Is Massage Therapy and Physical Therapy The Same Thing

Is Massage Therapy and Physical Therapy in West Linn The Same Thing

Therapy in West Linn has become the broad term used in describing forms of bodily treatment. Many people when they hear therapy, the mind goes to physical or mental therapy. You probably need to clarify the context in which you are using the word therapy as the assumption is not far from people in situations that have to do with the human body.


Massage Therapy in West Linn

Is Massage Therapy and Physical Therapy The Same ThingAnother area of easy dilution is in the context of massage and physical therapy. Other forms of therapy can be easily distinguishable because they are distinct from these two. One factor that is responsible for this over assumption is the seemingly similar activities involved in physical and massage therapy. However, they are both not the same especially in their end goal and the process involved in both. To properly understand the distinction between physical and massage therapy, it is essential to accurately define both.

Physical therapy is also known as physiotherapy and falls under the medical profession. Physical therapy aims to maintain, revive or restore whole health through diverse avenues. Achieving whole health in physiotherapy can be in the form of physical exams, prognosis, diagnosis, and or rehabilitation. Officials who work in Physical Therapy are known as Physiotherapists.

Massage Therapy, on the other hand, falls under a category known as Complementary and Alternative Medicine. With a long-standing history across several cultures, massage therapy has its different uses and beliefs surrounding it. Massage is employed by people for a wide array of purposes ranging from pain relief, stress reduction, depression, and anxiety treatments, rehabilitating sports injuries, and general relaxation.

Both forms of therapy can be combined in the treatment of patients to bring them optimal health physically and mentally. The two forms aim at restoring and reviving bodily function. Regardless of the many variations, both can work hand in hand to achieve a better result of full rehabilitation and relaxation of muscles.

Variations between both exist mainly in the area of benefits, but beyond the benefits, one major distinctive factor is in terms of category. Although the professionals constituting both fields are highly trained and skilled at what they do, Physical therapists are particularly categorized under the medical and healthcare. Massage therapists or Masseuse as they are fondly called work under alternative medicine.

For further clarification, Physical therapy is particularly prescribed as a treatment means for injuries or serious illness conditions. The form of prescription could vary depending on the peculiarity of patients as well as the medical history. Also, it is often prescribed along with other forms of treatment like exercise, manual therapy, electrotherapy, and many more.

In Massage therapy, the goal is to achieve muscle relaxation, and more importantly to further finish building on the work already set in motion by physical therapy. So, the idea as you see is to solely promote recovery and to make sure the muscles stay in the best shape.

You can see now that a disparity indeed exists between physical and massage therapy. However, the disparity is not so vast because both can work hand in hand and have the patient’s optimal health as the end goal. Though one tends to be more white-collared, the other only serves to build on the former.


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