Medical massage tends to be more site specific and focused on long term outcomes such as: resolving pain and muscle spasms, injury and surgery rehabilitation, increasing range of motion and reducing inflammation and scar tissue. We want our patients overall quality of life to improve beyond just the hour in a treatment room.
In many spa environments, the aim is to achieve relaxation first and foremost. While relaxation and feeling good is a pleasant side-effect of massage, in a medical environment it is not as beneficial for the main focus to be merely having the therapist make the patient feel nice for an hour. On the other hand, we also don’t treat patients with a “no pain, no gain” approach either. In essence, pain can be part of healing as much as relaxation – but neither of those are the goal – they are merely secondary responses to the treatment.
To achieve real therapeutic effects, clients are carefully guided to work through certain types of pain and limitation, improve breathing habits and become more aware of posture and body mechanics. A person seeking medical massage is expected to be an active participant in their healing process and hopefully take away valuable tools and insights from the time spent in treatment to further their well-being in day-to-day life. This means that there might be a constructive dialogue between patient and therapist about the problems that present themselves and approaches to resolution. Patients are very much encouraged to ask questions and engage in the process.
