There are many ways in which to stay healthy. A well-balanced diet coupled with regular exercise can do a lot of good for your health. Unfortunately, even if you are extremely vigilant about your health status, you do tend to fall ill or get sick. And when you do, more often than not, you will be seeking the services of a medical professional who will give you medications and some other treatments. Sometimes, however, you don’t need doctors for the kind of health condition that you have. All you will ever need is one or two of the many different types of massages to soothe away your pain, make you relax, and help you feel a lot better.
Remedial Massage Therapy
When it comes to massages, people always equate it with relaxation. The soothing and calming effect of long gentle strokes on your body can literally make you feel good about yourself. You won’t necessarily feel your tired muscles anymore. However, there is another kind of massage that is designed primarily to treat certain musculoskeletal conditions. The primary purpose of this kind of massage is in the remediation of a particular health problem and not necessarily on promoting relaxation; although it is always a given when it comes to massage as a therapy. For example, a remedial massage in Ivanhoe provides a proven remedy for Australians and foreigners who would prefer a non-pharmacologic approach to the management of their chronic pain.
Compared with Relaxation Massage
As explained above, the different types of massages can often be classified according to its primary intended purpose. If the primary goal is to cure or treat a certain health condition or disease, then it is called a remedial massage therapy. If, on the other hand, the primary objective of the massage therapy session is to relax the muscles, then it is called a relaxation massage. The important thing to remember is that regardless of the purpose, the principles and techniques of massage therapies are essentially the same. Although there will be some subtle differences, these are often not so significant so as to create a very definitive description of what remedial massage and what relaxation massage truly is except for the sole purpose of either treating a disease or eliciting a more relaxed state, respectively.
For example, if you are familiar with aspirin, you know that its primary indication is as an analgesic or a drug that can alleviate pain. However, there are some patients who take aspirin not because they are in pain but rather they have a cardiovascular risk. They are taking aspirin primarily for its platelet de-aggregator effects. This means that aspirin can prevent the formation of blood clots which might prove fatal to a patient who has very narrow blood vessels of the heart muscle. So, if you have a fever and you take aspirin, then the aspirin is an analgesic. If you have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and your doctor prescribed aspirin, then aspirin is a platelet de-aggregator. The same thing applies with massage. If you use it to relax, then it is called relaxation massage. If you use it to treat a certain disorder, then it is called a remedial massage.
The Real Difference
Just like in your aspirin analogy, there is a subtle difference between a remedial massage and a relaxation massage. A remedial massage therapist can also perform a relaxation massage but a relaxation massage therapist can never perform a remedial massage. In fact, in Australia, remedial massage therapists must be duly licensed and accredited by the Australian Natural Therapist Association which requires a minimum diploma degree in remedial massage therapy. The reason for this is quite simple. Remedial massage therapists must be able to understand fundamental human anatomy and physiology in order to apply the massage techniques that are appropriate for a certain kind of health condition. As such, they need to be knowledgeable about pathophysiologic processes and how different massage techniques can be applied to elicit a desired therapeutic response. If you are familiar with the job of a physical therapist, it will be almost similar to that except that remedial massage therapists will only be focused on the application and utilization of tissue manipulation or massage as the principal form of therapy.
What Conditions Do Remedial Massage Therapists Treat?
Remedial massage has been shown to be particularly effective in the management of certain musculoskeletal problems such as sprains, spondylitis, strains, fibrositis, low back pain, arthritis, cramps, carpal tunnel syndrome, muscle atrophy, whiplash, frozen shoulder, and other sports injuries. Neuromuscular problems such as sciatica may also benefit from the manipulation techniques of a remedial massage therapist.
Many medical practitioners recommend the use of remedial massage therapy only as an adjunct to empirical management of the health condition or disease. Remedial massage therapy, like all types of therapies, cannot stand as the sole therapeutic modality for a given disease or health abnormality. Remedial massage therapy should work hand-in-hand with other more mainstream treatments.