What is Remedial Massage?
Remedial massage therapy is a massage-based application used to treat several conditions affecting the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the body. Remedial massage is a key component of sports medicine but is beneficial for anyone suffering from pain or injury in a particular area of the body. Remedial massage is the application of a range of therapeutic techniques, used to treat muscles that are knotted, tense, stiff, or damaged. The remedial therapist will assess and identify which areas of the body require treatment and use a range of massage-based techniques to optimise muscle function. Treatment is determined after an assessment and the specific location is worked on using manual therapies to reduce any pain or increase body movement depending on the condition.
What does a remedial Massage Therapist do?
A remedial massage therapist uses systematic assessment to treat specific parts of the body that is suffering from pain or injury. A variety of Massage techniques are used to reduce pain and increase range of motion and help with rehabilitation.
Who should see a Remedial Massage Therapist?
Anyone suffering from pain or injury can benefit from seeing a remedial massage therapist. During your initial appointment, the therapist will determine if they can provide the required treatment or refer you on to another healthcare professional that will be able to provide your required care.
What areas can a remedial Massage therapist treat?
A remedial Massage Therapist can treat areas of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and connective tissues of the body, that are causing pain, imbalance or restricting movement.
What are the benefits of Remedial Massage?
1. Improves joint mobility
By using joint mobilisation techniques, a remedial massage therapist can make a joint more mobile, and help to reduce stiffness, pain, and a quicker recovery from injury.
2. Improves recovery
When we damage our body tissue, collagen fibres are used to repair the injured area, which creates scarring. This collagen scarring is critical for repair, but tough in texture, and can create painful, restricted movement. Remedial massage helps to soften and mobilise the collagen fibres, which relieves tightness and pain.
3. Reduces depression and anxiety
Single sessions of massage therapy have been shown to significantly reduce anxiety, dampening emotions such as apprehension, worry, and tension in both adults and children. This evidence is well-supported by scientific research. Anxiety and depression create other detrimental health problems, making massage therapy a highly effective health-booster.
4. Pain relief
Your skin is full of nerve endings (up to 10,000 per square metre), which can make the touch of a massage therapist a rich sensory experience that helps to relieve pain. During every moment of a massage, the cutaneous sensory nerve endings are sending thousands of impulses to the brain, creating pleasant, calming sensations, slowing the breath, and shifting into the “rest and digest” parasympathetic state. Massage works by affecting the nervous system directly and dampening any pain that you are feeling.
5. Improved heart rate regulation
Remedial massage can include gentle stretching, which for people with low flexibility, has shown to improve the balance between their sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (vagal modulation and sympathovagal balance), and resulted in better heart rate regulation.
6. Promotes relaxation
Remedial massage is not considered as relaxing as other types of massage but can still create a relaxing state that lowers blood pressure, increases blood flow to major muscles, improves digestion, balances blood sugar levels, and dampens chronic pain.
How frequently should you see a Remedial Massage Therapist?
You should see a Remedial massage therapist as often as you feel the need. In a case where injury needs more frequent visits your Remedial Massage Therapist will advise how often you should attend for treatment.
