There are many different kinds of back pain a man can get as he gets older. Some types of back pain come and go, while others are pretty constant. No one likes laying on heating pads all the time or taking strong pain relievers just to get through their day without back pain. Fortunately, most types of back pain can be treated with massage. If your dad is suffering from back pain, the gift of massage will do him wonders. It’s the best gift you can give him to show your love and care. Here are three types of back pain that respond wonderfully to massage.
1. Mechanical Pain
Also referred to as axial pain, this type of back pain is the most common. It is caused by strain in the muscles, which is easy to get after years of working a hard job of manual labor, sports, or after years of sitting at a desk using incorrect posture. Muscle pain like this responds beautifully to massage. Massage releases the tightness in the muscles, allowing them to relax and feel comfortable gain. Once your dad has one massage session for his mechanical back pain, he will definitely want to come back for more. You may even see him become a regular client of the massage therapist you chose for him!
2. Radiating Pain
This pain is dull, achy, and unpleasant. It also tends to move from location to location and changes its intensity quite frequently. This is very unlike mechanical pain, which tends to stay in one place and doesn’t change in intensity much, if at all. Radiating pain is sometimes called referred pain. It starts in one place, but radiates out to affect other locations. This pain can be caused by muscle injuries or spinal issues, such as arthritis or degenerative disc disease.
Massage can help ease this pain by finding the origin point and working on increasing blood flow to it. This has the dual effect of relaxing the painful area, while bringing healing blood to it so the injury can begin to get better. More than one massage therapy session is necessary for optimum results for this type of pain. If you get your dad in for one session, he’ll probably be back for more. Alternately, you could get him a package of several appointments to help heal his back pain.
3. Sciatica
This is a deep pain that usually radiates through an arm, leg, or other extremity. It can have numbness and tingling associated with it, in addition to a deep, piercing type of pain. The cause of sciatica pain is usually some kind of compression on a nerve in the back that causes pain to radiate down the limbs. Inflammation and injuries to a spinal nerve can also lead to sciatica pain, as can herniated discs.
Anti-inflammatory drugs and sometimes even surgery are prescribed to take care of sciatica. However, these can take a while to work, and some residual pain may always be there. Massage can help ease residual pain from sciatica, and make other treatments for it more effective.
We All Want the Best for Our Dads
You love your dad and want the best for him. If he has back pain of any kind, massage therapy can usually help. This Father’s Day, try giving him the gift of massage. Once he experiences the relief from back pain massage can offer, you will definitely win Daughter or Son of the Year as far as your dad is concerned.
