The experienced Massage Therapists at Medicine in Motion form an expert team that work with the other professionals within the Centre to offer a complete and thorough rehabilitation approach.  They are also experts unto themselves with accreditation in the following specialities:

• Sports Massage
• Myofascial Release
• Lymph Drainage Therapy
• Craniosacral Therapy

Specialty Types of Massage Therapy

All therapists are trained in Swedish Massage, a deep tissue treatment consisting of hands on techniques such as kneading, muscle stripping and trigger point release.  These trigger points or knots can be a great cause of discomfort.  Often, pain can be localized to knots in a muscle belly.  Once these points are removed, the pain dissolves as well.

Sports Massage

Sports massage is an effective tool for management for an injury as well as a preventation.  As a part of the sports medicine treatment model, massage can reduce swelling from acute injuries as well as alleviate scaring and improve circulation to older chronic injuries.

As a means to prevention, athletes benefit form the positive effects of this massage before an event as a ‘warm-up’ and after an event as a cool-down or recovery method.  As well, ‘tune-ups’ during their training season can reduce muscle tension, improve circulation and waste product removal thus improving recovery from hard training.  Another benefit is improved movement efficiency during training.

Therapists modify the pressure they use, so massage can be beneficial to athletes during all points of their training schedule i.e. lighter massage on competition days, and deeper during times of recovery.  Massage therapy can also help improve posture, eliminate pain, increase flexibility and relieve stress.

Myofascial Release

Fascia is similar to a ‘saran wrap’ that covers all of our bones, muscles and organs.  Sometimes, that wrap becomes very tight and painful.  Patients that suffer from plantar fasciitis in the bottom of their feet can benefit from this treatment.  While this technique can be tender to the patient, the relief experienced, is well worth it.  Tight fascia can also cause restricted range of motion as in a frozen shoulder.  Patients that have undergone abdominal surgery, lumpectomies, mastectomies or reconstruction surgery usually notice a decrease in the puckering of the skin around the incision with this treatment.

Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT)

Focusing on the lymph nodes and vessels, this gentle technique quickly eliminates excess fluid (swelling, edema) from an area and restores proper recirculation of body fluids.  This is excellent for acute injuries such as sprains and strains or for more chronic conditions such as post surgical edema i.e. knee replacement, lumpectomy, and mastectomy.  Often oncologists remove numerous lymph nodes that disrupt the lymphatic pathways.  Lymphedema can occur in the arm or leg on that side.  LDT is also extremely beneficial to cancer survivors that have been treated with chemotherapy or radiation as it aids in the detoxification of the entire body.  Patients with Fibromyalgia that experience chronic muscle pain find LDT more comfortable on their bodies than traditional deep tissue massage.  This therapy is also used to treat burns and scar tissue.

Craniosacral Therapy (CST)

This technique is the lightest of all therapies.  Using about the weight of a nickel, CST is extremely effective in treating numerous conditions.  Focusing mostly on the head, neck and jaw area often headaches, migraines and insomnia can be relieved.  Patients suffering from chronic jaw pain may also find relief.  This therapy can be invaluable for people that have experienced any sort of trauma to the head i.e. concussions as well as whiplash injuries from motor vehicle accidents.  Studies have shown that post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms have eased with CST.