When to seek Massage, Chiropractic, or Acupuncture for injury.
Today’s blog post breaks down what is an injury, when to seek treatment, and how massage therapy, chiropractic care, and acupuncture can support healing.
What is an injury?
An injury is any damage to the body – for this article we are including muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, or nerves. It can happen through trauma (like a fall or accident), overuse (repeated strain), or even stress and tension.
Signs of injury may include swelling, pain, reduced movement, or discomfort that doesn’t go away with rest.
What happens in the body when you are injured?
In summary, when the body is injured, a series of processes is initiated to heal the damaged tissue, typically involving inflammation, proliferation, and remodelling.
The initial inflammatory phase triggers pain, swelling, and redness as the immune system works to clear debris and begin the repair process. In this case, inflammation isn’t a bad thing, it’s a part of the healing process. Being a time of protection to support the injury.
This is followed by the proliferative phase where new tissue is formed (such as temporary scar tissue).
Next, the remodelling phase is where the new tissue strengthens and reorganises, leading to a more permanent repair. A time where improving functioning is important.
The body goes through a process of protection, healing and recovery. Managing these stages can help your body restore its function and strength through a combination of rest, exercise, and other rehabilitation techniques.
When should you seek treatment?
The basics of injury management:
- Injuries are part of life, whether they happen suddenly during exercise or from an accident, build up from poor posture, or result from repetitive strain
- Obviously if you have sustained serious injury, you should seek immediate medical attention
- Non serious injury can often be treated with the RICE method – rest, ice, compression, elevation
- Listen to your body – don’t wait for pain to become unbearable before seeking treatment
- If pain lingers for more than a few days, worsens with movement, or interferes with sleep or daily activity, it’s time to seek help
- Early intervention often leads to faster recovery and prevents small issues from becoming chronic problems.
For the purpose of this blog post we are talking about when to seek treatments that help support your body’s recovery from injury.
When to choose Massage Therapy
Massage is ideal for soft tissue injuries, muscle tightness, postural tension, and stress related discomfort. It helps improve circulation, reduce inflammation, and restore flexibility.
Massage can treat:
- Muscle tension
- Postural aches
- Stress related tightness
- Mild strains or overuse
When is it OK to book in for a massage if you have an injury?
It’s generally recommended to wait 48-72 hours after an acute injury before getting a massage, especially deeper tissue massage, on the injured area. During this time, the body is focused on the initial inflammatory response, and massage could potentially increase bleeding, bruising, and swelling. After this initial period, massage can be helpful in promoting circulation, reducing stiffness, and supporting healing.
If you have an injury, massage can also be helpful to treat how your body reacts to the injury. When a muscle is injured, other areas can compensate by taking on the work of the injured muscle, leading to muscle imbalances and potential new injuries. This can happen through altered movement patterns, increased workload on other muscles, or muscle guarding (tightening of muscles around the injured area).
When to choose Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic treatment focuses on spinal alignment and joint mobility. It can relieve nerve pressure, improve posture, and support overall nervous system function.
Chiropractic care can help with:
- Back or neck pain
- Headaches
- Joint stiffness or imbalance
- Repetitive strain or poor posture
When can you see a Chiropractor if you have an injury?
While there is no set rule to the timing, often sooner rather than later is better when it comes to receiving chiropractic treatment for an injury. Some interventions may be limited by the injury itself, but accommodations can be made to the pressure and treatment process.
When to choose Acupuncture
Acupuncture works with the body’s energy systems and has proven benefits for pain relief, inflammation, stress, and systemic conditions. It can also support healing from within by regulating the nervous system and circulation.
Acupuncture can help:
- Chronic pain
- Tension headaches or migraines
- Stress and fatigue
- Inflammation or systemic imbalance
When can you have acupuncture following injury?
Acupuncture can be beneficial for both acute and chronic injuries and is often recommended during the healing process. In the initial stages of an injury (acute phase), acupuncture can help reduce pain and inflammation, improve circulation, and promote healing. Initially, regular treatments are often helpful, then reduced as the healing progresses and pain reduces. In chronic situations, acupuncture can manage pain, improve function and potentially accelerate healing.
How else can we help if you have an injury?
In relation to injury, pain is your body’s way of asking for attention. Seeking the right type of support can make all the difference. Massage, chiropractic care, and acupuncture each offer unique benefits, and sometimes, a combined approach is the most effective.
At Feel Amazing Chatswood we work holistically, so we treat you as a whole person, to look at your whole-body functioning. This means if you have an injury, we can look at what will help you recover, and what you can do to prevent future injuries.
For example:
- Acute swelling and pain can be treated with acupuncture
- Naturopathy supplements could be prescribed to aid recovery and treat symptoms such as pain, to aid healing, or address deficiencies that may exist (e.g. a lack of vitamin D can affect bone strength)
- Treatment advice can be provided, then realigning of the body and improving nervous system functioning with a chiropractic adjustment
- Massaging away the stress and tension in the rest of your body that has built up following the injury occurring
- Once on the path to recovery, exercises can be prescribed by our chiropractor to aid rehabilitation, strengthening and functioning.
In summary
When it comes to managing injury, every body is different, so there’s no set rule for when to seek treatment. But help is available to support your body’s recovery. If you could benefit from one of our services and would like to book a treatment with us, click here.