In our many years of operation in downtown Orlando, Nightlife Chiropractic has continued to refine the care we provide patients by looking at the scientific evidence, but also by looking at how our patients respond to care. Although our treatment offerings have changed over the years, the two core therapies that we will always provide are massage therapy and chiropractic adjustments. While each offer considerable benefits on their own, they complement each other to create a comprehensive treatment plan for many injuries or conditions. For us in the industry, this meshing of therapies makes sense, but for many patients and even some doctors, it is often important to highlight why these two are so essential to each other. I’ll keep in short, but here is why.
Massage as the warm up act to a good adjustment
At our Orlando office, we suggest patients see the massage therapist first to relax the muscles attached to the bones near the joints where we need to restore normal motion. In parts of the spine there may be as many as 20 different muscles attaching to a bone and potentially limiting its motion, so proper preparation is important. Couldn’t we just use more force? Well, yes and no. You see, the art of practicing chiropractic involves using the least amount of force needed to restore normal motion. Sure, using enough force could make almost any joint “pop,” but the outcomes wouldn’t be the same. It’s been my experience that this is also how people determine a good adjustment (or chiropractor) versus a bad one; did the joint move and was it painless.
Restoring normal motion includes relaxing the muscles
We talk more about restoring normal motion in the body with our patients than repositioning their spines. Your back isn’t a game of Jenga to push pieces in and out. It is designed to move in a variety of directions with all the moving pieces working together. When we restore normal motion to a joint, the muscles surrounding the joint need to have the correct amount of tension. If not, the joint will become restricted and painful shortly after a visit. Although we can’t always restore that motion permanently on the first try, with normal tension to muscles and joints, motion will remain normal much longer when chiropractic and massage work together.
There are a few other benefits of massage therapy that are lesser known but worth mentioning in the context of why we do both. Research indicates that massage increases Serotonin levels which are the body’s feel good chemicals. This alone makes patients feel better after a visit.
Massage therapy also increases blood flow to the joints, ligaments, muscles and fascia (covering of muscle). This is especially important since normal blood flow is helpful in normal motion and vice versa.
A 2010 study also showed that massage therapy increases white blood cell counts which increases your immune system function. A strong immune function can help protect patients from getting sick as well as well as a host of other medical conditions.
Conclusion
By combining the hands-on techniques of massage therapy and chiropractic, we can get better joint and muscle motion, increased positive emotion, better blood flow to tissues, a better immune system and shorter treatment times for patients. That is why we’ve combined both treatments with thousands of patients to achieve these wonderful results. At the end of the day, we don’t just want you well adjusted, we will do everything in our power to make you the healthiest you can be.
If you are looking for a long-term solution for a musculoskeletal condition in the downtown Orlando area, feel free to reach out to us to see if we can help. (407) 982-7733
