Myotherapy is an incredibly helpful procedure that helps maintain and improve the normal integrity of the soft tissue muscles in your body. The aim of this therapy is to treat not only the symptoms of your condition but also the cause of it. It manages and reduces your pain. But more than that, it enhances your overall wellbeing.
Most people need to understand that you don’t need to be injured to see a myotherapist. In fact, you should have routine sessions with them that target both maintenance and treatment. So, exactly when to see a myotherapist?
This definitive guide gives you an in-depth look into myotherapy, what the benefits are, and when to see a myotherapist.
What is Myotherapy?
This form of physical therapy is considered an advanced version of the traditional sports or medical massage. It is designed to treat, prevent, and maintain pain in the muscles and joints.
The therapist uses various techniques like trigger points to release the pressure in the muscles, which helps relieve pain. The therapist employs other techniques in myotherapy that include soft tissue therapy, cupping, dry needling, taping, and more.
All of this helps with a wide range of pain types, including muscular pain, joint pain, pain after a surgery or injury, and much more.
Myotherapy Benefits
Myotherapy is a relatively novel therapy that is employed by physical therapists, which is why the literature on its effectiveness is still quite limited. However, since it is considered an advanced form of remedial massage, it is considered to provide similar benefits. The therapy is believed to treat painful trigger points, which ultimately help in muscle contractions and optimize muscular movements.
In particular, myotherapy can help with the following:
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Improve chronic pain in the lower back
- Reduce the soreness in muscles
- Improve the quality of life and mental clarity in patients with terminal illnesses, such as cancer
- Help with pain management of diseases when combined with other therapies
When to See a Myotherapist
Myotherapy is used to treat a wide variety of pain, illnesses, and conditions, specifically those that involve the joints, muscles, and soft tissue. If you are experiencing any pain symptoms and wondering when to see a myotherapist, keep reading.
Here are the most common instances when you should get an appointment with a myotherapist:
- You Are Experiencing Muscular Pain
This might be the most common and obvious reason why you should see a myotherapist. The therapy involves managing and treating muscle pain, which is why you should take it up if you are in a similar predicament. It can significantly help with some of the symptoms.
In fact, if you are experiencing any kind of pain, you can see a myotherapist to help manage it or provide relief. Some examples of pain can include female problems-related pain, such as ovulation pain or menstrual cramps. Other types include lower back, neck, jaw, shoulder, or nerve pain.
2. You Are Experiencing a Lot of Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety can take a significant toll on your physical health. In fact, it can also often lead to stress-related migraines and headaches. If not managed well, these can impact your daily life and tasks, which can make them difficult to manage.
When we are stressed, we involuntarily keep our muscles stiff. This leads to considerable pain in our joints and overall body. All of this is especially true if your stress is related to work or studying where you are sitting in the same position for hours.
Luckily, myotherapy can be greatly beneficial in this case. Through massaging the body, the stiffness and pressure in the muscles are reduced. But that’s not all; the massage can also help your mental health and help you feel relaxed so that you are not as stressed. Hence, myotherapy can have a direct positive impact on your stress, both mentally and physically.
3. You Have to Rehabilitate an Injury
Myotherapy can be a great option to rehabilitate an injury and fast-track your road to recovery. Whether it was a general, sports-related, or work-related injury, you will easily be able to recover from it if you incorporate myotherapy into your treatment plan.
The massage and movement involved in myotherapy help move the fluid in your body. This reduces swelling and drives the fluid away from the point of injury, which helps it heal faster. Moreover, when you injure yourself, the muscles around that area tend to become stiff and tight. This reduces the amount of healing nutrients reaching the point of injury. Myotherapy helps to remove these constrictions and aid in the healing process.
Myotherapy involves the use of a technique called taping, which is tailored according to your type of injury. This technique helps to reduce the swelling in your body and stabilize the injured area, which proves to be greatly beneficial.
4. You Wish to Minimize the Risks from an Injury
Many people assume that therapies like myotherapy should be used only for treating pain or an injury. However, that is not true at all. This therapy aims to provide a holistic approach towards joint and muscle health. Hence, if you routinely employ this therapy, you actually reduce your risk of getting an injury.
It can do this in a variety of ways. For example, it addresses the muscle and strength imbalances in your body. People have imbalanced muscles wherein one is stronger than the other. This increases their risk of getting an injury in the weaker muscle. Myotherapy can help reduce this imbalance.
Since myotherapy helps with reducing the stiffness in muscles and aiding the healing process, it also reduces the risk for injuries by reducing this. Stiff muscles can often lead to injuries after a physical workout. But that is not the case if you have undertaken myotherapy to reduce the stiffness. Moreover, myotherapy can also help reduce the risk of injured muscles suffering an injury again.
Lastly, if you have previous injuries that tend to flare up every now and then, you can benefit from myotherapy. Your myotherapist will perform specific and targeted movements to help prevent flare-ups and minimize their risks. They will likely create a treatment plan that will also include exercises and stretches.
5. To Manage Chronic Pain Symptoms
In some cases, people tend to experience chronic pain in various parts of their bodies. No matter the cause, sometimes such pain never goes away. However, this does not mean that you need to live with it. You can use myotherapy as a way to manage the pain so that it does not interrupt your daily living.
Myotherapists will likely take a holistic approach towards treating and managing your chronic pain symptoms. If you follow the plan religiously, there is a chance in some cases that all of these symptoms can be significantly reduced over time.
6. For Rehabilitation Purposes Post Surgery
Depending on the kind of surgical procedure you have done, it is important to incorporate physical therapy to help speed up the healing process. Myotherapy can work great in this case because it can help you get back up on your feet again.
When you are worth with a myotherapist for recovery purposes after surgery, you can significantly help heal your stiff muscles and regain strength. Massaging the affected area takes the fluids away, reducing swelling and enhancing healing.
7. If You Are Tired of the Pain
Regardless of whatever is causing the pain, sometimes it can get too much. When it interrupts your daily life, spoils your mood, adds to your stress, and makes you upset, you have to take control of your situation and find a solution. In such a case, a great option that is worth considering is myotherapy.
It makes sense to see a myotherapist when you are experiencing a lot of pain. However, even if it is not a lot of pain, myotherapy can actually help you live a fuller, relaxing, and stress-free life. The therapy can be undertaken as a way to support your overall wellbeing.
The Bottom Line
Depending on your specific condition and cause of pain, you should see your myotherapist often. It is best to make an appointment with them after every six to eight weeks. Moreover, how long it takes for the therapy to work also largely depends on your specific condition. You should expect to see improvement in your pain after a couple of sessions.
The therapy session can be greatly beneficial, relaxing, and provide you with relief mentally and physically, which is why everyone should consider taking it up. Hence, if you are looking for a way to support your overall wellbeing, perhaps, a myotherapist is what you need. They can create a tailored plan according to your specific condition, needs, and goals and can ultimately help you speed up your road towards recovery.