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Chiropractor Massage Tools

Chiropractors routinely work with back and neck muscles to relax their patients. Although some practitioners rely solely on their hands to feel out necessary adjustments, most have resorted to the greater efficiency of tools to get the job done. In fact, several tools used by chiropractors to help massage and adjust the back muscles during an adjustment session are available for purchase.

  1. T-Bar Tool

    • Janet Travell, President John F. Kennedy’s personal physician and author of the book “The Trigger Point Manual,” says that “trigger points are hyperirritable points in your skeletal muscles that are associated with palpable nodules in tight bands of your muscle fibers.” T-Bar tools are used to dig through and reach the deepest parts of skeletal muscle. Several types of T-Bar tools are on the market, but they look similar, with a large wooden handle holding a small dowel protruding from the center. The dowel has a rubber tip. Different tip shapes are used to work different muscles. T-Bar tools are used in chiropractic medicine to reduce trigger point pressure and to relax the patient before an adjustment.

    Body Relaxer

    • Chiropractic treatments involve the deep relaxation of muscle tissue. While a hand massage is a thorough and detailed way to help a client to relax before an adjustment, a thorough massage can take hours and require even more time than the adjustment. To save time and effort, many chiropractors use the Body Relaxer. This machine has a high-powered electric motor which vibrates a massage plate at 2,800 to 3,500 vibrations per minute. The contact plate is worked over the back or massaged area by the chiropractor allowing for extra attention to be paid to a single area (if needed).

    Traumeel Gel

    • Chiropractors working on traumatized or injured patients may need an additional chemical treatment to release tensed muscles. Traumeel gel is a combination of muscle relaxants including calendula, chamomile, Echinacea and ethanol. The ointment is applied generously to the very tense areas (not over a large area) to help loosen up the muscles. The back or tensed area can then be worked by a normal massage to ready a patient for a necessary adjustment.

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