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Facebook Competition – Aug 22

The prize is as follows: 3 x 60 minute Rapid Recovery treatment. The winner has the option to add on hot stones or dry needling for no additional cost. These appointments may ONLY be used Monday to Friday with an appointment time before 3pm.

Facebook Promotion Terms & Conditions

  1. The promoter is: Rapid Recovery Sports Injury & Massage Clinic (A.B.N. 46 066 382 642) whose registered office is at 305 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville, Vic.
  2. The competition is open to residents who live in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia aged 18 years or over except employees of Rapid Recovery and their close relatives and anyone otherwise connected with the organisation or judging of the competition.
  3. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
  4. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
  5. Route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter are via https://www.facebook.com/rapidrecoveryclinic/
  6. Multiple entries are allowed by tagging unto 10 people who live in the Yarra Valley.
  7. Closing date for entry will be Tuesday 30th August at 9am. After this date the no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
  8. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
  9. The rules of the competition and how to enter are as follows:

Enter by commenting our competition Facebook post.

  1. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
  1. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.
  1. The prize is as follows: 3 x 60 minute Rapid Recovery treatment. The winner has the option to add on hot stones or dry needling for no additional cost. These appointments may ONLY be used Monday to Friday with an appointment time before 3pm.

The prize is as stated and no cash or other alternatives will be offered. The prize is not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.

  1. Winners will be chosen:

By a random number generator at Rapid Recovery’s main clinic – 305 Maroondah Hwy on Tue, 30th August 2022.

  1. The winner will be notified by DM on Facebook. We will also post the winners name to Facebook. If the winner cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
  1. The promoter will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected / is delivered.
  1. The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  1. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
  1. The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by Australian law.
  1. The winner agrees to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material, as well as their entry. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current Australian data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.
  1. The winner’s name will be available 28 days after closing date by emailing the following address: fixme@rapidrecoveryclinic.com.au
  1. Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.
  1. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Network. You are providing your information to Rapid Recovery and not to any other party.

Facebook release of liability:

By entering and participating, entrant agrees to hold harmless, defend and indemnify Facebook from and against any and all claims, demands, liability, damages or causes of action (however named or described), losses, costs or expenses, with respect to or arising out of or related to (i) entrant’s participation in the Sweepstake, or (ii) entrant’s participation in any Prize related activities, acceptance of a Prize and/or use or misuse of a Prize (including, without limitation, any property loss, damage, personal injury or death caused to any person(s). 

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook.

Back Pain? Here is why dry needling can help you…

How does Dry Needling help with Back Pain? 

Have a sore back? Let’s stick you with needles to make it feel better! That makes complete sense……. right? 

Dry Needling is pretty much that, BUT there is a science to it as well.  

Needles are not just thrown in randomly, there are certain points that the qualified therapist can locate to help ease pain. 

No, there is not any anaesthetic on the needles to ease the pain. It is just a filiform needle, the same as what the acupuncturist uses, and No, Dry Needling is not the same as acupuncture! 

Why are they not the same? Dry Needling is focused on muscle tissue, whilst acupuncture focuses on energy flows. 

So hence why Dry Needling is highly effective in easing back pain as back pain (a lot of the time) is caused by the muscles not functioning properly. 

There are so many muscles that help with your everyday movement and like most things they can only take so much. 

Dry Needling will help to ease and change the Trigger points that can refer pain to other areas, also increase your range of motion as it may have been limited due to pain or tightness. 

Like most therapists, we would all love to say, “There you go, your fixed!’, after one session. If that were the case, I would be a millionaire! 

You will, however, notice some difference in either pain levels and/or increased movement, depending on your body’s reaction. 

In every therapy, it may work for some but not others. Your therapist may offer Dry Needling if they feel it would benefit your situation, but if you are not comfortable then do not feel pressured to! 

Just keep in mind that ‘There are no bad needles, just bad needlers!’ 

For more info on dry needling at Rapid Recovery, click here.

Just Injured yourself? Here’s all the info you need.

We’ve all been there. Injuries suck, pain sucks. If your reading this you’ve probably just hurt yourself, or want to know and understand what to do if you have. You may even just want to know how to help prevent it in the first place and you would definitely want to know how to stop this from getting worse.

