"What is Remedial Massage?"

Hiya!

Ok, today's blog is in response to a question that I often get asked - "What is remedial massage?"

With so many different types of massage available, eg. Thai, Swedish, Shiatsu, Hot Stone, Reflexology etc., it can be confusing and sometimes, I find that the term Remedial Massage is in itself, quite ambiguous.

So, let's start by first defining the words 'Remedial' and 'Massage':

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, remedial has two definitions:

1. Intended as a remedy

2. Concerned with the correction of faulty study habits

And massage (originating from the French masser and Arabic massa), is defined as the manipulation of tissues (as by rubbing, kneading or tapping) with the hand or an instrument for therapeutic purposes.

So put together, it appears that Remedial Massage is a remedy which is administered via the manipulation of tissues - right?

Yes... and no!

Remedial massage actually is a whole lot more than that.

It is a holistic way of treating the body which looks at the entire body as a functional whole, as well as targets the specific area that requires attention.

The body is a wonderfully complicated mechanism and often, the site of pain is a symptom, not the cause.

So the primary aim of a remedial massage therapist is to find and treat the cause rather than just provide temporary relief.

For example, most people have experienced pain in their shoulders and upper back area - usually just above the shoulder blades. Rubbing that area when it feels tense will bring greater blood flow to the area and provide temporary relief.

But when you visit your remedial massage therapist, they might ask you - do you spend long hours sitting in front of a computer?

More often than not the answer is yes, and no, they never sit in the ideal touch-typist's posture all day long.

These people are usually hunched over the keyboard and hyperextending their neck as they look up at the screen. This puts stress on the trapezius muscle as it is virtually being over-used for extended periods every day and as such, will manifest itself as a chronic pain in that area. They might also be able to feel a "knot" or adhesion, which basically blocks the circulation to the area and creates pain while inhibiting movement.

The rhomboid muscles (the area between your shoulder blade and spine) will often also be affected as well as they're being consistently over-stretched on a daily basis.

Your remedial massage therapist can use deep tissue massage techniques such as applying pressure and/or friction to the area in a specific manner. This will help by physically breaking down the adhesions, thereby increasing blood flow to the area and relieving the pain as well as relaxing the muscles.

With deep tissue massage, sometimes people may experience a little discomfort or pain during the session - it is very important for you to communicate with your therapist during your treatment if the pain is outside of your threshold levels.

Also, some people may experience stiffness or pain following a deep tissue massage - this is not uncommon and will subside within a day or two.

A good therapist also understands that your body and your muscles work by contracting and relaxing in combination with each other.

Sometimes the person with the pain will also be quite tender in their chest area - this is because as they are hunching over, they're keeping their pectoralis muscles shortened or in a state of constant contraction.

Massaging the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor in particular, will help to release and relax those muscles, which means that when the person sits at the computer desk in the following weeks, that they will not hunch as much and therefore, put less strain on their back and shoulder muscles.

Your remedial massage therapist will also show you specific stretches that you can do every day to help strengthen or relax particular muscles and as such, you will be able ensure that you're looking after your health in between your regular treatments.

So, as you can see, remedial massage isn't just about the massage itself - a good therapist will look at the body as a functional whole and identify the reason as to why you're experiencing the pain, and help you to eliminate it using a variety of techniques.

I hope that this has helped you to understand a little more about what it is that I do, and if you have any questions or would like more information - please feel free to post a comment below!

Until next time... yours in health,

Mel