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SURGERY or MASSAGE
When do I know which one to do?
 My grandpa, Dr Edwin Gallenstein practiced for 54 years as a general practitioner up to the day he died. I was privy to his insights as a medical doctor. We had discussions on a wide variety of topics concerning our careers. One of those topics was how we help our clients in our respective practices.
I have always been a firm believer in helping people holistically. He also was a firm believer that you should take medication only if you have true need of it. He would hardly ever prescribe hard drugs to a patient. Our philosophies differed slightly in some areas. He never really believed in chiropractic care, as I do. He didn't believe in some of the real medical benefits of massage. He thought, like some people do, that massage is simply a luxurious indulgence. I respected that opinion.
In this article, I will explain how massage can help you from a medical standpoint. I have come across clients who have gone to see their doctors and they prescribe medication for them. True, massage cannot cure illness or disease, but it can help with physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.
Specifically, the most medically helpful type of massage is called neuro-muscular therapy. If a client comes in with plantar fasciitis, problems with rotation of the neck, carpal tunnel, or even a bulging disc we can help to fix or manage the pain.
Massage and chiropractic care is not the full answer. It is rare for there to ever be only one cure or one step to recovery. Massage can help manage the pain without taking heavy doses of medication. Sometimes medication is necessary, but the pain management benefits of massage can enable you to take a lower dose. We are the alternative.
Let's take plantar fasciitis for example; you make an appointment to see the doctor and he tells you that we can fix that problem by "snipping" the tendon. The pain is still there for most people after the surgery. Did you know by massaging the soleus muscle in the calf, and getting it back to it's normal resting length that it cures 85% of the problem?
Bulging discs and fusions are things we see quite often in our practice. Yes, once there is a bulging disc we cannot fix it, but we can manage the pain. The doctor may give you muscle relaxers that may not help, massage can. We have ways to calm the nerves and release the tightness around the disc.
Frozen shoulder is another ailment we can help with. Instead of seeing your doctor and they put you under anesthesia, we can manipulate and release the muscle gently without you having to go under.
We have many clients with fibromyalgia. We can't cure it, but once again, we can manage the pain with the help of your doctors that prescribe the necessary medication.
Medical massage can help your body to heal naturally with reduced medication, or even without pain medication. In my opinion, We must exhaust all avenues before any type of surgery, be it minor or major. By no means am I saying doctors are obsolete. My grandpa was a great doctor who looked out for each of his patients. My intention is to show you the other side of massage and it's medical benefits.
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