Hot/ cold therapy 

Hot and cold therapy can be extremely useful in terms of injury recovery, but which one should you use?  
If you have just injured yourself, and you already notice swelling, heat or redness in an area, ice is most commonly recommended. These are usually injuries such as joint strain/sprains, muscle strain/sprains, acute pain after intense exercise. If icing your injury is something you think you need, keep in mind, this should be done immediately after injury occurs.  

Ice constricts blood vessels to the area which can negatively impact an injury if not used when appropriate and be sure to only use ice for maximum of 20-minute intervals. If swelling does not subside, seeking medical attention is always advised.  

Heat is much more frequently used; this is because its target cases are much more generalised, and timing of application is not a concern.  Heat therapy is generally applied to muscle pain or soreness, stiff joints, old/reoccurring injuries.  

Heat encourages blood circulation to the area which brings nutrient and oxygen rich blood to the area speeding up the recovery process of injury.  

Be sure not to use excessive heat, 20-minute intervals are the most effect way to prevent burning/blistering and do not sleep with heat packs.  

Correct training/ build up 

The correct training for your body is the difference between injury free superior results and slow achievements with many potential injuries. Research and professional guidance is the easiest and most effective way to ensure your training is correct for you and your body. 

Almost all common training injuries occur when someone begins, restarts or amps up their training regime. The most effective way you can avoid protentional injury is by slowly easing into your workload, start slow and increase in small increments to ensure your body and muscular system can keep up with the changes. It is also crucial in any new or increased exercise routine you also pair the increases with your warmup and cool downs accordingly.  

Strengthen muscles 

Common and acute injuries quite often occur as a result of weak or untrained muscles. Strength training has been a part of sports conditioning for many years to increase speed, strength and agility of the muscular system. An overlooked benefit of strength training is injury prevention. 

Improving the strength of the muscular system, pressure is taken off the tendons and ligaments surrounding joints which will assist maintaining correct alignment of bone structures and protect all joints under impact.  

If certain muscles are weaker than others, this will cause an imbalance within the muscular system. When imbalances occur, it changes the pattern in which the joint functions (the human body does not like change). The stronger muscles will pull the joint in one direction creating overuse for particular areas which can lead to unnecessary wearing of bones and joints. Ensuring your muscles are strong and balanced, strength training is an extremely effective way to prevent injury.  

Not knowing when to rest 

 Resting is an important part of healing injury, but how do you know when to rest and how long for? Let’s get one thing straight, total/bed rest is never recommended with any injury.

The best way to begin the rehabilitation of any injury, even more severe injury is early mobilization. This means even if it’s just going about your day (carefully) or even going for a 5-10 minute walk. Your body wants to move, your body needs to move in order to circulate blood flow around your body bringing enough nutrients to the affected area.  

Your injury will always tell you when enough is enough, although you want to keep moving, that does not mean continuing with your regular routine that included the activity you first injured yourself with. This means what you would normally do, but less intense, depending on the severity and type of injury. Pushing too hard too soon will also increase your chance of reinjuring the area. Listen to your body, take it slow, but keep moving.  

Not receiving treatment quick enough 

What happens if you don’t receive treatment after an injury? 

If you have ever received treatment from a manual therapist, I’m sure you have heard of ‘compensation’.  

Compensation begins when your body is not functioning correctly, other areas pick up the load to relieve injured or weak muscles. This begins the moment injury occurs. If you sprain an ankle, you begin to limp, unloading the injured ankle you start using your opposite legs works harder in order to keep the weight baring off your injury. This becomes a problem when you do not keep treatment to maintain the function of the surrounding muscles as well as the supporting muscles.  

Training on injuries 

Injury will always be frustrating, especially if you are training for a particular event or having to take time off work for your injury. If your injury is stopping you from training or working, the best thing to do is take the time off. Chances are, you’re not a professional athlete, and tomorrow is not the Olympics, we need to keep your future in mind, not just tomorrow.  

The priority is dealing with your injury in the most effective way, or at the least, not aggravating it.   

The most important thing when getting back to training or working after injury, is listening to your body. Let your body tell you how much to push it and when to push it. Do not do things that “hurt a little.” If it hurts, stop. If it doesn’t feel right, ease off. It might feel better once you get into the work out, this is having more to do with endorphins and adrenalin than it does whether or not you are causing damage or interrupting the healing process.  

Not listening to the body 

When it comes to healing an acute injury, not listening to your body is one if the biggest mistake that can be made.  

