7 benefits of remedial massage

Maybe your neck is stiff and aching.
Maybe you have niggling pain in your lower back.
Maybe you’re battling stress and are holding tension in your shoulders.

Remedial massage may be just what you need to ease muscle tension, release trigger points and promote healing.

What is remedial massage?

Remedial massage is a hands-on therapy that focuses on certain parts of your body that need rehabilitation after damage or injury. It involves a thorough assessment and treatment of the particular muscles, tendons, ligaments and connective tissues that are implicated in your pain to enhance your body’s own healing processes, help ease your symptoms and restore function.

Your experience of remedial massage will depend on the problem being treated. Sometimes deep, intense pressure is required. Sometimes remedial massage is more gentle.

Remedial massage therapists undergo extensive training in anatomy and physiology, meaning we understand your body’s structure and function and how this can be affected by injury or illness.

In contrast to deep tissue massage which might be done all over your body, remedial massage is usually targeted at certain areas such as the site of your pain. Sometimes, though, you might be experiencing referred pain, meaning you feel sore in one part of your body, but the real cause of your pain is somewhere else. Remedial massage may then ease pain by treating the causal area as well as the symptomatic area.

Who benefits from remedial massage?

Remedial massage helps people dealing with a wide range of health issues including:

• Arthritis
• Fatigue
• Chronic pain
• Sports injuries
• Other injuries like whiplash
• Neck pain
• Back pain
• Shoulder pain, e.g. frozen shoulder
• Headaches
• Anxiety and depression
• The side effects of chronic conditions like diabetes or cancer.

7 benefits of remedial massage for body and mind

So, how does remedial massage work? What benefits does it deliver? Here are 7 interesting benefits of remedial massage.

1. Increased blood flow
   Remedial massage stimulates your circulatory system, encouraging healing blood flow to the injured area.
2. Improving joint mobility
   Sore knees, hips or shoulders? Remedial massage loosens overtight muscles surrounding a stiff joint. Your remedial massage therapist can use joint mobilisation techniques to help an affected joint move more easily through its range of motion, reducing stiffness and pain.
3. Relieving pain
   Ever wonder why you feel so good after a massage? It’s because your skin is packed with sensitive nerve endings that respond to your massage therapist’s touch. Throughout the massage, your nervous system responds in a positive way, communicating happy messages to your brain and resulting in a pleasant, calm feeling that makes your pain fade.
4. Improving recovery
   Your body uses collagen fibres to repair injured tissue, creating tough scarring which is vital to the initial repair job. However, collagen’s toughness can restrict your movements and cause pain. Remedial massage provides a way to soften and mobilise the collagen fibres to relieve tightness and pain.
5. Restoring optimal form and function
   If your habitual posture is poor or if you’ve been compensating for an injury, you may have developed some unevenness in your musculoskeletal system. Remedial massage helps to balance the length, tone and tension of your soft tissues and restore your bones to their correct position so that your whole body moves more easily.
6. Improving sleep
   Evidence shows that massage can improve sleep in a wide variety of patients. Remedial massage’s role in easing pain may also help improve sleep.
7. Reducing anxiety and depression
   Massage is both a relaxant and a mood-booster. It’s been shown to reduce anxiety, apprehension, worry and tension in both adults and children.

Remedial massage at Physionorth

Physionorth has four fully qualified massage therapists, who work alongside our physiotherapists to get the best results for you.

We’ve seen how patients benefit from a remedial massage that restores the body and soothes the mind. As a multidisciplinary clinic, we’re able to integrate remedial massage into your broader treatment plan for your chronic condition or injury. Alternatively, you may choose to experience remedial massage as a standalone treatment.

Magda Szyperska, Carissa Elliot, and Gypsy Dal Mina are experienced in several different types of massage, including remedial massage.

If you think remedial massage would help you, then we encourage you to Book an appointment.

*All information is general in nature. Patients should consider their own personal circumstances and seek a second opinion.