Remedial Massage

Have you ever booked a Remedial Massage for a specific ailment like a sore lower back or leg. Told your therapist about it and then the therapist has gone about the massage like it is a rehearsed routine? That is something you will NOT get at Total Performance Centre. Mick listens to what your problem is and uses all his knowledge to try to help you the best he knows how.

Testimonial

Katie From Peregian” Very professional, thorough and left the treatment in much more comfort than I walked in. Would recommend to anyone and will go back again. Thank you!!”

You may come in for a sore lower back and find you get your neck worked on or doing some specific strength exercises that you may not initially see the significance of. But everything done during your appointment will be about helping with the pain problem you are having. For instance if you are having shoulder impingement issues the pain may be in the front or side of the shoulder. But the problem is in the back of the shoulder. So we may do some massage release work on the rear of the shoulder and you may then get some specific strength work for the front muscles in the shoulder.

Because we believe that if you take tension out of one side of the joint you need to replace it on the other side of the joint otherwise the original problem will return.

Remedial massage is designed to balance muscle/soft tissue length, tension and tone which will in turn promote the return to normal joint/capsular/bone position; increase the flow of blood and lymph, particularly in the injured areas, thus removing blockages, damaged cells, scar tissue and adhesions resulting from injury.

Mick does a number of different modalities during each and every Remedial Massage appointment. The following is a list of the commonly used terms that people look for in a massage.

Testimonial

Amelia Watkinson Professional Triathlete - 2020 Ironman Cairns Winner “Hey Mick thank you for yesterday! Feeling looser yet not sore :-) and gammy left calf felt a little less gammy on my first ride this morning!”

Modalities

Counter Strain

Is the newest tool in my tool box. As remedial massage therapists the main tool in your tool box is the hammer. To hammer or basically beat up soft tissue until it hopefully succumbs to the onslaught of pressure and releases.

Counter strain is something completely different. Where we find the tight / sore spot and move the body in to a position of ease. What does that mean? Basically finding a joint angle where the patients brain begins to reduce the firing signal to the muscle that is in dysfunction and causing pain. Usually with in 60 - 90 seconds the brain switches of the muscle allowing normal blood flow to return and local inflammation to begin to drain away like it would in normal healthy tissue. As this happens pain and discomfort begin to subside and quite often can completely resolve.

Currently I have only taken the lower body Counter strain course. So I am concentrating on from the hips down at the moment with this treatment protocol.

Deep Tissue Therapy

It involves applying sustained pressure using slow, deep strokes to target the inner layers of your muscles and connective tissues. It can feel quite uncomfortable. But it should not hurt to the point you are trying to crawl of the massage table.

Myofascial Dry Needling

Dry needling is one of the quickest ways to inactivate myofascial trigger points. Mick will insert a common acupuncture needle directly into the painful area of the muscle, it can be very useful where the affected area is so painful that no meaningful pressure can be applied to the area. With the needle being so small and the overall pressure is low the needle can affect great change rapidly.

Sports Massage

Currently there is no official Sports massage qualification in Australia. Sports massages are in reality remedial massages. The sports massage can include the following: stretching tight muscles, stimulating inactive muscles and improving the condition of the soft tissue.

The aim of sports massage is to reduce the stress and tension that can build up in the soft tissues of the body during exercise.

Some of the techniques commonly used in the USA which has a Sports Massage course include the following. All of which Mick has done courses in and had many great successes over the last 16 years.

  • soft tissue release: locking and stretching the tissues and muscles

  • neuromuscular technique: targeting trigger points in the nervous system to get rid of pain and tension

  • positional release: used to relax hyperactive muscles

  • fascial release: deep, slow kneading used to release the connective tissues around the muscles

IATSM

Instrument assisted soft tissue Mobilisation (IASTM) is a popular treatment for myofascial restriction. IASTM uses specially designed instruments to provide a mobilising effect to myofascial adhesions. There are several IASTM tools and techniques are available through the Remedial Massage world. At Total Performance Centre we use the Rock-tape Rock Blades methodology as it seems to have more science behind it and tends to leave less of the big bruise looks that other techniques tend to leave. Other names you may know this treatment as is Gua Sha or Graston Technique.

 

Trigger Point Therapy:

Trigger points, also known as trigger sites or muscle knots, are described as hyper-irritable spots in skeletal muscle that are associated with palpable nodules in taut bands of muscle fibres. Trigger point massage therapy is specifically designed to alleviate the source of the pain through cycles of isolated pressure and release.

ALL OF THESE ARE PART OF A REMEDIAL MASSAGE APPOINTMENT AND NONE OF THEM COST ANY EXTRA OR REQUIRE SEPERATE APPOINTMENTS. THEY CAN BE USED SEPERATELY OR AS A PART OF A STRATEGY TO GIVE YOU THE CLIENT THE BEST CHANCE OF A FAVOURABLE OUTCOME.

 

Kinesiology Taping: 

The Kinesio Taping Method involves taping over and around muscles in order to assist and give support or to prevent over-contraction. The first technique gives the practitioner the opportunity to actually give support while maintaining full range of motion. Kinesio Taping is a great adjunct to a remedial massage session in certain circumstances. If you require Kinesio taping it will cost an additional $5 for the taping to cover the cost of the tape.