Chiropractic vs Massages: What works best?

Chiropractic & Massage both have their merits and places in the Allied Health world.

Let us examine them both.

Massage.

Firstly, do you realize that massage therapy comes in a variety of shapes and forms?

Let me go through some examples of the different massage therapies and define them.

• Myotherapy: is the evidence-based assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal pain and associated conditions.

• Remedial massage: is a complementary massage therapy which aims to treat muscles that are damaged, knotted, tense or immobile.

• Relaxation massage: is a whole-body hands-on treatment that uses pressure, stroking and rubbing of your skin to help you relax.

• Sports massage: is a type of massage technique that focuses on treating soft tissue aches, pain and injuries that are associated with recreational activities.

Despite the great variety of massage therapies available, the focus of the outcomes appears to be the same; to relax the muscles, improve joint movement, increase blood flow, and release tension.

As can be seen, massage has many merits and is used by people for a variety of conditions.

Chiropractic.

“Chiropractic (as defined by the World Federation of Chiropractic) is a health profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health.”

There are also a variety of chiropractic “specialties” ranging from those dealing with the young (paediatrics chiropractic) to those involved with sporting injuries (sports chiropractic).

If you look at both modalities, there appears to be an overlap in that they both deal with the musculoskeletal system.

Chiropractic therapy also has a strong focus on the nervous system and its role in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders.

Chiropractic also is unique in that the principle tool used to treat these disorders is that of the use of spinal and pelvic manipulation.

So, when one asks the question: what works better chiropractic or massage, it is safe to say that both have their place when it comes to the treatment of musculoskeletal problems.

Where chiropractic will differ is that there is a greater emphasis placed on the involvement of the nervous system and the use of spinal manipulative therapy in the treatment of these presenting disorders.

At the Mount Street Chiropractic Centre, we have over 35 years in dealing with spinal, joint and muscular related conditions and their symptoms.

All assessments and chiropractic treatments are based on sound clinical practices and techniques and a positive client outcome is our main priority.