The human body is an incredible entity. It has entire systems which keep the body alive and healthy. One of which is the nervous system, this controls the messaging signals throughout the entire body. This is where pain comes into play, your nervous system is what tells your brain there is something wrong, and signals are sent back producing pain symptoms in order to indicate to the rest of the body something is wrong.  

Pain and discomfort is what will allow you to rehabilitate an area without the potential of further or future injury.   

Our BEST tip for HEADACHE SUFFERERS who sit at a desk….

Do you sit at a desk? Do you get headaches?

Want an absolutely awesome tip that we’ve found has made a huge difference to our clients?

We often find that people who sit at a desk, slaving away on a computer all day are much tighter through their right side shoulder & neck…. why?

Many people simply leave there right hand resting on the mouse for hours on end. This causes an internal rotation of the shoulder and this prolonged posture results in tightness through the back of the shoulder and neck – potentially resulting in headaches.

Obviously you need to use the mouse, so…. don’t leave it there all day.

The best tip we give for this is: If you are reading something on the screen, simply make it so you have a full screen of reading up there and then….

Take your hand of the mouse!

While you are reading sit with good posture and/ or roll your shoulders around. Then place it back to move the screen to the next section and repeat.

How does massage help your HEADACHE?

So you’ve heard that massage can be really effective to help many kinds of headaches? But how does this actually work? Let’s dive into it!

 

We’re going to look at the 2 most common type of headaches – a tension headache & a cervicogenic headache.

 

Tension Headaches

Tension headaches often feel like a diffuse ache through all or part of your head – it can affect the front, the sides, back or just feel like it’s everywhere. Many people describe it as a feeling of their head being stuck in a vice. We find that people with tension head aches will of limitations in their neck movements caused through the tight muscles which are also causing the headaches.

With a tension headache most of the pain you feel in your head is referred from muscles in your upper shoulder and neck. This also irritates nerves running into your head which cause a tightening of muscles through the head – this means you now have referred pain into your head as well as the feeling of tightness around your scull (this can also cause pain).

Massage helps to relieve the tight muscles in upper back, top of the shoulder, neck and over your head to relieve this tightness. For many clients the headache will dictate quickly. New then set about making this a long term change to stop this headache coming back. We do this through some follow up treatment as well as advising of any lifestyle changes and giving you specific exercises to help.

 

Cervicogenic Headaches

A cervicogenic headache is a headache caused through issues in the neck. These issues can be muscular, joint, ligament or nerve and usually occur within the top half of the neck. This then refers pain into the head and neck.

With any joint or ligament injury there is always a muscular response – a tightening around the area with a formation of trigger points (which refer pain). In the case of cervicogenic headaches the muscular response often does not settle even after the initial stimulus – the joint or ligament injury has settled.

With specific, targeted massage techniques we release this tight muscle tissue – helping to restore optimal joint movement. By releasing these trigger points we can help to ease your headache pain levels. Although a cervicogenic headache can be eased quite quickly,  the time to be headache free can sometimes take a little longer than a tension headache. In saying that often we find that as the joint or ligament issue heals you can be left with a tension headache anyway.

 

Headaches affect such a large percentage of the population, that’s why we gear the team at Rapid Recovery up with the latest information and treatment strategies to get results for headache sufferers faster and long term.

Do you or someone you know use PAINKILLERS for Headaches?

Do you or someone you know use PAINKILLERS for Headache’s?

How often is too often?

To quote Headache Australia directly “In general too often is more than 2-3 days per week.” Why?

Anything over this can set of what is known as medication overuse headaches – basically an extra type of headache that develops from using acute pain medication too often (it doesn’t even have to be you are using it for a headache!).

As each dose of medicine wears off, the pain comes back, leading to more medication being taken. This overuse then starts to become a cause of the headache. It doesn’t even have to be that you were taking these pain meds of headaches.

How do you avoid this? Get the cause of the headache addressed. Tension headaches being by far the most common type of headache, therefore for most people this can be as easy as a few massage treatments combined with some specific exercises!

Trigger point therapy, combined with some other specific massage teckniques can help to reduce headache intensity, frequency & duration. Ultimately leading to no (or little) requirement for drugs. It really should be woven into most headache care pathways.

 

 

Massage Therapist – How your Massage Therapist keeps you active

WANT TO STAY ACTIVE? – Here is how your massage therapist (us) help you.

