Benefits of Massage Therapy for Injury and Chronic Pain

Massage therapy for injury takes a targeted approach that can help soft-tissue injuries (tendonitis, whiplash, muscle pulls and strains, ligament sprains, etc.) heal faster.

Massage can help reduce pain, spasm, and swelling. Massage can also prevent formation of too much scar tissue or reduce already existing excess scar tissue and adhesions (stuck together tissue) that weaken muscles. Weak muscles can lead to another injury.

Photo Credit: Ryan Hoyme

According to Ruth Werner, author of A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology:

Caution: Do not massage an injury in the acute phase (usually about 48 hours after the injury), as the pressure might worsen the injury. You can massage surrounding areas. Also, manual lymph drainage might be appropriate to help reduce swelling.

Massage Therapy for Injury Recovery

A muscle or other soft-tissue injury consists of small tears in the tissue fibers. Your body immediately begins to create scar tissue to heal the tears. However, this scar tissue doesn't always align with the injured tissue fibers, potentially leading to weak scar tissue susceptible to another injury Also, scar tissue doesn't stretch and can restrict movement of adjacent soft-tissue fibers, again possibly leading to further injury.

The goal of injury massage is to create tension and stretch to break down excess scar tissue and help new tissue fibers align with the old ones. Massage may also increase circulation around the injured area, which supports healing by bringing in nutrients and removing waste products.

Massage therapy for injury is a process that requires regular massage, at least once a week. Some people see much quicker results with two massages a week at the start. How long will you need massage? It depends on what type of injury you have, how old it is, and your body's ability to heal. Another factor in healing is your willingness, as needed, to follow at-home care instructions, exercise or stretch the injured area, or find and get rid of the cause of ongoing injury.

Injury massage is different from relaxation massage and can leave you feeling sore for a day or two. However, a lot of pain during or after the massage isn't necessary and can be counterproductive. Always tell your massage therapist how you felt after your last massage.

Techniques commonly used in massage therapy for injury recovery include deep tissue techniques, trigger point massage and other neuromuscular techniques, active release technique, and sports massage techniques.

Benefits of Massage for Chronic Pain

Using massage for chronic pain is a way to interrupt the continuous cycle of pain, where pain causes tense muscles, poor circulation, and restricted movement, leading to even more discomfort.

Decreasing Muscle Tension

Muscles become tight around painful areas to protect them. If your pain goes away quickly, your muscles relax; however, prolonged pain causes muscles to become habitually tight. Tight muscles sometimes press on nerves, causing numbness, tingling, or more pain. Relaxing muscles with massage therapy can help end this cycle of tension and pain.

Improving Circulation

Tight muscles make it more difficult for blood to flow freely, letting metabolic waste produced by cells build up, potentially causing you to feel fatigued and sore. Also, this waste can irritate nerves, causing pain to spread.

Massage relaxes the nervous system, causing the size of blood vessels to increase (called dilation), which may improve circulation. Increased blood flow takes away waste and brings in oxygen and nutrients. 

When circulation is poor, the affected muscles can develop trigger points. These highly irritable spots can refer pain, tingling, or other sensations to other muscles (for example, trigger points in the abdomen commonly cause low back pain). Specific massage techniques can release trigger points.

Stretching Muscles and Improving Movement

Eventually, connective tissue forms in tense areas with poor circulation. Although this process is helpful for healing injuries, the formation of excess tissue (called fibrosis) can "glue" muscle fibers and surrounding connective tissue together in a contracted position that interferes with normal movement. By stretching and kneading the muscles and connective tissue, massage therapy can "unglue" the areas with fibrosis.

Massage for chronic pain stretches tight muscles, releases painful trigger points, and removes irritating waste products that make even simple movements difficult and tiring. By restoring your body's ability to move easily, you may have renewed energy for physical activity, further promoting good circulation.

Choosing a Massage Therapist

Some massage therapists and some types of massage are better for relieving injury and chronic pain than others. Although a Swedish-style relaxation massage feels great, you can often get more permanent results from a massage technique especially targeted toward relieving injury and pain, such as neuromuscular technique (NMT), deep tissue massage, or myofascial release.

Also be aware that you might experience a cycle: You start receiving massage, feel better, and then have a reversal, often for physical and psychological reasons, including factors such as poor posture habits and stress in your daily life. Continued massage, along with addressing other factors contributing to your pain, can promote your body's natural healing process.

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