When the body is in pain, help is often found from a masseur, physiotherapist, or osteopath. Aava’s manipulative physiotherapist Jasmine Lönnroth tells who is the best caregiver for your ailment.
Neck or shoulders stiff? The masseuse relaxes the muscles
A masseuse is a button choice, especially when your ailments are neck-shoulder pain and tension.
The masseur opens up various muscle juices by rubbing – whether they were due to training or too much sitting at the computer. The massage relaxes the muscles and sets in motion the waste products in them.
Massage can also be performed before or after a sports performance to help the muscles relax and the body recover better.
However, if your neck-shoulder symptoms include headache, dizziness, or numbness of the hand, first see a doctor to see if the ailments are muscular or a sign of some other problem.
The whole body stuck? An osteopath treats holistically
If you feel that your body is tight or stuck and the massage does not bring relief to the discomfort, then an osteopath can help.
Osteopath can be sought, for example, due to back or hip pain or tension, neck-shoulder problems, or headaches.
An osteopath is the right address even if your body feels overall tension and therefore your body is not functioning properly. An osteopath opens up such tensions and improves body mobility.
An osteopath treats a person as a whole. He can find the source of the pain farther than the painful point itself. For example, the cause of back pain may be found in the pelvic area or the cause of wrist pain may be a stuck chest.
The osteopath treats the joints, muscles, and connective tissues according to the sensations of his hands, for example, by rubbing, mobilizing, and manipulating. Mobilization aims to restore joint mobility in soft grips. Manipulation opens locked joints and improves their mobility.
Sore back, knee, shoulder … Physiotherapist looks for the cause of pain and advises home exercise
You can apply for physiotherapy for many different ailments – for example, a sore back, shoulder, heel, ankle or hip. Many also go to physical therapy to rehabilitate after accidents and surgeries.
Not only does the physiotherapist treat, he also seeks to determine the root cause of the problem. For example, if your knee hurts, the physiotherapist will find out by asking, looking, and palpating with your hands what causes the pain. He examines how you walk: whether there is muscle imbalance in your leg or your ankle joint is locked.
In the treatment itself, the physiotherapist does much the same thing as the osteopath: he treats the joints and muscles by mobilizing and, if necessary, manipulating. For example, if a joint is stiff, the physiotherapist will try to restore its normal mobility.
You will also receive instructions from your physiotherapist for home exercises that will ease your ailment. So you work yourself to make the effort better and stay away.