What to Expect During Your First Medical Massage in Santa Barbara

Not all massages are the same, and that’s especially the case when it comes to a medical massage in Santa Barbara. There is a specific goal with a medical massage, and it’s all about your health and your needs.

Of course, when you go into something new, it’s normal to feel unsure. You want to understand how it differs from a massage at a spa and what the point in it is. Let’s take a look at the very first session to understand more about the medical massage.

Intake and Assessment

Whenever you go to any sort of medical appointment for the first time, there’s an intake session. This is a chance to assess why you’re there and talk about goals, and that’s exactly what the first session for a medical massage in Santa Barbara is for.

Your massage therapist will take a look at your medical history. There’s likely to be an intake form for you to fill out before the appointment to help with this. If you have areas of discomfort or you have a specific symptom you’re dealing with, now is the time to bring it up.

Your massage therapist will also ask questions about your daily activity and stress levels. There will be questions about previous treatments you’ve tried, as this is a way to assess the best way to treat the current issue.

There May Be a Physical Assessment

Once you’ve gone through the intake, your massage therapist will likely want to do a physical assessment. This is important for a medical massage in Santa Barbara, as it checks on any motion issues, posture problems, and even muscle tension. All of these could link back to the reason you’re in.

Your massage therapist will need to tailor the approach for you. This isn’t an all-over experience like a regular relaxation massage. This is a chance to focus on a specific issue, and it’s great for sport injuries, car accident injuries, and more.

Expect a Clinical Approach

You’ll likely find that your medical massage in Santa Barbara feels rather clinical. There likely isn’t the music and the essential oils that you’ll find in a spa. The hot stone treatments aren’t usually used, and there won’t be a focus on soft pressure to help you feel overall relaxed.

This is a medical treatment. Your massage therapist will want to work on specific parts of the body, more like a physiotherapist than a spa massage therapist. If something hurts, speak up. Some pressure is normal, but pain is not. Your massage therapist can only help you if you help them.

At the end of the first session, your massage therapist will go through findings and offer recommendations. Think of this as when a physiotherapist sends patients home with exercise. The whole point of the medical massage in Santa Barbara is to get to the root of the issue, and that is sometimes the way you sit or the exercises you do at home. Only you can make those changes, and you’ll find the entire process afterward is more natural and beneficial.