Alternative Medicine: Please Get Massage Therapy

For 15-20 of the past years, I have attended almost twenty different doctors, neurosurgeons, chiropractors, osteopaths, physical therapists, and massage therapists. Therefore, this is a subject that is very dear to my heart and back! However, each person is a separate entity and what you choose to do to treat your ailments is up to you and your physicians, and family. That being said, Massage Therapy is not just for relaxation anymore!!

Many people are aware of acupuncture and other nontraditional methods to treat ailments and pain, yet I am surprised that when I say I attend a massage therapist, people invariably say, "Wow, I'd like your life. They are so relaxing." I can honestly say that not one session of massage therapy have ever been relaxing for me. Yet, trust me, when you are in pain from joints, muscles, and injuries, there is no better place.

Seven years ago, I got married and moved to be with my new husband in Virginia. He was off on a worldwide cruise courtesy of the NAVY, and I was left alone in a new state and crooked. Yes, walking crooked and standing askance, in a lot of pain. A friend of mine in the military wives' club took one look at me and suggested massage therapy. I was skeptical as I booked an appointment with a local school of massage therapy, but I was desperate.

The morning of my first appointment, I did not know how to dress or what to expect, but I bravely went to my first session with a student of massage therapy. What a surprise! We talked, talked, and talked some more. It was very professional as he patiently asked me my history and my main areas of pain and discomfort. He advised deep tissue therapy for my issues. Never have I known that there were so many tense muscles in a human back! I did not know words like sacrum, pressure points, and "releasing" strained muscles. I learned a lot that first session and more, everytime I went back. I learned to respect the pain in my body, and to understand that a body is parallel. One side may hurt, but the other side will soon follow-due to compensation of a "good side" leaving strain in the other. That pain medications can only mask pain, not heal it. The pain is still there and a deep tissue massage helped to temper it for me.

If you are struggling with back pain, injuries, or just pulled muscles, a massage therapist can help you to feel more like you again. True, do not expect immediate results. Like many things, this takes time and a committment to your health. But, as for the crooked me of seven years ago, I understand a little more. When pain returns and cripples my life, I call my local massage therapist. How else did I survive 2 pregnancies with my back? How else did I become un-crooked in one month? It can help you like it did for me.