Massage Therapy Elk River, MN
Massage Therapy in Elk River, MN. Are you suffering from nagging neck or back pain that won't go away? Did you suffer soft tissue damage in a recent injury? Or are you just under a lot of stress that you feel in your muscles and not allowing you to feel your best? Many people in Elk River, MN are finding massage therapy to be an effective treatment option for numerous conditions or disorders. Total Spine Health & Injury Center is devoted to helping those in Elk River, MN return to an active, pain-free lifestyle that many thought was in the rearview. If feeling good every day is something you want to get back to, call Total Spine at your earliest convenience at (763) 568-7869 or contact us online.
Massage therapy is becoming increasingly popular in Elk River, MN and throughout the United States. In 2021, 25% of men and one out of five women received a massage. Through a variety of types of massage, it increases blood flow to a region, and smooths out muscles that have contracted, allowing them to move more freely. It also releases endorphins which allows our bodies and minds to relax. While massage therapy can help anyone feel better, it's also been proven to be effective at treating specific conditions.
A Brief History of Massage Therapy
Massage therapy dates back to, at the latest, 3000 BCE. It was developed by several different ancient civilizations and eventually became the popular and effective treatment option it's now known to be.
Massage in Ancient Times
In India, massage was used in Ayurveda, a holistic healing system, about 5,000 years ago, if not earlier. Textual evidence shows that the practice had begun to be used in China by 2700 BCE. In Egypt, tomb paintings from around the same time depict people kneading others, and the Egyptians are credited with inventing reflexology about two centuries later. Around 3,000 years ago, Japanese monks who had studied Buddhism in China brought message therapy back to their homeland, which grew into amna, Japan's unique massage discipline. In all of these regions, people who practice massage believed that massage was crucial to restoring and maintaining balance, whether within their bodies, minds, or with the surrounding environment.
Massage Is Introduced to the Western World
Around 800 BCE, massage therapy found its way to Greece, where Greek athletes found it useful for treating injuring and staying at the top of their game. In the 5th century BCE, Hippocrates began incorporating it into his healthy living combination of proper diet, exercise, and fresh air. He told other physicians to use "friction" or "rubbing", and created a foundation for its use in the West by noting the positive effect massage has on muscles. The Roman physician Galen, who practiced with Hippocrates' philosophies, began using massage therapy between 100 and 200 BCE, and the wealthy began having massage therapists brought to their homes, while the lay people would seek massage in the public baths.
Decrease in Popularity and Introduction in the United States
While massage therapy was not widely used after the fall of the Roman empire, it started to be used somewhat in Europe again in the 17th century. It was introduced in the United States to treat World War I soldiers for nerve injuries and shell shock, and eventually massage boomed in the latter decades of the 1900s.
In contemporary society massage therapy is used around the globe to help patients find relief for countless conditions and disorders, from Kathmandu, to Timbuktu, to Elk River, MN. While people who espouse the benefits of massage may have different ideological backgrounds, patients all over the world have found it to bring them balance, healing, and restoration.
Benefits of Massage Therapy in Elk River, MN
Whether you're receiving one massage, a series of them to recover from an injury, or get massages on a regular basis, massage therapy has countless benefits that pay off not only for the next few days, but for the weeks to come:
- Reduced stress and increased relaxation
- Decreased heart rate
- Increased flexibility
- Improved circulation
- Reduced muscle spasms and cramping
- Lowered reliance on medication
- Increased immunity through increased lymphatic circulation
- Improved skin condition
- Peak performance in athletics
You'll only see more of these benefits as you incorporate massage therapy into a mainstay in your wellness routine.
Am I a Good Candidate for Massage Therapy in Elk River, MN?
Massage therapy is right for everyone in the Elk River area and beyond. Nothing bad will happen to you; when a massage is performed by a certified massage therapist, it can do wonders for anyone who is looking to relieve stress, gain more range of motion, improve posture, and live a more enjoyable and pain-free everyday life. Many athletes have made massage a regular part of their routine to help ensure they stay at peak performance. Research has also shown that massage therapy is an effective treatment method for several specific injuries and conditions:
Acute Injuries
Massage therapy can be a vital part of the recovery process for a variety of soft tissue injuries, including sports injuries and car accident injuries. Any sudden injury has a tremendous effect on your body, including pain, inflammation, limited flexibility, and scar tissue building up over your soft tissue. Elk River, MN massage therapy can reduce the negative symptoms of your injuries and stimulate the body to heal itself by improving circulation and brining blood and nutrients to an injured area.
