Made to Move Featured Blog - Why manual therapy (Massage & Chiropractic) is for EVERYONE!
Many patients have a thorough understanding of what Massage Therapists and Chiropractors offer, but every once in a while I find patients surprised and excited by some of the services we offer at Made To Move. To help clear up how and when to use your manual therapist, and how to make the most out of your experience, I’ve outlined some suggestions below:
The Diagnosis: Before going into other points of manual therapy, the biggest reason I think anyone should seek out a manual therapist is for the diagnosis and understanding of the root problem of why they are experiencing their pain. Finding a licensed healthcare professional with Diagnosis in their scope of practice is crucial. If you never address the root cause of your pain and instead, only address the symptoms, you will always be chasing your pain instead of chasing your movement and exercise goals. A holistic approach considers the entire picture, the psycho-social factors, nutrition, sleep, exercise, and every anatomical aspect (muscle, joint, ligament, tendon, nerve, fascia, cartilage, etc).
A Team: When dealing with an injury of any size, it is important to consider finding more than one practitioner to assist with your care. Every practitioner has their areas with more expertise and knowledge based on their clinical background and personal interests. For Made To Move, we offer Registered Massage Therapy, Chiropractic, Rehab, and Acupuncture under one stop. By seeing our team, you will get a little bit more out of your care plan and see results that much more quickly.
Acute Injuries: When going through an injury, it can really take a toll on our mental health. Depending on the injury, it can often impede on getting fresh air, getting active, and doing a lot of things we love doing (both alone and socially). Feeling unable to participate in many of these activities can lead to feelings of frustration, isolation, and sadness. By seeing a Registered Massage Therapist or a Chiropractor, they can support you through injuries, getting you back to what you love sooner, and with less frustration.
Chronic Pain: Although many chronic pain conditions require medication, and sometimes have a generally degenerative course with most patients, symptom relief can still make all of the difference. For example, we know manual therapy will not cure Fibromyalgia. However, can a manual therapist offer pain relief, increased function, and education for how to live as pain-free as possible? 100% yes! Sometimes the therapy or plan of management offered by a manual therapist has goals attached that are things like ‘increased range of motion’, ‘increased postural endurance’, or ‘increase strength’. By setting more functional goals, we put a positive spin on therapy and create goals that make our quality of life better. Not sure if your condition is something in your manual therapist treats? Reach out and start a conversation, I know you will thank yourself later!
Maintenance Care: I often liken maintenance care to a car receiving an oil change to prevent further damage. This may sound funny, but every make and model needs maintenance to prevent further wear and tear at different intervals. This applies to manual therapy, as every patient typically finds their own unique schedule of preventative care. Although time span between appointments may vary patient to patient or vary depending on how your work and activity schedule fluctuates, getting a handle on small, seemingly insignificant aches and pains often prevents them from developing into more major issues down the road. Think of maintenance care as part of your selfcare arsenal to keep you in tip top shape physically and mentally!
Performance Enhancement: Many manual therapists, due to the physical nature of their job, are also quite active outside of the clinic. For Made To Move, our entire team is made up of former professional dancers. To say we understand how to push the human body to the physical limits is an understatement. We also have a vast knowledge of what it takes to engage in a healthy and long career consisting of extensive rehearsal days, and late performances. Whether your goals are to skate faster, jump higher, or turn more efficiently, manual therapists often have the education and experience to offer strategic rehab to deliver your goals timely and efficiently. Every patient that walks through Made To Move’s doors receives a personal and strategic rehab plan tailored to their goals and based off of their physical and orthopaedic examination. By using our performance experience and clinical expertise we can not only take you out of pain, but also into increased function and performance.
Pre-habilitation: Most patients are familiar with the concept of rehabilitation when relating to an injury or surgery. Patients often seek out exercises prescribed by a Chiropractor or Physiotherapist for this reason. However, did you know that you can improve your prognosis and outcome of a surgery like a knee replacement by seeking rehabilitation exercises BEFORE the surgery? For example, there is an international program that is widely accepted as the leader in rehabilitation exercises for knee and hip joint osteoarthritis, the GLA:D program, Good Life with Arthritis in Denmark. This program offers patients with degenerative knee and hip joints a program of conservative care, which often leads to better surgical outcomes and potentially also avoiding surgery or delaying the need for surgery. When a joint is losing cartilage, it loses stability. Many of the symptoms related to degeneration or osteoarthritis have to do with this change in joint stability and cartilage. By rehabilitating that joint, adding strength and endurance to the surrounding muscles, we increase function and decrease pain.
