What is Remedial Massage?

Massage Therapy can be described as the manipulation of soft tissues by trained massage therapists for therapeutic purposes. Massage Therapy promotes relaxation and eases emotional and physical stress, relieves headaches, and improves the function of the skin, the lungs and digestive organs.

Remedial massage is the application of different techniques in the treatment of muscular pain and dysfunction that affect human movement. It is a form of treatment that is applied in the preventative, corrective and rehabilitative phases of treatment. Remedial Massage is concerned with the restoration and maintenance of the soft tissue structures of the body.

Massage is known as the systematic and scientific manipulation of the soft tissue of the body and is used to promote health and well-being and is probably the oldest healing art known to man, recorded as being used by the Chinese, Greeks and Romans in ancient History.

Treatment techniques include:

  • Soft tissue manipulation
  • Deep tissue therapy
  • Thermal therapy
  • Myofascial release techniques
  • Stretch and strengthening exercises

Common conditions seen by Remedial Therapists:

  • Sporting injuries
  • Work Injuries
  • Motor Vehicle Injuries
  • Muscle and joint stiffness
  • Stress
  • Lower back pain
  • Neck pain
  • Sprains and strains
  • Headaches

Benefits of Massage

The benefits of massage are many and varied, including:

  • improves circulation and relieves congestion in the tissues
  • stimulates the production of red blood cells, and counters anaemia
  • promotes lymph flow which hastens the elimination of cellular wastes
  • helps clear muscles of lactic and uric acid that form during exercise
  • relaxes muscle hypertonicity and relieves muscle tension
  • improves muscle tone and delays muscle atrophy resulting for inactivity
  • deep massage can separate fascial fibres, and prevent the formation of adhesions
  • massage helps reduction of inflammation and oedema in joints and soft tissue
  • can alleviate or reduce pain, stiffness or soreness
  • stimulates increased proprieties and kinaesthetic awareness of the body

Massage assists the body’s natural ability to heal itself. It relaxes and tones the muscles preventing injuries, increases circulation and therefore improves the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to all body cells.

What to Expect the First Time You Come for a Massage

Any method of massage treatment at our practice is preceded by taking a medical history of the patient or client. A case history assists the therapist in making their assessment and planning your treatment. It highlights any crucial conditions that may need to be avoided during treatment or will require referral if necessary. Massage therapists do not diagnose illness and should not offer a cure, their role is assessment and treatment.

Your case history is confidential and nobody except the therapist should have access to it.

You may be asked some personal details while having an assessment. These questions are for the purpose of assessment and recommending preventative treatment and exercise. For example, sitting at a computer eight hours a day will affect many parts of the neck, shoulders and spine. You are not required to provide any information you do not feel comfortable giving, however understand that it may prevent accurate assessment and delay the response of your treatment.

