How remedial massage can help with injury management

How remedial massage can help with injury management

Anyone who has suffered an injury will know that the key to recovery and preventing re-injury is understanding how to manage your injury safely and effectively. We know that different massage techniques can have many fantastic benefits for your health and wellbeing, but remedial massage is beneficial in assisting with injury rehabilitation and management too.

What is remedial massage?

Remedial massage is a complementary therapy that aims to treat aches, pains and injuries to help the body repair and recover (1). Remedial massage helps to locate the damaged areas of your body such as muscle, tendons or ligaments in your body and repair them by helping to stimulate blood flow, relaxing muscle tension and promoting tissue regeneration (2). It also helps to make your joints more supple and flexible increasing your range of motion.

What injuries can remedial massage help with?

Remedial massage and other massage therapies have been known to help with:

  • Lower back pain

  • Repetitive strain injury

  • Muscle-related neck pain

  • Muscle-related knee pain

  • Soft tissue injuries

  • Tennis elbow

  • Rotator cuff tear

These can occur from playing sports, poor posture, general physical activity or having a strenuous job (bricklayers, cleaners, etc).

How can remedial massage help with injuries?

Recovering from an injury can take a lot of time and effort. Injury management is key to ensuring that you don’t prolong your recovery time or re-injure yourself in the future. There are many benefits of remedial massage that can assist in managing your injury. 

Remedial massage can improve circulation

Exercise-induced muscle injury has been shown to reduce blood flow. A 2014 study at the University of Illinois in Chicago found that “Massage therapy improves general blood flow and alleviates muscle soreness after exercise” (6). The pressure that is created by the massage helps to move blood through congested areas, allowing new blood to flow in. This can assist in speeding up the healing process and also help in repairing damaged tissues.

Remedial massage can increase the range of joint motion

Remedial massage can increase your range of joint motion by increasing tissue elasticity, reducing swelling, decreasing pain and removing waste products from the muscle surrounding the impacted joint. A 2020 study called ‘Effect of sports massage on performance and recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis’ showed that while the study found no evidence that sports massage improves sports performance directly, it may somewhat improve flexibility and delayed onset muscle soreness (3). This can help in the prevention of re-injury when playing sport (7). 

Remedial massage can reduce chronic pain

Massage promotes relaxation which has been seen to reduce chronic pain. This improvement in pain perception can be related to hormonal changes that take place after a treatment of massage. A study looking into the effects of relaxation reported improved mood of participants because of changes in levels of cortisol, dopamine and serotonin(4)(5).

Book a remedial massage in Perth today!

If you have recently been impacted by an injury and are looking for a way to help manage it, remedial massage is a great option to consider. Get in touch with our remedial massage Perth team and have a chat with us about how we can help you heal.

  • Healthdirect – Remedial massage

    Cash, M. (1996). Sport & Remedial Massage Therapy. United Kingdom: Ebury Press.

    Davis HL, Alabed S, Chico TJAEffect of sports massage on performance and recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysisBMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2020;6:e000614. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2019-000614

    Leivadi, S. Hernandez-Reif M, Field T, et al. (1999). Massage therapy and relaxation effects on university dance students. J Dance Med Sci 1999; 3 (3): 108-12. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233706133_Massage_Therapy_and_Relaxation_Effects_on_University_Dance_Students

    Field, T. Hernandez-Reif, M. Diego, M. Schanberg, S. Kuhn, C. (2005). Cortisol decreases and serotonin and dopamine increase following massage therapy. Int J Neurosci. 2005 Oct;115(10):1397-413. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16162447

    University of Illinois at Chicago. "Massage therapy improves circulation, alleviates muscle soreness." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 April 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140416125434.htm>.

    Sports massage: A comprehensive review A Moraska Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness; Sep 2005; 45, 3; ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source

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