We obviously do both here at Ripple, but do you know what's best for you?

This is one of the bigger questions we get here in Boston, and like most things the answer is -- it depends. Obviously, one of the bigger sway points to deciding what recovery supplementation service is best for you is asking yourself if you've recently just come off an injury, or have a history of being injured.

If you're someone that has had to give up what they love to do because of an injury, Physical Therapy is for you. Our Physical Therapists are the best option to get you out of pain or tightness and back to living your life. They do this through a combination of manual therapy, dry needling, joint mobilizations, and overall strength work.

But -- what if you've never really been injured, and are just looking for some bodywork to just feel good? This is where a sports massage can come into play.

Research shows that deep tissue massage can help promote recovery and speed up rest time in between exercises to get you back out there faster than ever. Really sore after a big workout? Are hips a little tight after a weekend of skiing? Or, just need some TLC because work has been stressful? Then a sports massage is for you!

A sports massage at Ripple includes your traditional deep tissue bodywork, but can also include cupping, instrument-assisted tool work, stretching, and just about whatever it takes to get you feeling relaxed and moving better. Sound like something you're interested in? We're running 50% off your first sports massage until the end of the month, don't miss out!

Does all this make sense? Even if it does, we’ve dived a little deeper into the biggest differences between the two. Here are our Top 3 differences between a Sports Massage and Physical Therapy!

#1 - Are you injured?

This is obviously the biggest turning point for which provider you need to see. Even if you’re just dealing with the niggles, seeing a Physical Therapist is going to be your best option. They can take you through an in-depth evaluation, pinpoint the exact root cause of your pain, carry out manual therapy, dry needling, and specific strength work to get you out of pain and feeling your best. If you’re injured, Physical Therapy is the best route to go. But — what you can do is use sports massage a supplementation to your PT routine. A massage therapist is going to be a great bodywork experience, and the relaxation you feel coming out of it will help reduce stress and therefore speed up recovery.

#2 - Relaxation and recovery, or injury prevention?

Two of the bigger reasons people seek out our services are 1) injury prevention and 2) recovery.

If you’re looking to get some bodywork to help recover from a weekend where you pushed it, sports massage is your answer. Getting a deep tissue massage along with cupping and other massage therapy tactics can help you relax and recover, and get back to what you love doing faster.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for injury prevention because you know how hard you push it, a Physical Therapy routine is your best route. Even if you’re not injured and just dealing with tightness, a Physical Therapist can assess your current fitness routine and take you through a joint by joint analysis to determine what body parts are tight, where you need to work on mobility, and what specific strength exercises you need to to make sure you don’t get hurt.

#3 - Price Points

Obviously, this is always a big question for a lot of people.

To keep a long story short, since we are a direct pay clinic, a Physical Therapy session is going to be a bit more expensive than a sports massage session. A PT can take you through a more in-depth evaluation, treat in a different scope of practice, and overall carry out a more precise session of injury prevention and reducing pain. A sports massage is going to be a bit more general and focus more on decreasing stress and increasing recovery times.

But — as always, this answer depends. The price point for our Physical Therapy service

One of the bigger questions we end up asking people is can you really put a price point on making sure you don’t get injured and can continue to live the life you want to? For most, that answer is no.

Even after reading this, you still may have no idea what’s best for you. Chances are, you fall within both categories and still don’t know which route you should go down.

Good news! There’s a solution for that. I offer up FREE 15-minute phone calls in which we can talk about where you're at now with your health and wellness program, what's holding you back from where you need to be, and what the best option is to get you there.

Book your FREE 15-minute phone call today!