Therapy Services
Pain and Postural Analysis
Pain and Postural Analysis session begins with an evaluation of the structure, form and function of the body wherein patients are taught how postural distortion and dysfunctional movement patterns impact the body’s health and vitality.
During the initial visit, the Integrative Therapist measures various structures of the body to evaluate for postural distortions and biomechanical dysfunction. This analysis points to the cause of pain. Examining the soft tissue helps determine what one (or more) of five factors are responsible for the pain: Ischemia, Trigger Points, Nerve Compression or Entrapment, Postural Distortion, and Biomechanical Dysfunction.
- Ischemia is a lack of blood supply to soft tissues, causing muscle pain and discomfort.
- Trigger Points produce pain/discomfort in areas of the body other from where treatment work is being done. For example, when palpating the shoulder, pain is felt down the arm.
- Nerve Compression or Entrapment is pressure on a nerve by bone, cartilage or soft tissue. As the tightness increases, discomfort, pain, numbness, etc. can be experienced.
- Postural Distortion is an imbalance of the muscular system resulting from movement of the body off the coronal, mid-sagittal and horizontal plane. Trauma, gravitational pressure or psychological patterning causes the soft tissues to assume a weight-bearing function and thus become thicker, denser and harder resulting in muscle contraction, body distortion and pain.
- Biomechanical Dysfunction is an imbalance of the musculoskeletal system resulting in faulty movement patterns. Repetitive strain of certain soft tissues results in adapted movement patterns that become muscular “habits” and must be re-educated to function properly.
Once the evaluation is complete, the therapist will use rehabilitation techniques designed to produce the most efficient and long-lasting results for the problem(s) presented. Some of the goals for this rehabilitation are:
- Locate and eliminate spasms, hyper-contraction and trigger points from the soft tissues;
- Restore postural alignment, proper biomechanics or movement patterns;
- Restore flexibility and increase blood flow to the tissues;
- Rebuild strength of the injured, weak, and/or atrophied tissues;
- Build endurance of the tissues for permanent results.
Myoskeletal Alignment Therapy
Myoskeletal Alignment Therapy (MAT) is a type of bodywork which blends the principles of osteopathy and structural integration to relieve chronic pain, and to reduce the potential for the emergence of pain which could become chronic over time. This technique is often integrated into regular bodywork sessions, and it can also be used alone to treat systemic problems. Practitioners of this therapy can be found in many regions of the world. The focus of this technique is on back and neck pain in particular, since this type of pain is extremely common in the industrialized world.
The basic idea behind Myoskeletal Alignment Therapy is that back and neck pain are caused by fundamental problems with the musculoskeletal system. Tight, stressed muscles contribute to pain by limiting freedom of movement, while weak muscles provide inadequate support for the body. This in turn leads to posture problems, stiffness, and other symptoms which create an endless cycle of pain. By addressing the fundamental issues in the muscles and fascia, practitioners hope to eliminate the associated symptoms.
Structural integration and osteopathy both rely heavily on the manipulation of the muscles, fascia, and skeletal system with the goal of promoting general musculoskeletal health. The idea behind structural integration is that if someone's body can be aligned properly, his or her health problems can be dramatically reduced, because the body will work as a whole. Osteopathic practitioners share this idea, arguing that many chronic health conditions are related to musculoskeletal problems.
Medical Manual Therapy
The purpose of this therapy is to deal with any dysfunctional areas or problems in the soft-tissues of the body. It is usually used for patients who are recovering from injuries or surgical procedures. It is also used when treating a patient for an auto accident or slip and fall case involving insurance.
After an injury has occurred, the patient usually avoids using those muscles of the body until the injury has healed. During this time, with no use or movement of the affected area, these muscle groups become very stiff and out of shape. Medical Manual Therapy is used to slowly rehabilitate the unused muscles. It helps to promote healthy movement and functioning of the newly healed area of the body while also preventing further injuries from occurring.
During a session, the Manual Therapist will manipulate the soft tissues of the body using various hand techniques, active and passive stretching, range of motion techniques, and possibly the use of other therapeutic modalities in support such as hot or cold therapy. Medical Manual Therapy is used to improve the general well being of the patient. Each session typically lasts between 15 to 60 minutes.
