Chiropractor in the Tampa Bay Area, St. Petersburg, St.Pete Beach, Clearwater, Largo, Bellair, and Gulfport, Chiropractor office in Pinellas County

Massage therapy has several therapeutic benefits which make it a great compliment to Chiropractic care. A massage therapist is trained to assess and treat most soft tissues of the human body including muscles, tendons, ligaments and connective tissue. Treatment is designed to physically stretch muscles, to heal injury, relieve psychological stress, manage pain, improve circulation, reduce muscle spasm, break down scar tissue and increase joint range of motion by encouraging proper muscle function.

Massage therapy also causes both an increase in blood circulation and an increase in lymphatic fluid circulation. Effective blood circulation can reduce swelling, increase the rate of healing, and facilitate better overall health and body function. Since the lymphatic system is essentially the immune system, increasing its circulation can increase the effectiveness of the immune response against pathogens and injury.

Massage therapy is also known to reduce emotional stresses through a decrease in muscle tension, and through the power of human touch.

Massage techniques at LaTorre Wellness involve the patient either being treated lying down on a massage table, or on a massage chair if requested.

Ninety percent of respondents to the 2004 AMTA Consumer Survey agreed that massage can be effective in reducing pain. Nearly half (49 percent) of those polled have had a massage at some time to relieve pain. As a preferred method for relieving pain, massage ranked second, after medication. Third and fourth choices were chiropractic and physical therapy, respectively.

One in five of Americans polled (20 percent) say they have discussed massage therapy with their doctor or healthcare provider, up from 14 percent in 2002. For those who discussed massage therapy with their healthcare providers, 62 percent of the providers strongly recommended or encouraged their patients to get a massage. Of those who indicated that a healthcare professional had recommended massage therapy, 61 percent indicated it was a physician, 45 percent said a physical therapist had recommended massage, and 42 percent said a chiropractor had recommended it.

The movement of the Baby Boom generation into retirement and beyond may have an enormous impact on the massage therapy profession.2 The 2004 AMTA Consumer Survey showed 21% of those ages 55-64 had a massage in the last 12 months, compared to only 13% in 2002. Americans also are living much longer than in the past, increasing the length of time someone might be a massage therapy client.

Many professional athletes rely on massage to help them increase stamina and range of motion, and to recover from injuries and muscle soreness. One example of massage therapists working with athletes is their participation at the Olympic Games. More than 200 U.S.- based massage therapists volunteered at the 2000 Atlanta Olympics, 60 at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and more than 100 at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens . The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) Sports Medicine Division volunteer program initially included only athletic trainers, physicians and chiropractors, but expanded in 2002 to include massage therapists.6 Employers of rehabilitative massage therapists include sports medicine clinics, university and professional athlete teams and fitness centers.

Physicians increasingly recognize massage as a beneficial healthcare therapy. Of the physicians whose patients discussed massage therapy with them, 62 percent strongly recommended or encouraged massage.7 As of 2004, 25 percent of American Massage Therapy Association® AMTA members performed massage therapy in a healthcare setting such as a hospital, doctor's office, or chiropractic clinic. According to the American Hospital Association's (AHA) 2003 survey on the use of complementary and alternative medicine therapies in hospitals, 22 percent of the hospitals surveyed incorporate massage into hospital care. The most frequent reason for receiving massage in a hospital setting is stress (75 percent), followed closely by pain management (70 percent).