Category: Massage Therapy

Can Massage Therapy Help Relieve Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain can take a toll on your long-term physical and mental health. While it can be triggered by an underlying disease, chronic pain has no apparent cause for some patients.

Massage therapy is a non-invasive, medication-free treatment that can help many people manage their chronic pain. By reducing muscle tension, improving range of motion, and providing much-needed relaxation, regular massage therapy sessions can provide lasting pain relief.

How Massage Therapy Can Relieve Chronic Pain

Massage therapy can help relieve chronic pain by:

Releasing tension in the joints, muscles, and tendons

Targeted pressure applied to various areas of the body during massage therapy helps release tension in the joints, muscles, and tendons. Given that tension can contribute to or even cause chronic pain, patients experience significant pain relief when it’s released.

Increasing range of motion

Patients with chronic pain also often have a limited range of motion in certain areas of the body. Massage therapy helps patients improve their range of motion by releasing tension in the targeted areas. This can help relieve pain, especially during physical activity, which is an important aspect of managing chronic pain.

Lowering stress levels

For many people, chronic pain is a source of prolonged stress. Pain triggers the body’s natural “fight or flight” response, which is associated with higher levels of cortisol, our main stress hormone. When pain is chronic, cortisol levels will be frequently elevated, which can cause chronic stress.

Massage therapy helps relieve stress by stimulating the release of the body’s feel-good hormones (endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin), while lowering cortisol levels. Additionally, by releasing pent-up muscle tension caused by stress, massage therapy can ultimately reduce chronic pain and improve your mental health.

Massage Therapy at Florida Wellness Medical Group

At Florida Wellness Medical Group, we offer affordable and convenient massage programs to help patients improve their wellness and manage a variety of conditions, including chronic pain. To learn more, request an appointment today!

How to Improve Posture to Improve Your Health

improve posture If you don’t have good posture, it can lead to a host of health problems. You might notice mild issues related to back pain or discomfort, or you may experience severe problems with headaches, numbness, and even digestive trouble.

Fortunately, you can improve posture and live a healthier life by taking just a few steps each day.

Learn how you can stand up straight, sit with good posture, and set yourself on a path to better health and wellness.

Be Mindful of Your Posture

The first step you can take to improve posture is to be mindful of how you sit and stand. Notice how you place your body throughout the day and when you are most susceptible to slouching or sitting in a way that puts unnecessary pressure on your body.

If you can identify bad posture, you can improve it.

Discover the Factors Behind Your Poor Posture

Once you can identify your bad posture, look for various factors and causes behind it.

For example, our doctors often meet with patients who sit at a desk all day and slouch over their computers as the afternoon wears on. They also meet with women who instinctively curve their shoulders inward to appear more modest. See what factors you can change to remove the source of your bad posture to change the behavior.

Avoid “Text Neck”

In the past 15 years, the doctors at Florida Wellness have seen a significant increase in posture issues. Many of these problems are caused by “text neck” or pain that comes from staring down at your phone screen.

You might not realize how much time you spend scrolling through apps or sending text messages. Some patients even experience headaches because of bad neck and back positioning. Use our guide on “text neck” to learn how you can relieve or prevent it.

Go Through a Chiropractic Care Clinic

We specialize in working with patients on a variety of posture issues. When you meet with one of our chiropractors, they will use chiropractic care and teach you skills to help improve your posture. They show you exercises and techniques that you can do at home – including using a wall to relearn how to stand correctly.

Spending a few minutes each day working on your posture will add up, and soon you can feel comfortable standing or sitting with confidence.

You can also schedule massage therapy through Florida Wellness and as our professional technicians to focus on your back and shoulders. Loosening these muscles can make standing tall feel more comfortable.

It Is Never Too Late to Improve Posture

Whether you are a high-school student with text neck or have been slouching well into your 80s, it is never too late to improve your posture and change how you sit and walk. Good posture is an important part of spinal hygiene which helps keep you pain-free.

