Myotherapy: What It Is and Its Many Benefits
I have to admit that this global pandemic has been very stressful and has affected my overall health. One thing I learned the hard way is to practise self-care to overcome the stressors in life.
I’m glad that I discovered myotherapy as a way to relieve anxiety and stress. I have been dealing with anxiety attacks and body pains recently, and a friend suggested I try myotherapy at Northern Myotherapy Melbourne.
What is Myotherapy?
Myotherapy is a form of therapy that treats or prevents pain related to soft tissue injuries and constrained joint movement. A myotherapist will use trigger point release and other techniques to alleviate muscle pain.
Trigger points are sensitive areas in the muscle that cause pain when overstimulated or injured. The therapist will relieve muscle pains by using unique massage methods using hands, fingers, knuckles, or elbows.
Benefits of Myotherapy
Though myotherapy is just a fairly new specialisation, its effectiveness has been proven by many people. I, for one, can attest to its efficacy. Below are some of the benefits of myotherapy.
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Stress and Anxiety Relief
Massage is an effective way to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. Massage therapy can lower cortisol levels and increase dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. The special massage techniques used in myotherapy can also help in decreasing diastolic blood pressure and hypertension. Now I understand why most treatment programs often include massage to help reduce both emotional and physical stress.
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Reduce Muscle Soreness
Myotherapy can help in releasing tight muscular trigger points. There are some specific stretches done in the therapy that helps in lengthening and rebuilding stiff muscles. Massage can also help in increasing blood flow to the muscle tissues, which allows them to heal faster.
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Relief in Cancer Pain
Cancer pain can eat away the quality of life among cancer patients, especially those at the end-of-life phase. Myotherapy is a safe intervention that can be effectively used in pain management.
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Prevent Unnecessary Surgery
In many cases, doctors always advise surgery to treat an injury when surgery should actually be the last resort. Myotherapy can help heal injuries naturally and may not necessitate any surgery in the long run.
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Improve Quality of Sleep
Trouble sleeping is a common problem for many, and even I suffered from this. I often catch myself tossing and turning at night due to backaches, muscle pains, stress, headaches, or anxiety. I noticed that after a few sessions of myotherapy, I was able to sleep better.
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Aid in Exercise
We must keep our body in check when we are doing exercise. Exercise breaks down muscle fibres and need time to rebuild over. Myotherapy can help us recover and build strength again and may prevent injury.
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Increase Productivity
Body pains can make the body slow down. They can drain the body and mind quickly, making it hard to concentrate on work. My productivity suffers when I feel something off in my body. Myotherapy can help reduce the pain that will enable me to do my job better and more efficiently.
What conditions can benefit from myotherapy?
Myotherapy can help treat conditions that affect muscles and soft tissues, such as sports injury, posture pain, overuse injury, muscle sprain, backache, joint pain, cervicogenic headache, and overuse injury.
What to expect from it?
A myotherapist will first assess the symptoms and medical history of a patient. After the evaluation, the myotherapist will examine the injured area and do physical checkups to know what is causing the pain.
Some of the techniques they may use in treatment are massage, ultrasound, passive stretching, dry needling, and trigger point therapy. If they suspect that a muscle problem is not causing the pain, the patient will be referred to a different health practitioner.
Myotherapy may be a newer treatment approach, but there is no denying that it has helped me treat and manage pain caused by muscle problems. Keeping our bodies in check during this stressful time will make a lot of difference in the quality of our lives.
Let us not underestimate the power of massage and the benefits that it can do to our bodies. Let a myotherapist handle your problem.