Chronic Injuries
Acute injuries are not the source of all of our pain. Often, pain and discomfort can come from poor posture during everyday tasks, a nagging injury that gets worse over time, or just the wear and tear our bodies fall under at our employment or bring in the groceries. Massage therapy in Elk River, MN can smooth over scar tissue and elongate muscles to help you finally move on from dealing with pain every day.
Depression and Anxiety
Are physical and mental health is intertwined. A negative mental state can do damage to our bodies, and vice versa. The Mayo Clinic states that depression and anxiety can cause the following symptoms:
- Increased heart rate
- Tightness in the chest
- Frequently being tired
- Muscle tension
- Sleep disturbances
- Gaining or losing excessive amount of weight
- Headaches and migraines
Massage therapy in Elk River, MN can help alleviate these symptoms by reducing sore muscles and headaches, stabilizing your blood pressure, and releasing feel-good endorphins and hormones such as neurotensin, oxytocin, and cortisol, which reduce pain caused by stress and motivate social bonding.
Massage therapy, as part of an overarching wellness routine, can do wonders for your total well-being.
Prenatal Massage
An expectant mother experiences an incredible array of changes to their musculoskeletal structure. Massage therapy can help alleviate many of the physical discomforts that affect women during all three trimesters of a pregnancy. It will increase blood flow to muscle groups that have recently had poor circulation, ease joint and sciatica pain, help you get better sleep, and release much-needed feel-good hormones. There is even some research that suggests that pregnant women who get regular massages may have reduced labor time and labor pain.
While massage usually carries little risk for pregnant women, you should still consult with your physician before setting up an appointment in case the specifics of your pregnancy makes massage less than safe.
Other conditions massage therapy can help treat in Elk River, MN include:
- Headaches and migraines
- Work injuries
- Digestive disorders
- Upper back and neck pain
- Temporomandibular disorders
Combining Massage Therapy with Chiropractic Treatment in Elk River, MN
While massage therapy can do wonders for Elk River, MN residents looking to recover and feel better, its full benefits can be unlocked with chiropractic care. Chiropractic and massage offer much of the same benefits, but do so by treating the musculoskeletal system in different ways.
Chiropractic care treats issues from a structural standpoint. Through chiropractic adjustments, chiropractors manipulate the joints and spine in order to improve how your body functions. By extending the spine and performing quick, targeted thrusts on the joints, we help your bones move with greater ease and elasticity and reduce the strain they put on your nervous system.
Massage therapy targets issues with soft tissue. Soft tissue is comprised of ligaments attaching bones to each other, muscles that power the movement of our bones, and tendons that connect muscles to bones. In a general sense, our soft tissue is kind of a "pulley system" that allows us to move. Through micro-traumas, meaning incorrect posture or wear-and-tear, or acute injuries, our bodies build up scar tissue that makes soft tissue weaker and less flexible, causing problems for our body's support structure. Massage smooths out scar tissue for optimal health, mobility, and strength, which then helps the bones function correctly.
Combining massage therapy and chiropractic care prolongs the effects of both and ensure both treatments work as well as they can. Chiropractic adjustments make it easier for tense muscles to relax during and after a massage, and massage therapy relaxes the nervous system, enhancing the effects of chiropractic treatment.
Both massage therapy and chiropractic care are safe when performed by appropriately certified professionals. In many cases, they are more cost-effective than prescription medications for pain relief and swelling reduction. At Total Spine Health & Injury Center, we are licensed and experienced in both massage and chiropractic, making us the ideal location for getting the relief you've been looking for.
Other services we offer in Elk River, MN include:
- Herniated Disc Treatment
- Work Injury Treatment
- Family Chiropractic
- Auto Accident Chiropractors Near Me
- Chiropractor
- Chiropractic Adjustment
- Whiplash Treatment
Call Total Spine Health & Injury Center for Massage Therapy in Elk River, MN Today
At Total Spine, we take a holistic view of your health and wellness; we want to work alongside you so that you can feel the best you possibly can. We treat our patients with personalized care, entirely focused on a positive outcome for you in Elk River, MN. Our certified massage therapist is trained and skilled in deep tissue, Swedish, myofascial, and trigger point massage, as well as cupping. For effective and long-lasting massage therapy in Elk River, MN, reach out to us today at (763) 568-7869 or contact us online.
