Remedial Massage For Seniors: 3 Benefits And 2 Risks

You might start experiencing neck, shoulder, and back pain as you get older. Luckily, a remedial massage can help ease their pain. A remedial massage would be best for you as a senior citizen, especially if you spend most of your time immobile because the muscles can get tense or knotted. In addition, a remedial massage is also great for any affected muscles, tendons, and bones.

This therapy might be the best healing option for you as a senior citizen because it focuses on finding and repairing damaged parts of the body and improving the body's healing process. While you might be skeptical that the massage might be painful and uncomfortable, a remedial massage utilizes a gentle technique and approach.

The most exciting fact about remedial massage is that it focuses on finding the source of the problem instead of just treating the symptoms. That said, here are three benefits and two risks of a remedial massage for seniors:

Benefits

Remedial massages are beneficial in several ways, as outlined below:

Improve Blood Circulation

A remedial massage, especially for seniors, should be a holistic treatment to improve blood circulation. When you're getting a remedial massage, the circulatory system is stimulated to boost blood circulation. The advantage of increased blood flow is that it speeds up the repair of damaged tissues and the healing process.

In addition, the joints become mobile, allowing muscles to relax and reposition the bones into their original position. The massage therapist also ensures that they balance your muscles' tone, length, and tension to allow injuries to heal.

Blood circulation is boosted when friction occurs between the therapist's skin and fingers. It works by manipulating both the superficial and deep muscles, relaxing them by stretching and loosening muscle fibers. The muscle temperature also increases, reducing tightness and restriction and, thus, reducing pain.

Manage Pain

As you get older, your well-being should be a priority because of the changes that your body might start to experience such as odd pains. A remedial massage can help ease and stabilize muscles managing pain throughout the body, especially headaches, sciatic, lower back pains, and abdominal pain.

When you're getting a remedial massage, the therapist manipulates deep tissues to advance your condition and increase relaxation. This, in turn, helps reduce restrictions in the muscles, which could cause pain. Further, when you're relaxed, your stress levels are reduced, therefore managing muscle pain.

Treat Some Health Disorders

A remedial massage can help treat some health disorders in seniors, such as arthritis, muscle cramps, whiplash, and frozen shoulders. In addition, it might be wise to consider getting a remedial massage if you also have insomnia, anxiety, cerebral palsy, and muscular atrophy. For healing purposes, the massage technique involves deep strokes and trigger points.

The masseuse will give you deep strokes by flattening their hands and fingers and applying firm pressure on the treatment area, which helps relieve muscle tightness in the tissues. In addition, the deep strokes also break adhesions and knots that might restrict movement and affect the healing process.

Once the muscles are relaxed, the flow of oxygen and nutrients is restored, which helps repair damaged tissues. However, ensure safety before you consult your physician before starting any therapy.

Risks

While remedial massage has benefits, it also has risks, as discussed below:

Make Bleeding Disorders Worse

It's best to consult your doctor before getting a remedial massage, especially if you're taking blood thinning medication. One of the risks of remedial massage is the possibility of worsening bleeding disorders. As discussed earlier, a remedial massage improves blood circulation, which would be detrimental for someone with a bleeding disorder.

Moreover, a masseuse should also take your medical history and consider any medication you're on before starting the massage therapy. Further, if a massage triggers bleeding in a senior person, it can worsen their health.

Muscle Aches, Fatigue, And Lingering Pain

While a massage is meant to relax and ease any pain you might have, it can also result in muscle aches, fatigue, and lingering pain if done incorrectly. If the masseuse uses a pressurized technique, especially in deep tissue massage, you might have some pain after the sessions. If the pain is mild and lasts for a short while, then there's no cause for alarm because it could result from stimulating muscle fiber. However, if the pain continues for a few more days, consult a doctor for a checkup because it could be a muscle injury.

It's also normal to experience some soreness after a remedial massage because of the stretching of the uppermost muscle layer. When the muscles become relaxed, you might feel tired for a short time but should feel rejuvenated after a short while. If you feel fatigued after a remedial massage, you can take a rest to regain your footing. However, if the fatigue persists, it's time to talk to a doctor.

Conclusion

As a senior citizen, you should consider getting a remedial massage to keep your body rejuvenated and speed up the body's healing capabilities. However, you must ensure that your therapist is qualified and has experience working with seniors. You can also discuss any medical concerns you might have before starting and any side effects you might experience afterward. Nonetheless, your body deserves some pampering through relaxing massages.