Pursuing a career in massage therapy means that you are often driven by a desire to help others, and that includes assisting those who are suffering from an injury. While massage is sometimes seen as a luxury service meant to help people relax, it is also frequently used to address pain and soreness related to injuries.
You may be wondering about the type of work you’ll be doing if you become a massage therapist and how your work can help those with injuries. To give you an idea of what your future career could look like, here are some common injuries that you may encounter during your career in massage therapy.
Help Athletes with Sports Injuries When You Become a Massage Therapist
You may see your fair share of professional athletes during your career who are looking to boost their muscular performance and better recover from sports-related injuries. Clients don’t have to be in the major leagues, however, to be able to take advantage of the benefits of massage following a sports injury.
Of course, there are many different types of sports injuries. People who frequently run or bike, for example, may suffer from knee-related injuries or patellofemoral pain around the knee joint, kneecap, or thigh bone. In other cases, your clients may suffer from soft-tissue injuries like muscle strains and tendon injuries. Even common activities like working out or playing sports with friends can cause painful injuries if a muscle is overtaxed or stretched the wrong way.
Massage is often used to help address sports-related injuries such as soft-tissue injuries
Massage therapy helps ease tightness in the muscles around the injury site, which can reduce pain and improve overall function and mobility. Sports injury massages also often serve as a preventative measure to lower the risk of similar injuries occurring in the future.
Lower Back Pain Is a Common Injury that Massage Therapists Encounter
Lower back pain is extremely common in Canada, with about 85% of working people experiencing it at least once during their lifetimes. Lower back pain is caused by a number of factors like poor posture, obesity, and lack of exercise, which can be complicated by a sedentary lifestyle and sitting for long periods of time, such as at an office job.
Fortunately, massage therapy can help relieve lower back pain. You can use your massage therapy training to help decrease tension in the muscles of the back. Furthermore, a massage increases blood flow, which reduces soreness and helps muscles recover faster. Massage therapy can also help lower feelings of stress and anxiety, which, if left unaddressed, can actually make back pain worse due to psychological distress.
Lower back pain is a common type of injury that massage therapists encounter
Massage Therapists Can Help Relieve Issues Related to Tissue Scarring
Another type of injury you may see when you become a massage therapist is scarring. Scar tissue is less elastic than normal skin tissue, and that tightness can decrease your client’s range of motion. Scar tissue can also lead to neuropathic pain, which can make patients overly sensitive to touch and lead to feelings of isolation as well as emotional health issues.
Massage therapy can help reduce adhesion and stiffness in scar tissue, and even improve range of motion in the affected area. Additionally, techniques such as light touch massage can help clients whose scarring makes them overly sensitive to physical contact. Light touch massage therapy can progressively reintroduce clients to the sensation of touch, which can lead to better emotional and social well-being.
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