Many people who come to Massage Therapy Center Palo Alto schedule appointments well after they have suffered an injury, because the injury is not healing. But by that time, your body has developed holding patterns and scar tissue in reaction to the injury. These issues can create more work for your massage therapist and can lead to a longer time for your injury to heal.
While this is your body’s natural response during an accident or injury to help protect you from additional physical trauma, it is important to slowly encourage your body to relax and heal so that you won’t continue to develop even more scar tissue and tighter holding patterns, which inhibit complete recovery. Therapeutic bodywork is one of the best ways to help with this process.
It is important when you sustain a serious muscle injury to see your doctor and find out if he or she would not recommend a massage. This is especially important in cases of motor vehicle accidents or serious falls. As long as your medical professional approves, you increase your chance for a speedier recovery from an acute injury if you can get therapeutic bodywork within 24–72 hours.
Let your massage therapist know if you’ve had any recent injury, when it occurred, and what caused it. Or if you’ve had any past injuries and still have nagging pain. With this information, your therapist can adjust the techniques and pressure they use in the injured area.