WHAT IS “INTELLIGENT MASSAGE” & HOW CAN IT HELP ME?

Intelligent Massage doesn’t exist; it is a term I use to describe an enhanced form of Myofascial Release. What is Myofascial Release? Think of massage and you’re half way there.

MYOFASCIA

Myo means muscle. Fascia means band.  Fascia is a continuous web of elastin and collagen fibres surrounded by a viscous fluid.  It is everywhere, surrounding every other tissue in the body, whether it be muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, nerves, blood vessels, fat, and larger organs.

So, when we have a massage we’re having our muscles AND fascia loosened up.  We all know that muscles contract, but did you know that facia has the ability to contract also.  So, tight fascia could be as much if not more of a problem than tight muscles. Hence myofascial release.

GUY ROPES

When we stand up the skeleton and bones take some of the load, but muscles and fascia share this load.  It’s a bit like billions of guy ropes on a tent all taking the load of the body.  These guy ropes must be able to change in length and in tension.

 

OLDEST TREATMENT ON THE PLANET?

Massage is superb in all its various guises and forms.  It has potentially been around for 5000 years, so could be the oldest treatment on the planet.  You’ve got relaxing massage, deep tissue massage, sports massage, Shiatsu massage, to name but a few.  But now you have myofascial release aka “intelligent massage”.

Myofascial release can be carried out with a client lying down, rather like having a massage.  However, this may not do enough.  I’ll explain…

 

UNIQUE TREATMENT FOR YOUR OWN PROBLEM

If you’ve got a bad back when you reach down to tie up your left shoe lace, but when standing up straight or lying down you don’t have any pain, what do you do?  Well, myofascial release can be performed in the ACTUAL aggravating position/ movement.  This involves using a very expensive and perfectly fabricated smooth tool on the area, using light gentle strokes over the area of pain.  Think of it as a very clever customised treatment unique to you/ your problem, and no one else.

This technique is called Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Massage, or Graston Technique.

In 12 years of being a Physiotherapist, and 8 years of being a Sports Massage Therapist, nothing comes close to the effectiveness of this as a treatment.  You can even have the area dried from oil and have Kinesiology tape applied to maintain myofascial length and pain-reduction for a 5 further days.

 

COST-EFFECTIVE TREATMENT

It has proven so effective that clients (not just mine but clients of anyone else who carries it out) need less sessions to feel in less pain.  This not only saves them money, but gives them the confidence to move better again and more quickly.  They also go away and come back for treatments down the line, knowing that help is never far away.

Whether you come to see me or someone else, do look into “Intelligent Massage“ (myofascial release & massage) as a treatment.

 

COMMON CONDITIONS

Neck pain and/or restricted movement

Shoulder pain

Tennis/ Golfer’s elbow

Upper back pain

Low back pain

Posture-related aches and pains

Sciatic pain, especially in the buttocks (treatment can be done through clothing)

Knee pain

Ankle pain

Plantar Fasciitis

Tight or painful “muscles”

Sporting performance

Tendonitis

Flexibility issues

Scar tissue post-operatively (not just the operation site, but far reaching myofascial lines)