Remedial massage is a deep tissue style massage, it is therapeutic in nature and designed to heal specific health issues, muscle problems and injuries. Massage therapists believe that everything in the body is interconnected and related and that if one part is injured it will in turn affect the whole body.
A person with an injured knee may then favour the other leg which will throw out the muscles in the hip and back leading to back ache. The tightening of these muscles may then cause an imbalance affecting the neck muscles which may then cause a head ache. So the client may come in complaining of persistent headaches where the primary cause of this problem is a knee injury.
A remedial massage therapist is trained to not only diagnose what is causing the problem - but to treat it with massage as well. Clients that visit a remedial massage therapist will have a consultation with them before any treatment takes place to find out what is causing the issue or injury. This consultation will take a variety of forms, usually questions and also a series of tests to see how much range of movement the client may have in certain muscles groups. For example if a client complains of headaches, the remedial massage therapist may ask the client to turn their head, to see how far their muscles will let the head turn to see if there is muscle tightness in the neck region which might be causing the problem.
The therapist will also closely observe the client’s posture. In the example above, the therapist might notice the client favouring one leg whilst walking and then discover that there has been a knee injury that needs to be fixed. Remedial therapists also use palpitation of the muscles which is generally just feeling the different muscle groups to feel if they are tight or shortened. Muscle tissue works by contraction. If muscles tissues are so shortened that it cannot work properly then sometimes it cannot contract further and is not able to do the work of the muscle.
This can occur from repetitive use of the muscle or it can occur from inaction, for example is an arm is in a sling for a long period of time. A remedial massage therapist will then use a variety of techniques to soften, stretch and manipulate the muscle so that it will start to work as it should again. These techniques include trigger point therapy. Trigger points are small, highly contracted areas of the muscle and your remedial therapist will manipulate these regions to release them. Trigger points are often a source of pain and releasing them can cause relief from tension and hurt. Sometimes trigger points cause referred pain.
So a trigger point maybe located in the shoulder but the pain maybe referred by the muscle to another region in the back. Remedial massage therapists are trained to diagnose referred pain and also treat the underlying cause. Remedial massage also uses a wide range of other techniques like deep tissue friction that warms and releases the muscles, relaxation massage strokes that soothe the muscles after the deep tissue work, and also stretching.
The therapist may ask the client to do follow up exercises and stretches at home to continue the work. Remedial therapists are qualified and have experience to deal with issues such as arthritis, tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, muscular injuries from sport, neck and back pain, headaches and whiplash.
To know more about massage therapists on the Gold Coast, simply visit Ripple Massage’s website at www.ripplemassage.com.au .
Ripple Massage has many qualified and experienced remedial massage therapists on staff . They will come to you in your home or accommodation.