To learn more about how you can improve posture, watch this interview with Dr. Eddie Leonard, CEO of Florida Wellness Medical Group on Daytime on WFLA News Channel 8. Dr. Leonard explains the causes of bad posture – and the steps you can take to improve it.

Start taking care of your spine today. Schedule a chiropractor intake appointment with Florida Wellness.

What Can Cause Neck Pain & How a Chiropractor Can Help

The developments in technology are often viewed as wonderful things. However, with good things come bad. If you are a frequent user of your mobile device, you are probably aware of the occasional neck pain you feel if you use it for extended periods of time. Research agrees, indicating your spinal wellbeing is put at risk if you regularly use mobile devices. It’s important for you to understand why this is the case and how you can avoid injuring your spine.

What is text neck?

You could be a victim of text neck if you spend extended periods of time bending down looking at an object. This has become increasingly widespread as more and more people use smartphones. When you look down, pressure is put on your spine. The constant pressure can very well bring about neck strain and muscle injuries.

There are four main symptoms of text neck: neck pain, shoulder pain, headaches, and overall pain at the end of the day.

Neck pain is probably the most common symptom of text neck. It could be when you are peering down at your phone, though it could also be throughout other times of the day.

Shoulder pain is often experienced along with neck pain, and sometimes even extends to the upper part of your back.

The pain can also go up to your head, resulting in headaches.

Finally, at the end of the day, most sufferers of text neck experienced overall pain in their muscles, whether their neck, shoulder, back, or head. They feel sore and uncomfortable.

How can I avoid text neck?

Of course, the best way to steer clear of text neck is to keep from peering down at your smartphone or other mobile devices. If you are looking down, try to keep your neck neutral. Spend some time doing stretches and moving your back and neck before you settle down to use your laptop or your phone.

If you are on a computer throughout the day, you may want to think about getting a sitting/standing desk. This way, your back can get constant movement and your spine can stay in a neutral position.

How can I treat text neck?

If text neck is your constant companion, you may need a little bit more help. Try chiropractic care. This type of treatment will address your problem at the root, helping your spine to heal and function in good condition. You could be treated with any or all of the following methods:

Spinal Adjustment

An experienced chiropractor will gently maneuver your vertebrae back into alignment so your spine can function at its best. It will also reduce the pressure on your spine and discs so that

your entire body functions better. This will also help you heal faster after injury.

Exercises

Your chiropractor will also take you through a series of stretches and exercises that will release and relieve your sore muscles. You are often also recommended to do these at home.

Advice

Finally, you will be given advice and tips to prevent text neck from occuring again in the future. This way, you won’t experience pain and your spine will be healthy and strong.

CONTACT FLORIDA WELLNESS GROUP

Here, we pride ourselves on the natural techniques we use to aid you in relieving your pain. Methods like spinal adjustment, exercises, and professional advice can help you lead a better quality of life and recover from injuries that you may have incurred. If you’re looking for a Tampa Chiropractor, get in touch today to see how we can help!

How a Tampa Chiropractor Can Improve Your Work Life

If you work in an office, you probably know how taxing the workplace can be on your body. Most workplaces nowadays require you to stay in the same position for hour upon hour every day, moving in the same repetitive way. If this sounds like you, I’ll bet you’ve experienced muscle pain, back pain, and perhaps even injuries as a result. With a Tampa Chiropractor, you can experience relief. This method of treatment addresses the root of the problem and doesn’t call for any invasive procedures or pharmaceutical drugs.

Chiropractic care relieves pain for working people

Humans weren’t meant to stay still. Our bodies need to move around and shift in position throughout the day, otherwise our muscles will start feeling strained and painful. If the nature of your work requires you to sit at a desk all day, your vertebrae may be compressed, or you may even suffer from sciatica or text neck. Even those of you who have to stand for several hours may experience pain that runs from your legs all the way up to your back.

The professionals at Florida Wellness Medical Group is well-trained to deal with this type of injury. You may be treated with a spinal adjustment to help realign the vertebrae of your back and decompress your spine. You will also learn some exercises to do at home and at your office so that you can experience less back pain.

