Receiving massage after surgery or injury can help reduce swelling, reduce or prevent scar tissue formation, and help maintain health of compensating muscles to expedite recovery.
Massage/manual muscle therapy post surgery may address:
- compensating muscles — the muscles that are being overworked to support and make up for the muscles which are healing. Receiving massage can help enforce natural movement.
- the surgical/injured site itself (the incision as well as the muscles/fascia involved). Receiving massage can increase the blood and lymph flow (and thus nutrient movement to the area and waste movement away from the area), speeding up the healing process. It can also help prevent the formation of scar tissue. Depending on time elapsed, this may require physician or physical therapist approval. I am happy to talk with your PT to formulate an appropriate treatment plan.
- for older injuries, scar tissue that formed during the healing process, which often causes subtle body alignments and pain in other, seemingly unrelated body parts.
I have experience working alongside teams of physicians (within a surgery center), as well as playing a role as part of a physical therapy treatment plan. I am also a certified lymphedema therapist.