inflammation – Massage can minimize the inflammation of the muscles on a cellular level. It encourages the growth of mitochondria in the muscles. It can potentially provide relief to patients with inflammatory conditions and musculoskeletal injuries.
- Lymphatic Drainage – Massage promotes the flow and movement of lymph fluids within the body. It can be helpful for people with lymphedema, fibromyalgia, and other health issues that affect the lymphatic system.
- Releases Toxins – Massage can contribute to the release of toxins from the body by its positive impact on the lymphatic system. The lymphatic fluids play a major role in eliminating toxins and waste from the tissues.
Massage Therapy for Pain Management: Technique
There are different types of massage therapy techniques that may be utilized by Massage Strong therapists. These techniques are classified based on the methods that are used and the health conditions they are meant to treat:
Petrissage
Effleurage
Tapotement
Friction
Trigger Point
Cupping
- Petrissage – Petrissage is a massage technique that involves the application of deep pressure on the muscles of the body. Its name originates from the French word “pétrir”, which means “to knead.” It focuses on the molding of the hands to the body areas in a slow rhythmic motion. It entails the use of the padded surface of the hand, thumbs, and other fingers. Some examples of petrissage movements are skin rolling, kneading, knuckling, and wringing.
- Effleurage – Effleurage is a massage method that utilizes slow, circular pressure strokes using the knuckles, thumbs, fingertips, and palms. It is characterized by a rhythmic pattern of alternating light and heavy strokes. Its name is derived from the French word “effleurer,” which means “to skim.” It can be used as a form of warm up before petrissage. It may also be applied in conjunction with aromatherapy.
- Tapotement – Tapotement is a rhythmic massage technique that is commonly employed in Swedish massage. It is usually applied by a cupped hand, edge of the hand, or fingertips. Its name comes from the French word “Tapoter,” which means “to drum.” It is commonly employed to stimulate the nervous system and release lymphatic fluids.
- Friction – Friction is a massage method that aims to apply accurate, penetrating pressure via the fingertips. It seeks to boost circulation in the body. It also aims to relax tense joints, muscles, and tendons. It may offer relief for patients with tendinopathy, ligament lesions, muscle strains, and scarring.
- Trigger Point – Trigger point massage zones in on trigger points. These points are bands of skeletal muscles found in a bigger muscle group that are tender to the touch. It can minimize the pain that patients have in certain regions of the body. It may restore the range of motion in the muscles.
- Cupping – Cupping is an alternative therapy that involves the application of cups on the skin to produce suction. It is considered a form of deep tissue massage. It can ease pain and inflammation in the body. It can also promote blood flow in the circulation system.
Give The Gift of Massage Therapy
Nothing says “I care” quite like a Massage Strong treatment. A great gift for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, or “just because,” we offer gift cards for all occasions. You’ve found the perfect gift, so what are you waiting for? Treat your friend, spouse, or loved one to the best Nicholasville & Lexington massage.