Massage and Chronic Pain: Managing Everyday Symptoms With More Than Meds
Written by Jo Hodges, LMT PA#MSG015344
March is known widely as a month of new beginnings – Daylight Savings, the Spring Equinox, Easter, sometimes the start of sunny Spring weather! As everything in the world blooms into new, how are you handling your old pains?
Nearly 1 in 5 adults nationally are dealing with chronic pain that impacts their daily activities and lifestyle, making up over 50 million Americans. Though autoimmune disorders vary greatly in symptoms, causes, and treatments, chronic pain is one of the most common symptoms shared across them all. The usual treatment for this is prescription medication, whether it’s NSAIDs, such as Ibuprofen, or antispastics, such as Diazepam; this medicine targets the inflammation and spasms in your muscular system, relaxing as well as alleviating pain. Since many symptoms from autoimmune disorders aren’t able to be measured physically, you can often fall into a cycle of constant daily aches, waking up already hurting, and immediately taking medication for pain relief. This is almost always the case with chronic pain – often it can be hard to describe how you’re feeling, where pain is coming from, or even when something started, especially if you’ve been handling it for over six months.
As medicine and technology continues to advance, the need for longer-lasting and non-addictive treatments is crucial. With the rise and fall of muscle relaxers as part of a long-term pain management plan, the gap of medical issues that can’t be treated with medication or surgery may be filled by massage therapists! The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) has addressed this growing need in several articles, citing the need for soft tissue manipulation in many circumstances, and how it hasn’t been considered as a viable solution in the long run for many people suffering.
If you’re like our therapist Tammy Moon, relaxation massage can be a valuable tool to relieving ongoing aches that come with autoimmunes. Massage can be a great tool for addressing chronic pain, but it depends on the day for anybody with an autoimmune condition. Flare-ups can be debilitating, and leave you feeling like recovery isn’t a possible option for you. This is why choosing a therapist that’s accommodating, patient, and empathetic is the most important thing for booking! Once you push past the initial anxieties to find someone that understands what you’re going through, managing episodes of chronic and acute pain can become an easy part of your routine. March is Autoimmune Disorder Awareness Month, and so I hope you all stay happy, healthy, and don’t be afraid to let yourself live a more comfortable life!