Can you use Clinical Massage To Reduce or Eliminate Low Back Pain? The short answer is yes but you need to make sure you’re seeing a clinical focused professional.
Commonly low back pain sufferers will try massage to help alleviate low back pain. However the average massage that you will book will not have a clinical focus. Before you book your next session spend just a bit of time looking through this site and understanding what causes your back pain specifically. Once you have a good idea of what a self-diagnosis looks like for you, discuss your self-diagnosis with the clinical therapist you are booking a session with. He or She will be happy to discuss your pain patterns and what exactly may be causing the discomfort and more importantly what you can do about your unique low back pain situation.
Questions To Help You Find A Good Clinical Massage Therapist
While seeking a practitioner to properly address low back pain, ask these questions. These question wil help you find a good clinical massage therapist to reduce low back pain.
1.) Can we spend the hour massage on just my low back, hips and thighs?
Why: A clinical massage therapist will have no problem spending an hour addressing your low back, hips and thighs. Furthermore, the reason I mention low back, hips and thigh areas is they all attach to your pelvis. Altogether focusing on this area will begin decompression which could help reduce low back discomfort. Possibly during the first session. A good clinical massage therapist will be able to adjust the length of time he/she will be working on any part of the body. Even just your hands and forearms. A good clinical therapist will be able to spend a whole hour on just your forearms and hands.
2.) Do you use Myofascial Techniques?
Why: Myofascial Techniques are preformed without oil at a very slow pace. Fascia encases all of the muscles and organs of your body. Fascia also has thixotropic properties that will greatly aid in allowing muscles to relax. In fact, not just your muscles but the fascia itself can be “stuck” or “adhered” which will limit range of motion and lead to pain.
3.) I was reading about “Postural Imbalance” and didn’t quite understand completely. Can you tell me a little more?
Why: A Clinical Massage Therapist will have a complete understanding of Postural Imbalance and be able to explain how it could be contributing to your low back pain.
4.) I read that muscles in my hips could be contributing to my low back pain, if that is true can you tell me how?
Why: Clinical Therapists understand how muscles relate to each other. A common misconception among those suffering from low back pain is that there is no relation between your low back, hips, stomach muscles and thighs. However, what is called “Referral Pain” quite possibly could be one of the compound factors causing you low back pain.
5.) Do use a lot of oil during your massages?
Why: Using massage oil will prevent the therapist from getting good engagement. That means most of the force applied is lost when attempting deep work. The truth is, if your goal is to stop low back pain, oil should only be used at the very end of your massage session. Massage techniques with oil during a Myofascial massage session will only be used to “smooth out” the specific work applied to your body.
~I already tried massage and it didn’t work.
Commonly people looking to stop low back pain will say “I already tried massage and it didn’t work”. When I hear this statement I know that they did not find the correct therapist. Using the questions above will help you find a therapist that specializes in pain reduction not relaxation.
Relaxation massage will not stop low back pain. Ever.
Relaxation massage or the classic full body massage you will get at most spas, massage practices or chiropractors is not the same as a clinical massage from a therapist who is trained on muscle function. By understanding the function of the human musculoskeletal system a clinical massage therapist will be able to do what is called a “Posture Analysis”. A clinical massage therapist will also address fascia. Fascia is a connective tissue that encompasses the whole body internally. To learn more about Fascia take a look at this article. Just understanding and working with the fascia will make great strides in reducing low back pain.
Additional Pain-Another Common Misconception
Another misconception that I run into all the time is that a massage should hurt in order to be effective. This is not necessarily true and could exacerbate your low back pain. When you choose a competent clinical massage therapist he/she will sufficiently “heat” your skin, fascia and muscle before any specific work starts. Thus the discomfort you feel during your massage should be very very specific. The therapist should be able to let you know you may experience mild pain. Deep pain during clinical massage should be reserved for after the tissues are “heated”.