Is It Safe to Massage An Impact Injury?

Suffering from an impact injury like a fall, strain, sprain, or collision? These acute injuries often are often sudden, sharp, and traumatic, and they can cause chronic pain and even limited mobility. Luckily—in many cases—massage therapy can help. By delivering oxygen and nutrients to soft tissues and organs, massage can play an important role in injury rehabilitation, increasing healing rates and shortening recovery times. Here’s what you need to know about using massage to heal from an impact injury.

How Massage Therapy Helps Impact Injuries Heal

Massage therapy is an effective method for treating impact injuries, but you have to get the timing right. You can use massage therapy effectively during the acute (initial) stage of the injury and even well after the injury if scar tissue has developed.

Addressing Acute Pain

The acute stage of an impact injury is generally 48-72 hours following the incident. This is often when your pain and discomfort are at their worst, as even slight movements can be painful to the affected area. During this period, massage therapy that targets muscle or joint healing can help patients get on the right track toward recovery.

Targeted massage therapy can promote muscle relaxation and faster healing by improving oxygen and blood flow to the injured area. It can also remove fluids and waste from the injury site. While massage won’t make the injury go away, it can help patients work through it much easier. When patients are able to move easier, it enhances the body’s ability to heal itself, in turn greatly shortening recovery times.

Relieving Tight Muscles

A person’s muscles can tighten after an injury, especially one that leads to restrictive movements. An impact injury can reduce a muscle’s optimum length, causing an increase in tightness that can cause discomfort and limit mobility. A professional massage can increase the temperature of soft tissues, loosening and stretching them. Many patients find that after a massage, the muscles function better, aiding in overall injury recovery.

Reducing Scarring

Affected areas of the body often scar after an impact injury—it’s simply the natural healing process of damaged tissues. As the body heals, it produces collagen fibers and sends them to repair the area around the injury site. While the process is natural and necessary, it also can restrict movement and aggravate pain.

A professional massage therapist can use special techniques to loosen, break down, and realign collagen fibers at the injury site. By reducing scar tissue, massage therapy can increase the normal function of soft tissues, reducing pain and tightness.

Massage Therapy Helps Patients Recover From Impact Injuries Quickly and Efficiently

Massage can help you recover from a range of impact injuries, including concussions, knee injuries, lower back pain, spinal cord injuries, whiplash, and more. The professional team at Impact Medical Group of St. Petersburg understands how to use massage therapy to help patients recover from impact injuries quickly. Call us at (727) 722-8103 to schedule your free consultation and start your journey to full recovery today!