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The effects of a life changing event (accident, surgery, traumatic injury)
In the blink of an eye: Massage following a life changing event.
Traumatic injuries often result from a fall, a collision, or from undergoing surgery. Improvement is dramatic and lasting if treatment begins immediately, while the body is still in an acute stage of inflammation.
Acute stage treatments aim to control the body’s natural healing mechanism, called the inflammatory process. Failing immediate treatment, traumatic events leave signs on the body, such as chronic adaptations (postures, holding patterns, movement patterns), scar tissue, or apprehension.
If the injury has become chronic before treatment begins, a massage therapist knows how to read and work with the chronic results of trauma.
The body has one universal response to healing any injury, called the inflammatory response. Diffuse pain and swelling characterize the first, acute stage, which limit mobility and function. Scar tissue results from inflammation.
The density, restrictiveness, and orientation of the scar tissue depends on how much motion you recover, and on how effectively you control the inflammatory response.
"The body is a history text book of everything that has ever happened to it." Although your body marks the event ever after, the trick is to minimize the restrictions.
Our approach
We manage acute trauma with two critical tools: hydrotherapy and movement recovery. When you seek treatment within the first week of the event, we apply and provide instruction on effective use of hot and cold applications (frequency, duration, and strategic placement) to control swelling.
Recovering mobility in this stage is essential to lasting results. We show you micro-movements in the neck, spine, or limb that minimize swelling in the joint space, or tissue, and decrease pain. In the second and third weeks we build upon the gains made in week one, and hands-on massage therapy begins. In this way the massage therapist directs scar tissue formation, such that it is minimized and non-restrictive.
If you have ever experienced such an event, or do so in the future, seek the help of one who is qualified to do this; contact us immediately.
