What is a Medical Massage?
A medical massage can be described as a therapeutic massage that is often prescribed by a healthcare provider and performed by a licensed massage therapist. This massage is undertaken to target specific medical issues, such as chronic pain, injuries, or post-surgical recovery.
Unlike other types of massages, which are often used for relaxation, medical massage focuses on treating diagnosed conditions and is often part of a broader medical treatment plan.
Who is Medical Massage therapy for and what conditions does it treat?
Medical massage therapy is a type of massage focused on treating specific health conditions that a doctor diagnoses. It’s goal-oriented and often part of a broader treatment plan and is used to reduce pain, improve function, and support healing.
Here’s a look at the various conditions it is used in the treatment of.
- Chronic pain: Medical massage is often recommended for chronic pain, especially of the lower back or neck.
- Injuries: When done in the right manner and by a good therapist, the massage can support recovery from sports injuries or accidents.
- Post-surgical recovery: Medical massage helps in reducing scar tissues and helps improve mobility as a result.
- Headaches: The massage is also very helpful in treating problems like headaches, which are usually tension or migraine-related ones.
- Fibromyalgia: Medical massage is also often recommended for fibromyalgia to help relieve muscle pain and stiffness.
- Poor circulation or swelling, or edema: This message therapy also helps boost blood flow and fluid movement.
Benefits of Medical Massage
Medical massages are always recommended by a health practitioner like your doctor and need to be performed by qualified therapists.
To understand medical massages better, here is a look at all the benefits they hold:
- Pain relief: Medical massage is very effective in helping reduce chronic pain, especially in the back, neck, and shoulders.
- Improved circulation: This massage therapy is also helpful in increasing and regulating the blood flow in the body, which further helps speed up healing.
- Reduced stress and anxiety: Like other forms of massage, it does help in calming the nervous system and promotes relaxation, though that is never the primary goal of a medical massage.
- Better mobility: Since the massage helps loosen stiff muscles and joints effectively, it also promotes ease, making movement easier.
- Supports injury recovery: Medical Massage is very effective in helping aid the healing process of an individual after surgeries or accidents when used under medical supervision.
Types of Medical Massage Therapy
Having understood what medical massage therapy is, it is also important to understand its different types.
Here’s a look at them.
- Trigger Point Therapy: This is a type of medical massage therapy that focuses on tight muscle knots that cause pain in other parts of the body, and the massage is a means to release these knots to promote better mobility and reduce stress.
- Deep Tissue Massage: This type of medical massage applies firm pressure to help your therapist reach deep into layers of muscle and fascia. This message method is used to help ease chronic pain.
- Myofascial Release: Myofascial Release involves the use of gentle stretches and helps in releasing tension in the fascia or the connective tissue.
- Neuromuscular Therapy or NMT: This is a type of medical massage that is used to address nerve and muscle imbalances, and works well for injury recovery or posture issues.
- Manual Lymphatic Drainage: With this type of medical massage, the main aim is to help reduce any swelling in the body and improve lymph flow.
Different types of massages affect the body in unique ways. Learn how each one works and what to expect in our complete guide to the types of massages available.
Medical Massage vs. Deep Tissue Massage: What’s the difference?
Here is a comparison of both medical massage and deep tissue massage, and the main difference between them
| Feature | Medical Massage | Deep Tissue Massage |
| Purpose | Helps in treating specific medical conditions or injuries as prescribed by a doctor. | Helps to target deep muscle layers to relieve chronic tension and stress. |
| Focus Area | Specific problem areas like those of lower back pain, post-surgery recovery, etc.. | The massage targets most muscle groups and helps ease chronic tightness or knots. |
| Technique | Medical massage requires customized clinical techniques that can include multiple styles like trigger point, lymphatic drainage. | Makes use of slow, deep strokes and firm pressure. |
| Requires a Prescription | Yes. Needs to be commended by a physician or healthcare provider. | No, it can be booked without a medical recommendation. |
| Helps treat | Sciatica, fibromyalgia, post-injury recovery, poor circulation, etc. | Muscle tension, stress, sports recovery, and posture issues. |
How much does a Medical Massage cost?
For a 60-minute session, a medical massage session costs a minimum of $139, for a 75-minute session it is $174, for 90 minutes it is $199, and for a two-hour session the pricing comes to $259.
How to find the right Medical Massage therapist?
You must find a good medical massage therapist who is a trained professional. Usually, your medical practitioner will recommend a good medical massage therapist. Alternatively, you can book a medical massage therapist online after consulting your doctor.
Experience personalized care with Blys Mobile Massage at your convenience
At Blys, we offer you personalized, mobile massage services at the convenience of your home. We have a house full of massage therapy experts who specialize in Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, sports massage, prenatal massage, and medical massage, to name a few.