Types of Treatments Used by Our Therapists

Acupressure
is part of Chinese Traditional Medicine and is often described as ‘acupuncture without needles’. Deep finger pressure is applied at certain points and can reduce tension, increase circulation and offer pain relief for many complaints, and removes energy blockages to promote good health. These points follow the energy channels of the body’s meridian lines. Acupressure encompasses the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit.
Baby / Infant Massage
Gentle touch is very important part of a baby’s existence and allows them to feel secure and loved. The benefits for the baby include improvement of their immune system, promotes better and deeper sleep, draws them into a relaxed state, can help alleviate pain from colic, gas congestion.
Bowen Therapy
is a very gentle, yet dynamic remedial therapy that empowers the body to heal itself. Exact moves over muscles, tendons and ligaments are applied to disturb the fascia. There are frequent pauses between each series of moves to allow the body time to benefit from the treatment. This promotes healing through physical, emotional, mental and energetic levels as well as relief from pain and discomfort from a multitude of chronic and acute conditions. Bowen does not interfere with the effectiveness of other disciplines.
Connective Tissue Massage
manipulates fascia, effectively removing restricted movement. Benefit for anyone who has chronic tension, poor posture, arthritis, tendonitis, TMJ and sciatica. Also referred to as Myofascial Release.
Corporate Massage
Our therapists can be contracted by an employer, as a health benefit for their staff. The massage is performed in the workplace and our therapists provide their own mobile massage chairs or tables. The client stays fully clothed and a session lasts 15 minutes with the therapist concentrating on back, shoulders, neck and arms. The clients feel relief from muscle tension, stress, headaches and back pain. This can result in less absence in the workplace, and improved company morale.
Foot Reflexology
is an entire system of massage devoted to the feet. The feet map out the entire body through a reflex mechanism so that by stimulating a certain area of the foot a corresponding organ or body part is simultaneously stimulated. The hands and ears are other areas of the body which have similar reflex maps inherent in their structure, but the feet correspond to the chronic state of the organs, etc., rather than to acute or sub-acute levels.
Periodic deep massage of the feet in a systematic manner can provide beneficial results in clearing up deep-seated metabolic irregularities and malfunctions. It is a thorough and deep massage which is primarily therapeutic in intent, although, because of the reflex action involved, one’s entire body feels as if it had just received a full massage after a Reflexology treatment.
Lymphatic Drainage
is a gentle whole body treatment which relaxes the nervous system and aids the body’s immune system. It involves a range of specialised and gentle rhythmic pumping techniques to move skin in the direction of the lymph flow through a network of lymph vessels and lymph nodes. This supports the body to naturally eliminate excess toxins, dead cells, viruses, bacteria and chemicals. Other benefits of this massage are: relieving fluid congestion, promoting wound healing, relieve stress and anxiety.
Mobile Service (Massage)
is available for clients who are unable to attend a clinic or find it more convenient to have a massage at home. The elderly and those recovering from surgery or other physiological conditions, parents with small children at home benefit from this service. Mobile massage is also offered at some hotels for business people, visitors and tourists. In all cases, stress relief and relaxation will be a major focus.
Myofascial Release Therapy
is a very gentle yet very effective hands-on manual therapy using sustained pressure into restrictions in the fascial system to eliminate pain and restore motion and function to the body. The therapy is based on the principle that poor posture, physical injury, illness and emotional stress can shift the body out of alignment and cause the intricate web of fascia to become tight and constricted. Fascia is a system of thin connective tissue that weaves continuously throughout the body including the muscles, bones, organs arteries veins etc. It connects every part of the body to every other part of the body. Adhesions and scar tissue may also be broken down with myofascial release therapy.
Remedial Massage / Deep Tissue Massage
focuses on the deeper layers of muscle tissue. It aims to release the chronic patterns of tension in the body, through slow strokes and deep finger pressure on the contracted areas, by either following or crossing over the muscle fibres, fascia and tendons. Usually used to address specific problems associated with chronic muscular pain, injury rehabilitations, sporting and occupational injuries, RSI, and physical and mental fatigue. The techniques can include Trigger Point Therapy, deep tissue massage and stretching thereby creating an improved range of motion through the joints. It’s important to drink plenty of water after a deep-tissue session to help eliminate toxins from the body.
Seated / Chair Massage
allows clients to remain fully clothed and seated in specially designed massage chair. Treatment is primarily done on the back, neck, shoulders and arms. Treatment can be with or without oil/lotions. This is an ideal method for those who need a ‘quick fix’ during their lunchbreak or for offices wishing to provide their staff with on-site chair massage service. Many businesses recognise the value of this office style treatment. Employees who receive the seated massage at the workplace have the ability to decrease their stress levels, improve morale and provide sense of well-being.
Swedish Massage
was originally developed in the late 18th Century by a Swedish fencing master as the first systematic system of therapeutic massage in the West. The strokes and manipulations of Swedish massage are each conceived as having a specific therapeutic benefit. One of the primary goals of Swedish Massage is to speed venous return from the extremities. Swedish Massage shortens recovery time form muscular strain by flushing the tissue of lactic acid, uric acid, and other metabolic wastes. It improves circulation and stretches the ligaments and tendons, keeping them supple and young. Swedish Massage also stimulates the skin and nervous system while at the same time relating the nerves themselves. Swedish Massage reduces stress, both emotional and physical, and is suggested in a regular program for stress management. It also has specific clinical uses in a medical or remedial therapy.