When it comes to managing pain, recovering from injury, or improving overall mobility, many people look to either physical therapy or massage as a solution. Instead of an either/or approach why don’t we talk about the benefits of combining these therapies. While both are popular solutions and have proven health benefits on their own, combining these services together often provides a more holistic and comprehensive healing approach to recovery. If you are an active individual over the age of 40 you have likely experienced one or both of these therapies at one point or another. If you are in the Denver area and have been frustrated dealing with lingering pain, muscle tightness or slower recovery, then this blog is for you! Let’s explore how the combination of these two treatments can amplify results, reduce recovery time, reduce stress, and enhance your overall well-being.
Why Physical Therapy and Massage Work Better Together:
Physical therapy treatments help people recover from injury by addressing any strength, mobility, or non optimal movement patterns that are present and causing problems. Once these contributing factors are identified, an individualized treatment plan is put together to promote injury recovery and ensure the injury doesn’t turn into a recurring problem. With this second goal being even more important than the first. Massage therapy involves the manipulation of the soft tissues (think muscles) throughout the body to promote relaxation, reduce muscle tension, and alleviate pain. Although there are multiple types of massage, they all serve to improve circulation, boost lymphatic flow, and help to release endorphins, which are your body’s natural painkillers.
6 Ways How Combining Physical Therapy and Massage Enhances Recovery
- Accelerated Healing and Pain Relief
One of the main benefits of combining physical therapy and massage is the potential for faster healing. Physical therapy restores proper painfree movement and function through hands on joint and soft tissue manipulation and specific targeted exercises, but when combined with massage, can help to relax tight muscles, reduce inflammation, and promote blood flow. The elevated circulation helps bring oxygen and nutrients to the tissues, promoting recovery. Massage therapy also works on soft tissues and fascia, which can further support the rehabilitation process by improving and enhancing pain free movement. Both therapies together can effectively reduce pain and inflammation and using both therapies together speeds up the process. The relaxation from massage can make physical therapy exercises feel more smooth and less difficult, while physical therapy ensures the body is properly aligned to support optimal function which then helps to speed up the results of massage.
- Improved Flexibility and Range of Motion
Physical therapy focuses on exercises and stretches that improve pain free flexibility and range of motion within the body. However, sometimes muscle tightness and fascial restrictions can hinder progress, which is where massage therapy comes in. Regular massage improves muscle pliability, releases knots, and improves tissue tone, directly supporting the flexibility exercises prescribed in physical therapy. As a result, patients often experience increased mobility more quickly. Basically, It’s like 1+1=3 for your body.
- Decreased Muscle Tension and Stress
Chronic pain and injury tend to result in muscle tightness, and physical therapy alone may only address part of the tension. Massage is an excellent complement to physical therapy because it works to release muscle tension and relieve stress, allowing exercises to be completed without discomfort. Additionally, massage has been shown to lower cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, which provides a sense of calm and relaxation. This can be particularly helpful for individuals experiencing anxiety related to the recovery process. So PT+Massage= less stress and more progress!
- Enhanced Postural Alignment
Postural imbalances are often a source of pain after an injury. Physical therapy plays a key role in addressing these imbalances by strengthening weak muscles, improving joint mobility, and stretching tight joints and muscles. Massage therapy can assist by releasing tension in muscles around the spine and extremity joints, promoting better alignment and movement. Together they both help restore proper posture, which is important in preventing other injuries and feeling and performing your best.
- Reduced Risk of Re-Injury
Massage therapy helps to loosen tight muscles that otherwise could contribute to poor movement patterns and increase risk of re-injury. When combining massage with your rehabilitation, you may notice better coordination and a reduction in compensatory movement patterns, making it less likely that you will reinjure yourself. Physical therapy addresses the strength and function needed for rehabilitation, and massage helps to keep the muscles relaxed and flexible for continued recovery. So together they can create a looser stronger body that can do more and do it more efficiently.