Medical Manual Therapy is not a treatment available to anyone. It is specifically designed for those individuals recovering from injury or surgery and need muscle rehabilitation. Its goal is to use a series of manual therapy treatments to correct the affected areas of the muscle-skeletal system while reducing pain at the same time.
Some of the various techniques that may be used in combination with the Medical Manual Therapy are: lymphatic drainage, connective tissue therapy, neuromuscular therapy, neuro-fascial therapy, osteopathic manual therapies, oriental medicinal techniques, stretching and positional release techniques, reflex techniques, and trigger point therapies. The exact combination of therapies will depend on the specific client and their individual needs. The Manual Therapist will first do an assessment of the patient and determine their specific needs and problem areas that need to be treated. Often, the patient will also be given a series of self-care techniques that they can do on their own at home. Medical Manual Therapy and home exercises will further enhance their recovery to good health and fitness.
Sports Injury Therapy, Management and Rehabilitation
Perhaps the greatest benefit of a Sports Injury Therapy is that it consists of specific components designed to cut down on sports-related injuries. It specifically alleviates muscle tension and inflammation post-event, and provides a warm-up to loosen muscles for amateur and professional athletes pre-event.
All athletes are looking to improve their sports performance and get a leg up on their competition be they Olympic athletes, professional athletes or weekend warriors. To do this, a rigorous training schedule is implemented in order to enhance their skills, strength, endurance and speed. Unfortunately, as the level of training is increased, so is the risk of injury.
As an athlete boosts their training schedule, they almost always overuse their muscles, causing strain, tears and imbalances in the soft muscle tissues. Additionally, tragic is the fact that most athletes, in their quest to improve, ignore aches and pains until they turn into serious injuries. The more a sports injury is ignored; the more susceptible it becomes to further strain and injury.
One way to encourage muscle repair after training is with Sports Injury Therapy. This therapy will help release any built up tension and lactic acid in the overworked muscles so that blood and oxygen can return to the muscle and effectively promote muscle repair. Sports Injury Therapy, if received as part of a sports program, can help an athlete prevent injury due to overuse.
In addition to using regular sessions as part of your sports program, it can also benefit an athlete in the following ways:
Pre-Event Therapy: - can help athletes prepare for a competitive event. A pre-event treatment is brief and invigorating, usually lasting 15-20 minutes. It is given within an hour before the sporting event, through the clothes to warm up the muscles.
Post-Event Therapy: should be calming and relaxing. Its goal is to ease muscle pain (by decreasing tension), muscle soreness (by dispersing lactic acid), and to reduce inflammation. Post-event treatments should last no more than 15- to 20-minutes, and it should be administered through the athlete’s clothes. Post-event treatments encourage the return of blood and oxygen to tense areas, and they flush out metabolic waste products that have built up during strenuous muscle use.
Neuromuscular Therapy
Neuromuscular Therapy enhances the function of joints, muscles, and the general arthrokinematics of the body. It can also improve healing by facilitating the return of appropriate core (lumbo-pelvic-hip) muscle function throughout the entire kinetic chain. A special focus is given to the treatment of trigger points, local ischemia, neural interferences, postural and biomechanical dysfunctions, nutritional factors and emotional wellbeing.
Neuromuscular Therapy will feel painful at first, but the pressure of the therapy should alleviate the muscle spasm. At this point, it is extremely important to communicate with the therapist regarding the pressure - whether the pressure is too much, too little, getting better, getting worse.
Deep Muscle Therapy
Deep Muscle Therapy helps release myofascial restrictions within the body. The theory behind this type of therapy is that when chronic knots (also referred to as adhesions) exist within the deep muscle tissues, the body’s natural balance is thrown off.
Until the natural balance is restored, injured fibrous tissues can cause chronic joint and muscle pain, poor posture and coordination, as well as a plethora of other health ailments.
Deep Muscle Therapy aims to relieve the chronic tension throughout the muscles and fibrous tissues within the body. It is also known to increase flexibility and range of motion, and greatly improve posture and restore the body’s natural harmony.
