Myotherapy is a non-invasive therapy or an advanced form of therapeutic massage. It helps with treating the pain caused by injury or muscle or soft tissue problems. Myotherapists use massage therapy like essential oils for massages & many other techniques to relieve muscle tension and reduce pain. Myotherapy is also known as sports massage or therapeutic massage therapy.
Myotherapy is a drug-free therapy to relieve symptoms, conducted by a specialist with medical education. Myotherapy helps with eliminates the pain & is prescribed for rehabilitation after injuries, cardiovascular diseases & respiratory systems.
How classical massage differs from Myotherapy?
Let’s find out the most common query myotherapy vs. massage therapy;
Classical massage is for relaxing, relieving fatigue, restoring strength, and preventing many diseases. Classical massage techniques normalize the condition of joints and ligaments and improve the regeneration of damaged tissues.
Features of therapeutic massage are in the healing effect: helping to save the patient from:
spasms in the muscles;
varicose veins;
Overweight.
Myotherapy sessions improve the functioning of the immune system. This treatment normalizes pressure and blood flow & eliminates nervousness, migraines, and headaches. Also, the procedure is prescribed for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract.
The basic techniques of classical and therapeutic massage are similar but still different. That’s the main part of myotherapy vs. massage therapy.
Classical massage belongs to the category of cosmetic procedures & can be performed by less experienced specialists who have completed massage courses (without medical education). The tasks of classical massage include general relaxation and stress relief.
If you have pain in the body or chronic diseases, you should consult a neurologist and prescribe a specialized therapeutic massage performed a doctor. Do not seek help from massage therapists without a medical education.
In therapeutic massage, the main task is to eliminate pain and improve metabolic processes. Only an experienced specialist knows how to work with a patient in the presence of diseases, improving his condition.
The effect of therapeutic massage is better noticeable after a course of sessions.
4 Most Common Myotherapy Techniques Used for Treatment
The dry needle method is an invasive deep exposure method to myofascial trigger points (MFTT). Here a thin acupuncture needle is inserted into muscles or tissues located more superficially, stimulating receptors, MFTT, muscles, and tendons themselves to improve microcirculation and eliminate pain and spasms.
The trigger point pressing therapy is quite simple. Bent in the first interphalangeal joint, 1 or 2 fingers of the hand slowly begin to exert pressure on the trigger zone. The pressure intensity within one minute should increase to 10-15 kg & the local pressure should be combined with elements of rotation, moving the pressing finger to affect both the center and the periphery of the trigger point. While the intensity of painful experiences can be significant in the first minutes. It is necessary to choose the direction of pressure towards the hard tissue (bones, ligaments, fascia), avoiding the direction towards large vessels and nerves. Repeated effects on the same areas can be exerted after 5-6 minutes the total amount of pressing during one session can be 2-4. An indicator of the sufficiency of pressure is the appearance of mild, pleasant soreness in the place of former deep, aching pain. Patients often characterize it as justified “physical”, contrasting it with spontaneous non-localized deep pain.
Percutaneous electrical neurostimulation (TENS) is a new direction in the treatment of neurological disorders. It consists of the point effect of a weak electric current on the painful areas. The electrodes are attached to the skin, after which short pulsed radiation is applied to them, stimulating the nerve cells and endings.
The result of the procedure is the improvement of well-being, increased blood flow in the damaged organ & reduction of pain.
The TENS effectiveness is confirmed by numerous clinical studies. At the same time, percutaneous electrical neurostimulation is organically combined with other methods of treatment, complementing them and enhancing their effect. Since electric current increases the sensitivity of receptors, TENS is sometimes used as an additional method of exposure in case when it is necessary to enhance the effect of drug treatment.
Myofascial release is an effective manual technique. The specialist manually affects both the muscles and the connective tissue, squeezes and passively stretches the muscles & also sets in motion the stiff joints. It leads to the relaxation of myofascial structures & the unblocking of trigger points.
What is a Trigger Point?
Trigger points are sensitive areas of strained muscle fibers that form in muscles, usually as a result of injury. To relieve stress in these areas, the myotherapist uses special massage techniques from the hands, fingers, elbows, or knuckles. The idea that pain may arise in muscles has been widely accepted in the medical community since the 1990s. However, recently muscle pain and neck pain is very common. Giving pressure to the trigger points in neck pain allows us to solve the problem immediately.
Sometimes muscle injury or dysfunction can cause pain in the surrounding area. During myotherapy, the therapist uses trigger point release and many other techniques to relieve muscle and myofascial pain.
Hope you understand the details of Myotherapy with this article. For more queries connect with experts now!