Treatment

Welcome

Massage helps activate the body's natural ability to heal itself.  It relaxes and tones muscles, preventing injuries, and increases circulation, improving the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to all body cells.

Myotherapy

Myotherapy treats acute or chronic muscle tension and associated pain through a range of techniques including myofascial release, stretching, myofascial dry needling, electrical stimulation (tens), nutrition and exercise advice. This style of therapy helps loosen muscle tissues, releases toxins from the muscles and gets blood and oxygen circulating properly.

Remedial Massage 

Remedial massage uses different techniques to treat muscular pain and dysfunction that can affect our movement. It can be 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. Treatments can include trigger point therapy, muscle energy techniques, myofascial release, stretches and exercise.

Pregnancy Massage

During pregnancy a woman may experience body aches and pains, headaches, nausea, fatigue, anxiety and depression – symptoms that can be reduced by massage. Different treatments in different stages of pregnancy can improve circulation, reduce stress to postural muscles, decrease oedema and increase relaxation.

During the first trimester – a period of rapid cellular development for the baby – the most common symptoms are morning sickness and headaches. Gentle relaxation massage may aid these.

Throughout the second and third trimesters, the woman’s centre of gravity moves forward and the lower back muscles have to work harder to support the spine and the growing belly. She may experience more energy but find lying flat uncomfortable. The ligaments in the pelvis soften as the hormone relaxin is produced, sometimes causing instability and pain. Prescription exercises and massage can help with these changes.

Deep Tissue Massage

The focus here is on releasing the deeper layers of muscle tissue, using deep muscle compression and friction along the muscle fibres.

Sports Massage

Although it was designed to help athletes prepare their bodies for optimal performance, recovery and training, sports massage is not just for athletes. It is used to treat chronic pain, to promote healing of injuries to the muscles and tendons and to increase range of movement and flexibility. Generally the massage therapist will concentrate on a specific problem area, such as lower back or neck and shoulders.

Myofascial Release

Soft tissue is loosened by means of a slow, broad pressure designed to lengthen the fascia and muscle.  Sometimes clients might be asked to participate by moving or resisting pressure applied by the massage therapist.

Muscle Energy Techniques

This technique is highly effective in lengthening and strengthening muscles.  Muscles are taken to their point of resistance, and a number of gentle contractions are then required to restore muscle integrity and normalise joint motion.

Stretches

Passive stretches may be carried out to complete your session.  This will help restore the muscle memory and lengthen the muscle.

Exercise Prescriptions

As part of your session, we might recommend exercises to help target muscles needed to improve posture and prevent injury. Practiced regularly such exercises help reactivate and strengthen muscles, re-establishing muscle integrity and targeting the cause of the condition, be it lower back pain, neck pain, vertigo or something else.  These exercises may vary from five to 30 minutes per day depending on the condition.

Trigger Point Therapy

Taut tender bands found in a muscle are referred to as trigger points. Physicians Dr Travell and Dr Simons have defined a myofascial trigger point as a “hyperirritable spot in a skeletal muscle”. The spot is painful on compression and can give rise to characteristic referred pain and tenderness.

By applying pressure to these points, we can deactivate them, helping reduce pain and discomfort in the area.

Myofascial Dry Needling

Myofascial dry needling is a very effective way to help with acute and chronic pain where trigger points may be active.

With myofascial dry needling we help deactivate trigger points using an acupuncture needle (this is not to be confused with acupuncture, which is quite different). This is one of many modalities that may be used within a treatment to help deactivate these points.

Foot Reflexology

Foot-reflexology is a unique method of using thumb pressure to stimulate reflex areas in the feet that, through meridian channels, correspond to all glands, organs and parts of the body.