When a practitioner performs Deep Muscle Therapy on you, they aim to encourage the lymphatic and circulatory systems. This promotes the release of hazardous toxins in the body, and it also encourages the body to repair any damaged cells. Deep Muscle Therapy has been known to help heal minor muscle strains and connective tissue injuries, in addition to helping soothe more serious muscle conditions - such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and even to lessen the symptoms associated with Muscular Dystrophy.
The strokes of this therapy are applied with more pressure in order to stimulate the deeper muscles and surrounding tissues. Deep Muscle Therapy is often uncomfortable, but the practitioner will only work as deeply as the client is comfortable with. This means that the client must keep their practitioner informed of their pain tolerance at all times during the session. A session can range from 20-mintues to 2 hours.
Therapeutic Massage
Therapeutic Massage is designed specifically around the area of neuromuscular therapy. This type of therapy focuses on increasing recovery rates of muscular injuries, fixing muscular imbalances, and relieving chronic pain. Soft tissue release is a popular form of therapy among athletes as it is a quick and effective way of achieving strength and flexibility after muscular injuries.
The basic idea behind this approach is to apply pressure to the muscles while it is being stretched. This integrated movement technique helps to correct muscular imbalances, including areas that have been injured or have scar tissue. It’s important to remember that this therapy allows you to communicate with your nervous system- it’s not just a manipulation of tissue. The application of rhythmic pressure during a stretching routine is communicating to the nervous system the re-programming of the muscles. This eliminates the old muscle memory of how your nervous system thinks your muscles should normally be like, which is why pain persists. When trauma occurs to muscle tissue, the affected area becomes inflamed. But once the muscle memory is evoked during Therapeutic Massage, the muscles are encouraged to return to their normal state and the inflammation decreases.
Even though it may sound painful, Therapeutic Massage does not put the body through any more pain than it is already experiencing. It is expected for the patient to maintain an active role throughout the therapy session. This is required for the special movements and stretches to be effective. At the end of the session you will also be taught how to perform some of the exercise and stretches by yourself at home which is important to maintain the recovery progress. You do not need to undress completely, but less clothing and stretchable fabric is easiest to move around in during the procedure.
How do you know if Therapeutic Massage is the right therapy for you? Well, if you experience any of the following symptoms then you could probably benefit from the treatment: frequent sports injuries, back pain, soft tissue injuries caused by car accidents, carpel tunnel syndrome, repetitive strain injuries, and office related injuries. Therapeutic Massage is an effective way to relieve muscle tissue pain and tension while preventing further damage.
Myofascial Release
The term Myofascial Release is derived from the Latin words myo (or muscle) and fascia (or elastic band). It’s no wonder many practitioners and chiropractors liken the stretching of muscles and ligaments to the stretching of an elastic band.
In practice, Myofascial Release is a gentle therapy, consisting of a mixture of light stretching and soft tissue work. During a session, the therapist will apply hands-on manual therapy in order to release tension from the fibrous bands of the muscles, bones, nerves and joints, by unblocking any scar tissue or adhesions due to injury in the muscles and surrounding tissues.
The specialist will often use light to moderate traction and twisting strokes to apply the appropriate tension on the soft tissue, and to achieve a full reflex range of the muscle. This slow and subtle technique can be used to unblock fascia and muscle throughout the body restoring total physical harmony.
Myofascial Release is a safe therapy that can be used as a preventative method or to promote the healing of an injured, stiff or painful muscle. However, this therapy has also been effective in treating patients with sloppy posture, chronic fatigue, severe tension and anxiety, as well as repetitive stress injuries of the muscular-skeletal system.
Myofascial Release therapy is applied hands-on, in kneading-style strokes that are meant to stretch, loosen, soften and lengthen muscle tissues. The strokes are applied with gentle pressure, and held for approximately 2-mintues in order for the stretch to have its full effect on the muscle. Typically the same stretch is performed more than once by the specialist until the muscle is totally relaxed and a release is felt. The practitioner will always apply manual therapy in the direction of the muscle fibers to encourage the full range of motion of the muscle.
A typical Myofascial Release session lasts an hour, and afterwards patients often rave about the total release of body tension they experience. This is why the treatment is often recommended to soothe a plethora of pain-associated conditions including migraine headaches, menstrual cramps, menopause-related pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, fibromyalgia, whiplash and muscle spasms.
