Massage is known for its ability to help the mind and body relax—and that alone makes getting massage advantageous. Deep tissue massage may bring other benefits as well. To help you understand these, it first helps to understand what a deep tissue massage is.

Deep tissue massage is a technique that focuses primarily on the deeper layers of muscles and the fascia. Sometimes this technique involves the therapist using firmer pressure in order to reach these key areas and get them to release, which is why this particular massage is oftentimes recommended for people who are comfortable with a slightly more intense touch. However, deep tissue massage can also refer to gentle yet sustained pressure targeting the myofascial layer. The belief that deep pressure equals pain is a myth; however, the benefits of deep tissue massage are beyond question.

1. Deep tissue massage offers stress relief

When your body feels stressed out due to demands at work, home or both, deep tissue massage can help ease this stress in a healthy manner. This is important, as unresolved stress can do major damage to mental and physical health; an estimated 60 to 80 percent of doctor’s office visits are stress-related, as noted in a 2003 study in the Journal of the National Medical Association.

2. Deep tissue massage eases pain

Deep tissue massage may be able to lessen pain. For example, research published in an April 2014 issue of Manual Therapy found that deep tissue massage to posterior calf muscles, along with self-stretching exercises, helped reduce participants’ pain associated with plantar fasciitis. Deep tissue massage can be used for other conditions as well, such as fibromyalgia, tennis elbow or low-back pain, potentially providing some much-needed relief.

3. Deep tissue massage makes movement easier

Scar tissue forms when an area of the body is injured and heals. Although the most common scars are those that result from a visible cut, sometimes they occur deeper in the body, such as when you damage muscles, ligaments or tendons. It is this type of scarring that deep tissue massage can help resolve, making it easier to move and promoting greater range of motion.

4. Deep tissue massage can lower heart rate and blood pressure

A study published in 2008 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine involved 263 participants who reported muscle spasm or strain. Each individual’s blood pressure and heart rate was assessed prior to a 45 to 60-minute deep tissue massage, as well as after. The result was lower systolic and diastolic pressure, as well as heart rates around 10 beats less per minute.

At PRI clinic, we have great registered massage therapist specialists who will take care of your health using the latest research.

Maintenance chiropractic care, does the research support it or does it vilify it?

We all want to have healthy backs. They allow us to perform various physical activities, as well as engage in various fun, social tasks, such as lifting and playing with our children and grandchildren. When we get acute or chronic back pain, this could literally put a hamper in our mood and severely limit our activities of daily living.

Most people are aware that a chiropractor can assist with acute low back pain, and greatly reduce or eliminate such pain with one or a few spinal manipulations. Yet how do we ensure that the pain does not return and that we are able to live a fulfilling lifestyle in short, as well as in the long run?

At PRI clinic, we are all about evidence-based medicine.

Recently, a Spine scientific journal has published an interesting research, which described a single blinded placebo study that specifically wanted to assess whether spinal manipulation therapy for chronic nonspecific low back pain could result in better long-term outcome.

The researchers wanted to assess the effectiveness of spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) for the management of chronic nonspecific low back pain (LBP) and to determine the effectiveness of maintenance SMT in long-term reduction of pain and disability levels associated with chronic low back conditions after an initial phase of treatments.

Sixty patients, with chronic, nonspecific LBP lasting at least 6 months, were randomized into 3 groups:

First group received 12 treatments of sham SMT over a 1-month period.

Second group received 12 treatments, consisting of real SMT over a 1-month period, but no treatments for the subsequent 9 months

Third group received 12 treatments over a 1-month period, along with “maintenance spinal manipulation” every 2 weeks for the following 9 months.

To determine any difference among therapies, pain and disability scores, generic health status, and back-specific patient satisfaction were measured at the initial assessment and at 1-, 4-, 7-, and 10-month intervals.

Patients in second and third groups experienced significantly lower pain and disability scores than first group at the end of 1-month period. However, only the third group that was given spinal manipulations (SM) during the follow-up period showed more improvement in pain and disability scores at the 10-month evaluation. In the non-maintained (2^nd) SMT group, however, the mean pain and disability scores returned back near to their pretreatment level after 2 months of non-treatment.

This showed that SMT is effective for the treatment of chronic nonspecific LBP. However to obtain long-term benefit, this study suggests spinal manipulation maintenance after the initial intensive manipulative therapy.