Friday, January 3, 2014

What You Need to Know Before Using a Massage Chair for Back Pain Relief


Back pain is quite a nuisance and can impair your performance in work, school or any activity that you do. In common cases, this can be caused by muscle spasms and tightness. It can easily be relieved with a massage from a masseuse or one from your massage chairs at home.

However, this isn't the case all the time. There are situations in which having a massage to relieve back pain is contraindicated, especially getting one from a massage chair. There are times when a massage can make the condition worse than it already is. It is important that you know when to use a chair to relieve back pains and when it isn't advisable to do so. Here are some things that you need to know:

1. Don't get a massage when you have a fever - Though it's quite tempting to get a massage when you have a fever, especially when you feel your muscles aching, you should refrain from doing so. Fever is a natural defense mechanism of your body to isolate and ward off harmful microbes or foreign bodies which have entered your system. If you get a massage, you will increase the blood circulation, allowing the microbes to circulate further into your body.

2. Avoid massaging inflamed areas and those with mending bones - When there is muscle inflammation or commonly known as myositis, or other inflamed tissues, it is not advisable to provide a massage on the areas that are affected. This includes conditions like arthritis, phlebitis, etc. Broken bones also present the same case. Massaging an area where broken bones are located may cause them to break again.

However, if these conditions are localized in certain areas of the body, a massage around the area may be done as this can help improve blood circulation going to those areas and hasten the healing process. You should be wary when using a massage chair since it is designed to put pressure on an area of the body at a time. It may not be able to massage around the affected areas, unlike manual massage.

3. Chronic pain or cancer-related pain - If you're suffering from chronic back pain or back pain that persists even with massage or other treatments, it is advisable that you stop having a massage and try to relieve the symptom. Instead, see your physician as soon as possible. Chronic pain may be caused by serious conditions like cancer.

If you are diagnosed to have cancer, using your massage chair to relieve back pain is also contraindicated. Apart from blood circulation, massage can also help improve lymphatic circulation. Now, both blood and lymphatic circulation is an avenue for spreading cancer cells to other areas of the body. By stimulating these circulatory systems through a massage, you can also hasten the spread of cancer.

4. Osteoporosis - This is a condition where the bones become porous and brittle, and it is a common in elderly women. You should try to be careful or avoid having a massage to relieve back pain with this condition. Because of the fragile condition of the bones, it can easily break and cause bone fracture.

No comments:

Post a Comment