Trigger Point Therapy
A Trigger Point, defined by Janet Travell, M.D., is "a hyper-irritable spot usually within a taut band of skeletal muscle or its fascia that is painful on compression and can give rise to characteristic referred pain, tenderness and autonomic phenomena.
Travell was one of the key figures in the 20th century in the development of this kind of therapy. Trigger points reduce full range of motion by preventing full lengthening of the muscle. Trigger Point Therapy releases these spots by using repetitive muscle stripping, ischemic compression and cold distraction "spray and stretch" techniques. Any stretching therapy that lengthens and strengthens has similar benefits to the practices of Pilates and yoga.
Trigger points propagate themselves. Once one part of the muscle reaches a state of hyper-irritability, the body's effort to compensate for this change will result in more symptoms cropping up in related musculoskeletal systems. For example, a trigger point in the trapezius (or upper back) may result in pain that radiates up the neck and down, through the shoulder, into the arm. In turn, as the body attempts to adjust to this pain, these secondary areas become vulnerable to the development of their own trigger points. As well, the activity that led to the development of the first trigger point will cause further exacerbation unless the behavior is identified and altered. Stopping this progression requires treatment.
Trigger Point Therapy's most basic treatment is focused compression. The trigger point is identified by probing with fingers or apparatus. The trigger point is a spot characterized by heightened discomfort in the patient and a noticeable hardness to the therapist. While the application of pressure on this spot causes the discomfort to become very clearly recognizable, it has the dual and counter-intuitive effect of feeling good at the same time.
Lymphatic Drainage
The lymphatic system is responsible for immune system regulation and fluid and waste removal. It is what helps rid the body of any toxins that may cause illness. When the lymphatic system slows down or becomes blocked, then fluids begin to build up, causing the whole body to feel tired and heavy, making us susceptible to catching sicknesses.
By stimulating the lymph nodes through this therapy, it helps to clear any blockages and gives the lymphatic system a boost keeping it running healthy and strong. This in turn keeps your body free of toxins and illness and while also creating a stronger immune system.
The actual session consists of gentle pressured and pumping movements towards the direction of the lymph nodes throughout the body. Depending on whether the practitioner is focused on only one specific area or is working on the entire body, a session can last anywhere between half an hour to two hours in length. Lymphatic Drainage is great for individuals who frequently suffer from illnesses, a faulty immune system, sports injuries, depression and emotional problems, stress, and low energy. It has been shown to have positive effects on the skin, to produce energy, and to help with respiratory problems. The treatment boosts the immune system making it easier to fight of disease and creates general feelings of vitality. It can also help the client deal with different types of pain because it evokes the body’s innate healing mechanisms. The main idea behind Lymphatic Drainage is that when our immune system is healthy, we are also strong and healthy.
Prenatal Soft Tissue Therapy
Prenatal Soft Tissue Therapy refers to specific techniques that have been shown to reduce pregnancy discomforts and to enhance the physiological and emotional well-being of both mother and fetus.
Pregnancy is a tumultuous period for a woman’s mind and body. Any woman who has been pregnant can sympathize with the mental and physical fatigue associated with being pregnant. Not only does a woman experience physical changes, she also experiences mental changes as well.
Soft Tissue Therapy has been known to calm many of the aches and pains associated with pregnancy such as sciatica, swelling, back and neck pain, and stomach upset. It has also been shown to improve physical discomforts by encouraging circulation and by stretching the muscles and joints to their full range of motion to improve skin elasticity and body tone. Studies show that pregnant women who receive regular Soft Tissue Therapy are more at ease - furthermore relaxing the fetus inside their womb.
Post-Pregnancy Soft Tissue Therapy
In the postpartum period, specialized manual therapy techniques can help to rebalance the structure of a woman’s body by improving skin elasticity and muscle tone. Soft Tissue Therapy also has a physiological effect on a new mother; it can help ease any postpartum depression and encourage her to bond with her new baby.
In all cases, a pregnant or post-pregnant woman should always ask their doctor if Soft Tissue Therapy is recommended before setting an appointment. Also, be sure to tell us you are pregnant when booking your appointment, to ensure you are scheduled with one of our therapists who specialize in Prenatal Soft Tissue Therapy.