Therapeutic Massage: Effective Treatment for Sprains

What is a sprain?

A Sprain is an overstretched injury to a ligament. Ligaments are composed of flexible non-contractile connective tissue. They are not muscle tissue. Ligaments connect bone to bone and are usually named for the bones they connect. It should be noted that a Strain injury is usually involved with a Sprain injury. A Strain involved tendons which attach muscle to bone.

As a Sprain usually involves a Strain injury, muscles and tendons are treated as well to reduce hypertonicity (tightness). Strains will be addressed in another article. It is important not to remove the splinting mechanism of directly affected muscles as this mechanism is designed to protect the area (during the acute stage of injury). Splinting is the contraction of a muscle to protect an injured area of the body.

A Sprain injury is assessed as acute (1-5 days), sub-acute (5-14 days) or chronic (14 days or until the injury has healed). The sub-acute stage can be divided into early and late stages.

How can therapeutic massage help a sprain?

Therapeutic Massage is an effective treatment for a Sprain injury. Relaxation techniques, Trigger Point Therapy and Advanced Therapeutic Techniques treating the associated/affected musculature and the associated/affected structures are all indicated for treatment of a Sprain injury. Therapeutic Massage can help eliminate pain, remove adhesion, re-align scar tissue and increase range of motion. Therapeutic Massage Techniques can effectively address all three stages of this condition minimizing the symptoms and eventually returning the client to normal health.

For more information on Sprain injuries and Therapeutic Massage treatment protocols, please contact me at [email protected]