Massage Keeps Stenosis Pain at Bay

You might say massage is an effective way to rub out Spinal stenosis— or at least provide much-needed relief for months at a time. In fact, depending on how advanced the condition is, regular massage sessions may keep all that pain and discomfort at bay for the rest of your life without surgery or prescription drugs. There are various types of massage, and any or all could be effective in the healing hands of a chiropractor or physical therapist in alleviating the pain and pressure wrought by spinal stenosis.

Spinal stenosis, once it starts eroding the quality of your life, does not improve with age. The aging process is irreversible, but clinical trials show that massage therapy will not only counter the deterioration that aging brings, but it has the potential of reversing all the bad things stenosis does to your physical and emotional health.

Massage is More than Just Relaxation

Most people see massage as something that is supposed to relax you, knead away aching and sore muscles and get you back on an active track. It is not necessarily regarded as health care but as a luxury offered at a spa with saunas and facials. This is known as a relaxation massage, but relaxing and relieving everyday pressures certainly boost mental health. Then there is structural massage, or structural integration, which is the essence of massage therapy in that it is a range-of-motion protocol for the entire body relying on motion, pressure, and resistance.

Massage therapy deals with stiffness and pain associated with stenosis, without centering on the spine itself. We’re talking about massaging the surrounding and adjacent muscles in the back, lower back (lumbar) and buttocks.

Spinal stenosis constricts the spine by narrowing the spinal canal and stresses everything nearby, tightening and straining muscles, tendons and ligaments.  Massage loosens and relaxes affected muscles, bringing an amazing sense of relief.

Treatment methods for all back-related pain vary, but massage therapy for spinal stenosis is characterized by long strokes accompanied by a systematic kneading motion.

What Causes Spinal Stenosis?

There are various causes for spinal stenosis, which can become debilitating and result in loss of bladder and bowel function if untreated. The pain can be excruciating with advancing age. Many sufferers quickly turn to surgery or prescription drugs, despite proven noninvasive relief through chiropractic medicine via spinal decompression and massage therapy.

Pain, numbness, weakness, cramping and general discomfort can occur elsewhere in the body, including legs, arms, and buttocks. Extremely sensitive nerves in the spinal canal that result in stenosis may be affected by the following:

—Heredity plays a part if you are born with an unusually narrow spinal canal making you more susceptible to this condition

—Growths such as bone spurs inside the spinal canal

—Tumors attached to the spine itself

—Traumatic injury to the spine

— Arthritis

—Anything exerting abnormal pressure on the spine, and

— A condition in which strong tightening ligaments squeeze the spine closer together

Massage may not be a cure for more advanced spinal stenosis, but it can relieve pain, ease discomfort and, in some cases, maintain quality of life through old age.

—Call us today at (201) 651-9100 for an appointment at Oakland Spine & Physical Therapy.