Chiropractic care helps you recover from workplace injury

No matter where you work, injuries are a possibility. It may range from pain in the lower region of your back from bad lifting technique, to neck aches from straining your neck over your desk. Our skilled chiropractors treat every problem uniquely, addressing the root in order to relieve the pain and keep you from experiencing that same injury.

On your first visit, we will take you through a full body examination and ask you questions to determine the origin of the problem. Once that is known, then a course of treatment can be set.

Chiropractic care aids in preventing further pain in the workplace

It isn’t enough to just treat the pain. Sometimes, modifications need to be made to your workspace so that you don’t have to put your body under strain in the first place. Oftentimes it’s just a matter of a small pillow placed at the right place. Sometimes it’s an improvement in lighting, a raising of your computer monitor, a reminder to take more walking breaks, or even a soft mat to stand on. These small, subtle changes can make a major change in your comfort.

Contact Florida Wellness Group Today

Chiropractic care does more than just treat your symptoms. It helps you prevent further musculoskeletal injury. Techniques like spinal adjustment, take-home exercises, small workplace modifications, and professional advice will help you live a better quality of life than ever! If you’re looking for a Chiropractor in Tampa, then we are the ideal solution.

Does Chiropractic Care & Massage Therapy Work Together?

Most people know that chiropractic care is used to treat issues related to the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, as well as any other symptoms that may arise out of them. People may turn to chiropractic care to treat the symptoms, but the thing that actually makes this treatment so effective is the fact that it addresses the root cause.

There are cases when chiropractors prescribe massage therapy in tandem with chiropractic care. This is because chiropractic treatment emphasizes the hard tissue – spine, joints, nerves. Massage therapy manipulates soft tissue – muscles, ligaments, tendons, skin. Together, they help relieve the tension and pain you are experiencing.

Do these two treatments really deliver results significant enough to warrant paying for both? Most of the time, yes. Read on for some reasons why massage therapy and chiropractic care combined deliver superior results than either one alone.

You will recover more quickly

It has been observed that patients who undergo both chiropractic treatment and massage therapy concurrently often recover more quickly. Hard tissue and soft tissue is very much connected, so if one is lacking, the other will be limited. Your spine, your soft tissue, and all your other tissues work together to function well. If you are injured, all of them are affected. When both your hard and soft tissues are worked on together, everything is being addressed and you will heal more quickly.

It will be easier to make spinal adjustments

Tense muscles make it difficult for chiropractic adjustments to be made. When the tension is lessened, joints can be aligned more easily, resulting in greater benefits. If your muscles are especially tight, you may even experience pain during treatment. Therefore, ensuring that your muscles are stretched and relaxed can do wonders in making for a more pleasant experience.

It is also a good idea to get a massage after a chiropractic adjustment. Tense muscles may pull recently re-aligned bones and joints out of place. A massage can help your muscles to stay relaxed for a longer time, so your alignment does too.

Your mobility will be improved

A reason many people get chiropractic care is because they have a very limited range of motion and experience a lot of pain. Massage therapy can do a great deal in improving flexibility in your soft tissues, contributing to better mobility.

Your circulatory system will be working more effectively

The manipulation of your skin, muscles, ligaments, and tendons improves blood flow throughout your entire body. At the same time, chiropractic treatment eases any nerve compression. Hand in hand, the two help your circulatory system to work more productively, making you healthier.

Do you want to get back to tip-top shape quickly?

It is clear that massage therapy coupled with chiropractic care can do wonders for your recovery process. Your spine, muscles, nerves, tendons, and ligaments are all connected and all play a part in your functionality. If your doctor and chiropractor give you the a-ok, consider booking a massage session before or after your next chiropractic appointment. You are sure to see results!

The Florida Wellness Medical Group specializes in advanced chiropractic solutions, if you’re looking for a Tampa chiropractor that provides a world class experience, then look no further! Get in touch today for a free consultation.