Massage and back care

---

by Geof Warren

How can massage help my back problems?

Prevention

Massage therapy as part of a healthy active lifestyle reduces the physical and psychological stresses in the body brought about by daily living. It induces wellbeing and by its nature is nurturing and stress relieving because massage is concentrated touch and emotionally, touch is good for us. See my section on touch http://www.massage-therapy-at-deal.co.uk/touch.html

Massage also speeds recovery and helps prevent injury reoccurring.

Therapy and healing

• Massage helps repair scar tissue in muscles caused by tearing of muscle tissue due to injury. Note that although the injury can appear to clear up externally, often scar tissues remains within the muscle, so inhibiting full range of movement and can lead to the injury reoccurring.
• Reduces fibrous muscle tissue caused by prolonged tension and/or lack of activity. This fibrous tissue is known as knots and feels like cords or rope or hard lumps under the skin.
• Relieves tension and tightness around joints caused by tight and tense muscles. Immobile joints will affect mobility adversely and can lead to muscle imbalances.
• Improves mobility by releasing tension in tight muscles which inhibit free movement. Tense muscles increase the effort to move and induce tiredness.
• Promotes general wellbeing and relaxation. It is nurturing and stress relieving.
• Massage helps the individual to a greater body awareness regarding areas of tension or imbalance.

Massage should be used as part of a holistic approach to back care when dealing with back problems.

Six point plan to resolving back pain and a stronger healthier body and back.

• Obtain a clear diagnosis of back problem by G.P. or qualified back specialist.
• Receive treatment for underlying cause of back problem.
• Exercise as instructed by back specialist.
• Adopt a more active lifestyle.
• Stretch regularly but carefully. See my page on stretching. Note: Do not stretch if you have back pain and always take it very slowly, see http://www.massage-therapy-at-deal.co.uk/stretch-for-life.html
• Receive massage to reduce internal scar tissue and release tight muscles affecting joints.

Note: Massage should not be sought until any pain has abated.

Our backs are a problem for us.

Since we Homo sapiens have walked upright on earth, we have been doomed to suffer from back problems. It is no wonder considering our entire upper frame hangs from a slender row of attached bones called the vertebral column or spine. Our spine which includes our neck is a curving row of twenty-four irregular vertebrae which are attached to each other by strong shock absorbing discs made of fibro-cartilage. At the base of the column are two fixed bones the sacrum and the coccyx which are attached to our hip bones. Attached to the vertebral column are our ribs and shoulder girdles and of course perched on top is our skull. Supporting our spine along its entire length, and in fact all our bones and joints, are strong tough tendons and very flexible but strong muscles, and running through the centre of our spine is our spinal cord which fans out in all directions to every part of our body from the brain. It is a design wonder and although very resilient with the intervertebral discs acting as shock absorbers, it can be prone to damage when injury occurs, especially impact injury like falling heavily on your bottom.

Our spine is attached too and centered over our hip bones and is perfectly balanced with our skull perched on top. Our legs and feet of course support our hips and indeed all of our body, and it is possible that a problem in our foot, ankle or knee can affect the balance of our hips and adversely affect our spine. Tension in our lower limbs can travel upwards; imagine walking for days with a stone in your shoe. It would cause you to walk awkwardly and out of balance, and this would in turn put stresses on your posture. Correct posture is so important for a healthy spine. Our spine has also to bend in all directions to permit the body to move in ways such as bending, stretching and rotating, and any tension in the muscles or injury to them can inhibit these movements. Tense muscles can be caused by inactive lifestyle, injury, poor posture, sitting down too much and also psychological stress. Many people find that when life is not so stressful, i.e. on holiday, back pain can clear up. Excess weight can also add major stresses to the spine.

For more information about how massage can help you, visit http://www.massage-therapy-at-deal.co.uk.

---

Click here to learn how to cure backpain

---

Back to top of Massage and backcare