Can Massage Therapy Help Your Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia can feel unrelenting. As if your widespread pain wasn’t enough, you might deal with everything from sleep problems to brain fog to digestive challenges. A robust, personalized treatment plan is key in helping you maintain the best possible quality of life. 

If you haven’t already, you may want to add massage therapy to your fibromyalgia treatment plan. Not only is a massage an excellent way to schedule in some self-care time, but multiple studies have shown that massage therapy can deliver a myriad of benefits to people with fibromyalgia. 

That’s precisely why Dr. Halina Snowball offers massage therapy to our patients with fibromyalgia at Integrated Pain Solutions in Stamford, Connecticut.

Can massage therapy help you? Let’s take a closer look. 

Fibromyalgia and massage therapy

Anecdotally, many people with fibromyalgia have long said that massage therapy has helped them find pain relief. But studies examining the relationship between massage therapy and fibromyalgia are still in their relatively early phases, having used only small sample sizes.

That said, the research that has been conducted reveals some exciting connections for people with fibromyalgia. Beyond alleviating pain, research has shown that massage therapy can help to:

• Improve your sleep quality
• Minimize tenderness at specific locations
• Reduce fatigue
• Minimize the use of painkillers
• Lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone
• Reduce stiffness
• Decrease anxiety and depression

Studies that examined overall quality of life found that it improved for fibromyalgia patients who chose massage therapy. 

That said, not all massages are created equal. While there are a variety of different types of massage that you can explore, it helps to work with a massage therapist who understands fibromyalgia. 

Personalized massage therapy treatment

Here at Integrated Pain Solutions, Dr. Snowball has extensive experience using massage therapy as part of a treatment plan for people with chronic conditions. She works with you to find the best types of massage to integrate into your fibromyalgia treatment. 

For example, we offer myofascial release, which helps to alleviate tension in your connective tissue, helping to elongate your muscle fibers. This can help ease some of the discomfort of fibromyalgia. 

We also offer trigger point therapy, during which we identify particularly tense places on your body and massage the area to deliver some release. 

These are just a couple of the types of massage therapy that can be effective for people with fibromyalgia. Come talk to our team so we can develop the best treatment plan for you. Call our office at 203-293-0549 or request an appointment online today.