Massage vs. Chiropractic Care: What’s Best for Back Pain?

Around the world, many people suffer from back pain due to various conditions. Back pain can be caused by poor posture, injuries, broken bones, a sedentary lifestyle, infections, chronic conditions, and various other health issues. Getting the right treatment is necessary for relief from back pain and long-term well-being.

Two treatments—chiropractic and massage—can treat your back pain. Both treatments are best on their own but massage can serve better than a chiropractic care. This article will delve into the knowledge of massage and chiropractic, a comparison of both treatments, and which one is better for back pain.

Massage

Massage is a manual therapy used to relieve various health conditions. Therapists rub and knead the soft tissues and muscles of your body. The soft tissues contain ligaments, tendons, connective tissues, and skin.

Massage therapy aims to reduce stress, relieve pain, improve muscle tightness, and promote relaxation. It can also help address injuries and insomnia (the inability to sleep) [1, 2]. Many different types of massage are used to treat back pain, like deep tissue massage. Explore how massage therapy for back pain provides several benefits.

Relieve Pain

Muscle stiffness, knots, and tension in the back can cause back pain problems. A massage from a specialist can relieve back pain [3] and solve acute back pain problems [4].

Stress and Anxiety

You may feel relaxed after a massage session because your anxiety and stress have been reduced. A massage can reduce your stress and depression other than physical pain relieve [3].

Good Quality Sleep

Massage sessions lower cortisol, the stress hormone, and help increase your dopamine and neurotransmitter levels promoting better sleep. Insomnia can also be treated, especially for people with heart failure and menopause.

Improve Immune Function

White blood cells and killer T cells [5] help the body fight different viruses. Regular body massage increases the level of these cells to improve your immune system.

Chiropractic Care

A chiropractor addresses spinal and nerve issues to treat musculoskeletal disorders and alleviate pain, stiffness, and discomfort. Your body’s nervous system can be affected by spine and joint disorders which can cause critical health conditions.

A chiropractor corrects spinal adjustments and alignments to reduce back pain, muscle pain, joint pain, and bone pain [6]. Look into how the chiropractic method can benefit your body.

Relieve Pain

Chiropractic can reduce back pain through spinal adjustments and alignments to release muscle tension. Musculoskeletal problems that might be the source of the pain can be addressed with manual therapies.

Improve Nervous System

Chiropractors have deep knowledge of the nervous system and its functions. They address the areas of stress to relieve nerve and spine pain.

Short-Term Pain Relieve

Most people can get immediate pain relieve from chiropractic remedies, but only for a limited period. Chiropractic care is generally not intended for long-term relief [7].

Massage vs. Chiropractic Care: Which is Better?

When it comes to back pain, both massage and chiropractic care have their own merits for relieving pain and muscle stress. Massage is often better for long-term relief, let’s explore why.

Root Cause

Back pain can be developed because of knots, stiffness, and muscle tension. Therapists use hands and instruments to rub and knead soft tissues to address the specific area of back pain. Chiropractic treatment focuses on adjusting spinal alignments, which can reduce back pain for a short period but not treat muscle tension for better treatment.

Relaxation

After a single massage session, people often feel relaxed and experience relief from back pain. With physical comfort, massage treatments also provide mind relaxation and reduce anxiety. However, chiropractic treatment may be uncomfortable for many people. Following a chiropractic treatment session, people frequently report experiencing discomfort and swelling.

Long-Term Benefits

Chiropractic treatments are not beneficial for a long time and require multiple sessions and maintenance. Massage enhances flexibility, releases muscle tension, improves posture, and helps prevent future muscle knots and ligament strain to reduce the risk of back pain.

Risks and Side Effects

Chiropractic sessions can carry risks of muscle spasms, nerve irritation, and potential long-term health complications. Massage therapist professionals can provide safe massage with care and minimal risks.

Improve Overall Health

Massage is the treatment of your overall health and wellness, it will regulate blood circulation, develop quality sleep, and lower anxiety and stress. In chiropractic, spinal nerves are treated to ameliorate spinal and nerve health.

When You Should Choose Massage

For back pain, massage treatment is a good choice for better health and wellness. You should choose massage when you are suffering from

Chronic pain
Acute back pain
Stiffness
Muscle tension
Stress-related pain
Muscle tightening
Irregular posture
injuries

If you have back pain due to muscle stiffness, strain, or tension, selecting massage treatment is an excellent choice for long-term wellness.

When You Should Choose Chiropractic Care

If your back pain is caused by spinal misalignment or nerve compression, chiropractor care, which involves spinal adjustments, may be the right choice. A massage treatment can help you better with back pain than chiropractic.

Conclusion

Treating back pain is the concern of most people nowadays. People are looking for ways to treat their back pain comfortably and with long-term benefits. In addition to improving your general health and circulation, a massage can help you feel less pain. Chiropractic treatments improve spinal and nerve health and relieve back pain by adjusting spinal alignments.

A chiropractor can provide immediate results, but these tend to be short-time and may lead to soreness or discomfort after the session. Professional massage therapists improve your posture and flexibility, relieve pain, and improve your sleep. Consult a massage therapist and get a deep massage. Say goodbye to your back pain and enjoy a comfortable life.

FAQs

What is a massage treatment?

Massage is a method where therapists rub and knead your soft tissues and muscle layers by hand or instrument to reduce muscle tension, relieve stress, and alleviate back pain.

What is a chiropractic care?

The chiropractic method is the treatment of adjusting spinal and nerve alignments to reduce back pain. The treatment focuses on spinal issues and health.

Are there any side effects of massage?

It is completely safe to take a massage session. Few people may get soreness in the back after having a deep tissue massage but it may reduce with time.