The term “myotherapy” refers to a specialist form of massage that is employed by experts around the world.
While many forms of massage date back thousands of years, myotherapy was born in the mid-1970s, allowing practitioners to apply modern medical understanding during its development combined with the tried and tested methods of the past.
Why is Myotherapy Used?
The practice focuses on the remedial side of massage, where a specialist concentrates their technique on the treatment of sports injuries, muscular pain and tension as well as myofascial (or soft tissue) pain and swelling.
Many elements of myotherapy are applied with the intention of reducing tension, tightness pressure and discomfort by way of various “release” techniques.
What is Involved in Myotherapy?
There are a few different specialisms that make up myotherapy, including basic massage, trigger point therapy, dry needling, hot and cold therapy, stretching, the use of TENS (Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation), ultrasound and exercise prescription.
Specialists may employ just a few or all of the above approaches.
Basic myotherapy massage involves the expert use of elbows and knuckles as well as hands and fingers to manipulate areas of affected muscle to reduce pain and swelling.
Trigger point therapy is the practice of targeting sensitive spots in the body’s muscular system which can cause discomfort elsewhere if pressure is applied. Various techniques are used to reduce this kind of reaction and soothe the relevant part of the myofascial system.
Dry needling is a common practice within trigger point therapy. Once the correct trigger point has been located, a small needle is inserted and carefully moved around to relieve the pain and tension therein. You can also get trigger point injections, where local anaesthetic or saline is administered to the area.
Hot and cold therapy works best soon after an injury is sustained. It involves reducing the temperature of the affected area to slow the blood flow, then increasing it to speed it up again. This can help to prevent swelling, discomfort and further injury.
Stretching is a great tool in myotherapy. One can stretch the affected muscle to release tension and increase blood flow – tackling swelling – or a different muscle can be stretched to shift pressure from a painful spot. General stretching increases muscular flexibility, significantly reducing the risk of injury.
TENS machines are used to apply small electrical pulses through affected muscles to treat pain by stimulating nerves, increase blood flow and promote the production of endorphins.
Ultrasound has a similar effect to TENS but uses a particular type of vibration instead of electrical pulses. These waves vibrate affected areas of tissue – again stimulating nerves and blood flow.
Exercise prescription involves your myotherapy specialist creating a unique physical regime that you can follow regularly to target and treat a certain issue independently.
How to Arrange a Myotherapy Session
Freedom Sports Medicine is an integrated health clinic that offers Podiatry, Myotherapy, and Physiotherapy in Ringwood and surrounding areas. FSM is different from other integrated health clinics offering physio in Croydon, because we treat people thoroughly in a holistic manner. We do this by listening to our patients to find out how their problem affects them and why they want to get it treated so that they have a goal to aim for during recovery.
You can arrange a myotherapy session at our clinic simply by booking online today.
Our specialists don’t just treat the issue at hand and send you on your way – they listen carefully to your goals, physical health history and concerns to help you make tangible changes and improvements and to prevent injuries and other problems from reoccurring.
