Massage Therapy vs. Stretching

Stretching and massage are excellent techniques to preserve and improve your muscle’s flexibility, release tension, and speed up the healing process after an injury. If you’ve been hurt or if your muscles are tight because they’ve constricted from lethargy and atrophy, both treatments can assist in improving your circulation, blood flow, and recovery for your muscles, ligaments and tendons.

By providing your muscles with a decent stretch, you’re improving their function by giving the targeted muscle group an improved range of motion to contract and expand during exercise. Stretched muscles are less likely to suffer excruciating spasms, cramps, scar tissue, and incorrect posture-compensating movement patterns.

Massage therapy, like you find with our registered massage therapist here at Burnaby Heights Chiropractic, works to improve the functioning of your muscles so that you reduce your risk of injury by having a musculoskeletal system that moves the way it should. How do stretching and massage therapy help to maintain the health of your muscles and joints?

How Massage Therapy Works

Massage refers to various techniques of applying pressure to tense muscle groups and tendons to facilitate blood flow, relaxation, pain reduction, and healing. A person either remains still or performs specific guided movements while a massage therapist exerts pressure on the targeted area, helping to release tightly contracted muscle, relieve pain, and add renewed nutrient-rich blood to the tissue to help it rebuild and recover at the cellular level. Here at Burnaby Heights Chiropractic, the entire body may be worked on during a general massage therapeutic process, but more often treatments will be tailored to target specific problematic areas.

Massage techniques can range from a light touch to intense pressure. Some people find it works best when done immediately following a demanding workout, helping to soothe sore muscles and relieve pulls or strains. Others may need a little time to let their bodies “settle down” a bit before a treatment.  Amid a hectic work week, massaging can also offer much needed stress relief and endorphins release as a way to manage constant performance pressure work work and life in general.

How Stretching Works

Like massage, assisted stretching uses an external force to improve muscle tension and relieve stiffness. While assisted stretching may resemble massage in a few ways, its primary goal is to improve flexibility..

A therapist extends your muscle groups during treatment until the ligaments and muscles are stretched slightly beyond their typical range of motion. This will help to prepare the body to contract and expand with greater range and greater elasticity, helping to prevent strains and cramps.

As you become older, your muscle mobility and efficiency may become unbalanced. As time passes, you’ll also discover that your capacity to move joints comfortably declines. Long-term structural instabilities and mobility restrictions could result from all these problems, accumulating into significant discomfort. Regular assisted stretching can improve flexibility and relieve muscle tension, improving the body’s biomechanical efficiency for everyday movement.

Benefits of Massage and Stretching

Massage therapy can encourage healthy blood circulation, reduce stress, and release tight muscles, while stretching is the technique to go if you wish to extend your range of movement and prevent strains, cramps and other injuries.

What is the best option for mobility, then? If flexibility or elasticity are your primary concerns, most specialists would advise stretching combined with massage. In light of this, combining stretching and massage therapy at Burnaby Heights Chiropractic is an excellent solution for long-term structural stability. Here are some pointers for beginning with both:

Benefits of Massage Therapy

The advantages of massage for flexibility and movement are listed below.

• Massage is a treatment method that passively relaxes muscles by manual touch, vibration, or oscillation.
• New, nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood is delivered to the area being massaged, naturally improving circulation. Your overall health and your body’s functioning can benefit from this in turn.
• Sometimes it can be challenging to maintain flexibility and skill due to trigger points. This happens because as you move during the day, knots can tighten up in the muscle and prevent you from moving naturally and comfortably. The astonishing thing is that a massage, particularly a trigger point massage, can help loosen these tight areas, so you can move more easily and comfortably.

Benefits Of Stretching

Stretching has numerous advantages; many health professionals advise including it in your regimen at least a few times each week. The following are some ways in which stretching might improve your maneuverability:

• Although muscle stiffness can occur at any time, it is more prevalent following a strenuous workout or recent surgery. Additionally, you might experience tightness or stiffness more often as you age.
• Stretching helps reduce and avoid stiffness in overworked, exhausted muscles. This is because it causes the muscle fibres to lengthen momentarily, which can reduce tension, stimulate the muscles and tendons before action, and promote flexibility in general.
• Stretching enhances the range of movement in the joints, according to research. Stretching can also improve your strain resistance, enabling you to move your muscles with a greater range of motion while reducing potential strain.

Cons Of Stretching

While stretching can have many tremendous advantages, there can also be drawbacks. For instance:

• You’ll want to be careful not to overextend because doing so may result in minor muscle strains. Remember to move carefully, pay attention to your body, and stop if you feel too much pressure.
• Stretching requires effort and involvement. You must develop strategies for maintaining your motivation and dedication to your routine to benefit from daily extension fully.

Verdict: Massage Therapy vs Stretching

Your body can experience far more optimal movement patterns, overall health, and relaxation when you combine massage therapy with stretching and rehabilitation. 

Your flexibility and full range of motion will improve with regular stretching, whether done daily or once a week. Additionally, a massage helps ease tension—both in mind and body.

To get massage therapy and assisted stretching from qualified professionals, reach out to Burnaby Heights Chiropractic. Our registered massage therapist, Tim Gropen, has years of experience providing massage and stretching sessions, and will be more than happy to help to help relax your muscles, improve flexibility, and eliminate the effects of life’s daily stressors. 

Book your session today!