You woke up feeling the ever-familiar sensation of a throbbing in your back. You know it’s going to be one of those tough days where you have to put up with a nagging back pain while powering through meetings, work and eventually, skipping the gym session in the evening.

What Causes Back Pain

Blame it on aging or lack of exercise, but the fact is, back pain is more common than you think, especially when you’re approaching late 30s and beyond. Various causes can contribute to back pain, including arthritis, osteoporosis, scoliosis or ruptured discs.

In most cases, back pain develops gradually and is influenced by your daily habits. For instance, you’ll never realise you’ve been sitting with a wrong posture until a needling pain starts bothering your back. And if you’re a chain smoker, you may have prevented normal blood circulation to your lower spine as you puff away.

Some back pain is temporary and goes away after a couple of days. But others are stubborn and affect your movement in daily life. It’s always prudent to seek medical attention if your back pain persists or gets worse after a few weeks, or if it suddenly causes excruciating pain at the slightest of movements.

How Massage Helps Relieve Back Pain

One of the best ways to relieve back pain is having your aching back massaged by a qualified therapist. Massage therapy has been getting more attention in recent years as a form of effective and natural therapy in relieving back pain.

At the hands of a trained therapist, massage helps to increase blood circulation in the spinal areas promoting healing. Furthermore, massage helps to reduce the tension in the muscles, which often affects your movement.

Swedish or relaxation massage offered by therapists is one type of massage that is known to be effective in getting the blood flowing and producing a relaxing sensation. The kneading movements and long strokes help to ease the aching muscles.  This has been proven in a research involving 400 patients suffering lower back pain in the Group Health Research Institute and the University of Washington in Seattle, the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, and the University of Vermont in Burlington.

Existing conditions like fibromyalgia, spinal arthritis or muscle strain in the lower back can cause severe limitations to movement. Beyond that, back pain causes stress, anxiety and in some cases, depression when it affects your regular lifestyle. These conditions can benefit greatly from massage therapy.

What Is The Best Massage Technique To Relieve Back Pain

Both science and individuals claimed that massage is an effective non-invasive technique that helps with back pain. The question is, which massage technique works best for you?

For general back pain, remedial or deep tissue massage is a recommended option. But there are other techniques such as the Shiatsu, Swedish or relaxation and trigger point massage that are equally effective in their own right.

While massage therapy is relatively low risk, you’ll want to engage a therapist who is qualified, experienced with the practice and can help alleviate your pain. In addition, a qualified therapist will advise on the form of massage that is suitable or if you should refrain from getting any for certain reasons.

Learn more about getting a healing massage for your back pain from our helpful therapist.