Chiropractor vs Massage Therapist
If you’ve been suffering from agonizing back or neck pain and feel like you’ve had your fill of temporary pain relievers, you might turn to chiropractic care or massage therapy for relief that lasts longer than a few hours.
How do you know which will better meet your needs?
This is what we’re here for!
We’ll be discussing what each profession does, their benefits and precautions, as well as their results and how long they last.
What Does a Chiropractor do?
Chiropractic care isn’t only limited to treating the musculoskeletal system, which is the combination of the muscular and skeletal systems working together, but it also works on optimizing the functions of the central nervous system (CNS).
The CNS controls most of our mental and body functions, as it consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The latter is known as the highway through which pain signals are communicated to the brain.
Thus any subluxations, areas of the spine that are out of alignment, which cause nerve interference can be identified and treated by a chiropractor, also known as spinal manipulation.
Ensuring the bones and joints in the spinal cord are properly aligned will enhance the ability of our body to heal itself.
Benefits of Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care can help in reducing or treating specific pain points like lower or upper back, neck, joints, and even headaches by gently applying pressure using hand techniques on the affected area.
What Qualifications Does a Chiropractor Have?
When you choose a chiropractor to help with your pain, you should make sure that they’re properly qualified to give you the treatment that you need. They need to have an undergraduate degree, a master’s degree and sometimes even a doctorate in chiropractic care.
Chiropractors need to be licensed in order to make medical diagnoses, request X-rays or ask for blood tests to identify the cause of your pain. That’s why during their education, they receive comprehensive training in diagnoses and spinal manipulation.
Precautions of Chiropractic Treatment
Although there are many beneficial reasons that encourage you to seek a chiropractor, you should also know its risks that are rare but include:
• Disk herniation or worsening of an existing herniated disk
• Cauda equina syndrome, which is the compression of nerves in the lower spinal column
• A stroke, such as vertebral artery dissection, due to neck manipulation
You should also avoid seeing a chiropractor if you:
• Suffer from severe osteoporosis
• Feel numbness or tingling in any body part
• Have spinal cancer
• Have an increased chance of stroke
You should always seek a qualified chiropractor to make sure that you’re in good hands, which will lower the chances of any risk occurring and increase the benefits.
What Does a Massage Therapist do?
On the other hand, massage therapy involves a hands-on approach that focuses on the manipulation of soft tissues, such as muscles, tendons, connective tissues, joints, and ligaments.
It works on relaxing the muscles, eliminating lactic acid build-up that can cause muscle spasms and pain, and increase the flexibility of the muscles.
Massage therapists are often known to help with stress relief and improving the quality of your sleep (reducing insomnia). They also often use oils, lotions, and special tables or chairs to ensure maximum relaxation.
They specialize in many types of massages, such as:
• Swedish massage: kneading movements and long strokes to increase blood flow
• Deep-tissue massage: applying intense pressure on tight or painful areas
• Sports massage: the realignment of muscle and flushing toxins
Benefits of Massage Therapy
A massage will help reduce pain, but not completely treat the affected area. However, it can:
• Increase blood flow
• Reduce stress or anxiety
• Boost immunity of the body
• Improving the condition of your skin
What Qualifications Does a Massage Therapist Have?
Unlike chiropractors, massage therapists may only have a license or certificate to practice their profession and not to make any medical diagnoses or ask for any diagnostic tests.
They’re also not licensed to make any adjustments to the spine or other joints.
Get the Best of Both Worlds
If you can’t choose between the two approaches to relieve your pain, you may refer to your doctor to determine where your pain really stems from and which method of treatment would be right for you.
You may also choose to undergo both treatments, which will improve the overall health of your body by reducing nervous system inflammations and joint pains, as well as relaxing the muscles and enhancing their flexibility.
Getting a massage after a chiropractic treatment is the best way to treat your body.