Chiropractic and Massage Therapy

Leave a Comment

So many of us have looked for alternatives to mainstream medical treatment. It’s estimated that about 30 million people see a chiropractor each year, and over 50 million have been to a massage therapist. Both of these professions have been around in one form or another for centuries, and they’re not only effective, but also well loved by their clientele.

Gallup Poll Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3950594/

Both chiropractic and massage deal with the muskulo-skeletal system, which means bones and muscles. But it also includes the tendons, ligaments, and fascia that holds them all together. This system is the physical part of how we can move. It’s also the one we feel the most pain in when we move wrong, or aren’t moving enough.

So which one is more important? I get asked a lot if it’s a ‘muscle issue’, or a ‘bone issue.’ Look, the fact is, it’s always BOTH. A muscle is like a bunch of thick, half stretched rubber bands that attach one bone to another. And when they contract, the two bones move closer together. When they relax, the bones move back apart.

When a muscle is tight, or ‘knots up,’ it is literally pulling two different bones (sometimes more than two). And when a muscle is weak, the bones it is attached to (or joint) isn’t as stable, or too loose. This happens SO MUCH with us when we’re on a screen too much. The muscles in the back part of the neck get too weak, and the ones in the front get too tight. Look around! How many people do you see that look like this? (For how to stretch and strengthen the muscles in the neck to help with this click HERE)

So when a muscle is either tight or weak (loose) it affects the joints. And when a joint isn’t in the right alignment it affects the muscles. This is why chiropractic and massage work so well together! They’re the peanut butter and jelly, the peas and carrots, the Sonny and Cher of helping with this kind of pain.

Massage helps loosen tight muscles, break up scar tissue, improve circulation (which speeds up healing), and has a ton of other benefits. Chiropractic realigns joints, gets pressure off of nerves, and most of us (at least we do here) give you exercises to help strengthen weak muscle goups. This will increase range of motion in the joints, improve brain-body communication, help with balance and coordination, and a whole lot more. Using chiropractic and massage together is so much better than choosing just one.

Just make sure you pick a chiropractor and a massage therapist who have good reviews, and who will really listen to what you want to get out of your care. Make sure you ask about what they do when you call or message them. If you want to know who we recommend in the area, call us at 412-243-9355 or send me an email at drchris@wellnesspittsburgh.com

Be well,

Dr. Powell

Comments are closed