Massage Therapy in Anchorage and Juneau

What Is Chiropractic Massage Therapy?

Truth be told, this is an incredibly hard question to answer simply because there are so many different disciplines of massage therapy around the world, from the U.S. of course, throughout Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and so on. It used to be very segmented and separated from mainstream medicine, but now is being incorporated into a large variety of western treatment programs.

So they’re two separate approaches, massage therapy and chiropractic massage, but in modern medicine, they blend together more and more. Better Health Chiropractic & Physical Rehab incorporates chiropractic massage therapy with elements of general chiropractic care or spinal decompression and physical rehabilitation for many of our patients. But, here’s the basic difference:

• Massage Therapy: Limited in scope, focused on treating muscular issues to relieve tension, restore flexibility, and improve comfort.
• Chiropractic Care: Very broad scope. Can be used to help treat a huge variety of medical conditions that involve the spine and how it relates to the central nervous system.

What Is a Chiropractic Massage Therapist?

Okay, another huge difference between a chiropractor and a massage therapist has to do with schooling. To get started as a massage therapist, you need a few hundred hours (varies by jurisdiction) of training. To become a primary care chiropractor, you need to attain doctorhood, meaning a four-year undergraduate degree and successfully completing a four-year doctorate of chiropractic program. So, when you receive a chiropractic massage, it’s more medically minded than from a massage therapist.

When you visit multidisciplinary clinics, it means that your massage can incorporate chiropractic adjustments, rehab therapy methods, or perhaps even the DRS System to help address low back pain.

What Is the Difference Between Chiropractic Massage & Massage Therapy?

Here’s another simple way of differentiating between the two modalities. A massage is something you go to a spa to receive. A chiropractic massage is something you visit a chiropractic clinic for, i.e. it’s clinical. While massage therapy can really loosen muscles and get rid of knots, and help release built-up toxins in soft tissue, a chiropractic massage can incorporate spinal decompression techniques and apply force to the spine to relieve tension, realign vertebrae, treat herniated disks, address low back pain, etc.

When Do You Need a Chiropractic Massage or Massage Therapy?

There’s no universal answer to this question, other than when it’s prescribed by a health provider or you reach a point in your life where “it’s time.” Both are not only options for treatment, but prevention as well. It’s very common to get a good deep massage after a chiropractic adjustment, or when you’ve lost some mobility or flexibility, been injured, are just getting older, or are experiencing musculoskeletal pain.

What Are the Different Chiropractic Massage Techniques?

Again, a chiropractic massage will incorporate elements of massage therapy – gliding, kneading the muscles, hand-pressure, skin rolling, etc. – with chiropractic medicine to address deeper neuromusculoskeletal issues – spinal/joint manipulation, physical movements or exercises, traction and spinal decompression, patient education, and so on.

What Are the Benefits of a Chiropractic Massage?

Well, simply combine the commonly accepted and widely experienced benefits of massage therapy with chiropractic care. At Better Health Chiropractic & Physical Rehab it’s about improving quality of life, making our patients healthier, helping them get back to work or into their physical hobbies through physical rehabilitation therapy, relieving pain, restoring proper spinal alignment, addressing serious musculoskeletal issues, and much more.

Which Health Conditions Does Chiropractic Massage Therapy Treat?

Another great question, but honestly, you don’t want us to drop a massive word-bomb on you and list them all out. There’s a ton, especially when you combine everything involving both disciplines. The real question is, what’s your condition, or what’s a loved one dealing with that has you interested? If you’re curious whether or not we might be able to help, feel free to contact us or check out our Conditions page to dig a bit deeper into the issue.