Therapeutic Medical Massage: Effective Treatment for Strains

Strain Treatment

A Strain is an overstretched injury to a musculotendinous unit. This unit includes the muscle, the tendons and the junction of the tendon to muscle and to bone tissue. Tendons are composed of connective tissue having some vascularization (blood supply). They are not muscle tissue, but are the connection between muscle and bone.

Their composition is basically the same as ligaments, however tendons are inelastic and ligaments are elastic and connect bone to bone. It should be noted that a Strain injury usually occurs with a Sprain injury. However, a Strain does not always involve a Sprain injury.

The acute stage usually lasts from one to five days depending on the severity of the injury. During this stage of injury redness, heat, swelling, pain and immobility are observed. Therapeutic Massage uses several Advanced Therapeutic Techniques to reduce all of the above listed symptoms. The goal at this stage is to decrease the swelling while increasing the flow of nutrients to the area as well as maintaining range of motion to joints proximal (above the injury).

During the sub-acute stage many of the same Advanced Techniques are used and the goals are similar. More emphasis is put on increasing the range of motion and joint mobility of the affected joints. The directly affected muscles can be treated at this stage.

During the chronic stage of injury some of the same Advanced Techniques in the sub-acute stage are used. Other Advanced Techniques are added at this stage to further increase range of motion and joint mobility and to begin increasing the strength of the affected muscles.

While treating a Strain injury, 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.

Therapeutic Massage For Strain Treatment

Therapeutic Massage is an effective treatment for strain injuries. Relaxation techniques, Advanced Therapeutic Techniques treating the affected/associated muscles and structures and Trigger Point Therapy are all indicated for treatment of this type of 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 a Strain injury, returning the client to normal health.

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