- Holistic Well-Being
Combining physical therapy with massage allows you to address the physical aspect of recovery along with the emotional/mental well-being. Pain can take a major toll on your mood (obviously right!), resulting in frustration, depression or stress. Both PT and massage have been shown to boost mental health by improving circulation, lowering cortisol, and promoting the release of endorphins. The relaxing nature of massage, coupled with the sense of accomplishment from physical therapy exercise will significantly improve your overall mood and well-being. It’s easy to be in a good mood when you are improving and feeling better right!
Our Approach at KinetikChain Denver
No press and guess here. At KinetikChain Denver, we start off with a thorough mobility and movement screen to determine what impairments are contributing to your symptoms so that there is no guesswork. Following this comprehensive evaluation, we build out a tailored treatment plan to meet your specific needs. Our team of experts come from multiple disciplines including physical therapy, chiropractic, athletic training, massage therapy, fascial stretch therapy, and personal training meaning that we have the right provider for whatever your health and fitness goals look like. Depending on what you want and need treatment plan can blend the following:
- Manual (hands on) therapy and joint mobilization
- Deep tissue massage and sports massage
- Joint manipulation or adjustments (think popping your spine)
- Cupping, hot stones, and trigger point therapy
- Fascial stretch therapy, red light therapy, and compression therapy (when needed)
- Dry needling
- Corrective exercises for strengthening or overall mobility and flexibility.
Who Benefits From This Approach
Regardless of your favorite physical activity, sport or hobby, we are here to help you get back to what you love doing and keep you enjoying life for the long haul. Are you a weekend warrior or active adult recovering from an injury? We can help you. Competitive athlete wanting to get back to your sport OR perform better than ever? We got you. Maybe you enjoy running, skiing, cycling or are a sports enthusiast? We got you. Are you less active, but want to get back to having the option of getting active? We got you. Have you been struggling with chronic pain, muscle tightness, or mobility issues? We got you. Or perhaps you are looking to boost performance and prevent future injuries? We got you. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure right?
How Often Should You Combine PT and Massage
Frequency of sessions between physical therapy and massage are based on your goals and the recommendation of the provider working with you. Are you looking to recover from injury ASAP? Well then you may want to come in 2 or more times a week. Or wanting help bouncing back from an intense block? Maybe 3 times within a week at first is needed and then taper off with weekly sessions. Looking for maintenance work or performance improvement? Coming in every 2-4 weeks for a tune up will make sure you stay on track with your health and fitness goals.
What to Expect in a Session
During your first session, a comprehensive assessment will be performed to identify the root causes of pain and/or limitations as well as find out your massage preferences. This will ensure that there is no guesswork and all treatment moving forwards is helping you get back to what you love. You can expect a combination of hands-on manual therapy combined with targeted massage techniques to help calm things down and get moving again. From here, we provide you with a personalized plan of care involving exercise (3-5 exercises, not tons and tons. It’s better to be precise than to throw everything at it) and whatever else is needed to keep you moving pain-free so that you can perform at your best.
Why Choose KinetikChain Denver
With our team of cross-trained professionals, we can provide an experience different from other facilities. Utilizing advanced techniques and cutting edge tools for next-level recovery and performance, we have helped thousands of active adults in the Denver area overcome aches and pains to get them back to the activities they love doing the most. But more importantly here you are not just a number. We take the time to get to know you, your goals, and what is holding you back from achieving your goals. We want to be your health partner and to do that we need to get to know you. If that is something you value then we will be able to help you achieve great things. Whether that is getting back to your favorite sport or just being able to play with your grandkids we are here to help.
So if you find yourself missing out on time with family and friends due to an injury, consider using physical therapy and massage together with us for an even smoother recovery process. Beyond physical therapy and massage, we also offer fascial stretch therapy, personal training, nutrition and red light therapy to support total recovery and performance. Are you ready to feel your best? Then let’s get started!