 

Who your massage therapist can help:

 

Are you trying to be more active, or your active and you want to stay that way? It’s a common occurrence, particularly this time of year – Spring hits, we start to exercise more, but do we look after our body more now we are putting it through extra physical activity. Activities that we aren’t used to or are doing more of? If this is you…. You are the type of person your massage therapist can help!

How your massage therapist helps you:

 

Your massage therapist makes your muscles function as they are supposed to. As we stress muscles (during exercise, particularly if we aren’t used to it), trigger points develop causing tightness, loss of function, pain & increased risk of injury.

A trigger point is an area of muscle where all fibers are in a fully locked position. This means they cannot contribute to a contraction, at the same time they make the fibers in that line of muscle tighter. This results in increased tension through the tendon & extra pulling at the tendons insertion into the bone – Not only does this cause the muscle to not function optimally, it is a major contributing factor to muscle strain/ tears, RSI and tendonopathy injuries.

From a performance point of view a trigger point will make a muscle weaker, have less power and fatigue quicker.

Your massage therapist will help using a range of soft tissue techniques. These release the trigger points – optimising muscular function, reducing post exercise recovery time, improving performance & decreasing your risk of injury.

For more information please call (03) 5962 5446 or email fixme@rapidrecoveryclinic.com.au

Remember prevention is better than a cure! Particularly when you factor in the time it takes to build your fitness – don’t let it be wasted.

Massage therapist Healesville.

2018 Referral Comp

Are you feeling fantastic from the treatment you’ve had done at Rapid Recovery?

Do you know a friend/ family member who you think would benefit from this type of treatment?

You’re in luck!

Referrals from people just like you, have allowed us to make a positive impact and change the lives of over 1500 of people, from around Healesville & across the Yarra Valley. From people suffering chronic pain, to people who just need a little help with their body to achieve their fitness goals – it doesn’t happen with out support from people like you.

Now here’s the good part…

Every client referral we receive between 17/9/2018 & 14/12/18. The person who refers them will go into the draw to WIN:

6 months worth of treatment at Rapid Recovery (1x 60 min. session & 5 x 40 min sessions) & 1 x 40 min Gift Voucher—perfect Christmas present! VALUED AT $515

 

The T’s & C’s

  1. The promoter is: Rapid Recovery Sports Injury & Massage Clinic (A.B.N. 46 066 382 642) whose registered office is at 305 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville, Vic.
  2. The competition is open to residents of Victoria, Australia aged 18 years or over except employees of Rapid Recovery and their close relatives and anyone otherwise connected with the organisation or judging of the competition.
  3. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
  4. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
  5. To enter refer a NEW client. If this NEW client puts your name down as the person that referred them, this gives you 1 entry into the draw
  6. Multiple entries are allowed.
  7. Closing date for entry will be Friday 14th December 2018 at 5pm. After this date the no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
  8. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
  9. The rules of the competition and how to enter are as follows:

Refer a NEW client. If this NEW client puts your name down as the person that referred them, this gives you 1 entry into the draw. These names will be picked out of a hat on Friday 17th December 2018

 

  1. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.

 

  1. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.

 

  1. The prize is as follows: 1 x 60 minute Rapid Recovery treatment, expiry 31/1/2019, 5 x 40 minute Rapid Recovery treatment expiry at the end of Feb, March, April, May, June 2019. 1 X 40 minute gift voucher, expiry 31/11/2019. All vouchers are only for use with selected therapists: Teagan & Grace

The prize is as stated and no cash or other alternatives will be offered. The prize is not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.

 

  1. Winners will be chosen:

Out of a hat at Rapid Recovery’s main clinic – 305 Maroondah Hwy on Fri, 17th December 2018.

 

  1. The winner will be notified by phone call & a post will be made on our Facebook page

 

  1. The promoter will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected / is delivered.

 

  1. The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

 

  1. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.

 

  1. The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by Australian law.

 

  1. The winner agrees to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material, as well as their entry. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current Australian data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.

 

  1. The winner’s name will be available 28 days after closing date by emailing the following address: fixme@rapidrecoveryclinic.com.au

 

  1. Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

Facebook Promotion Terms & Conditions

Facebook Promotion Terms & Conditions

 

  1. The promoter is: Rapid Recovery Sports Injury & Massage Clinic (A.B.N. 46 066 382 642) whose registered office is at 305 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville, Vic.
  2. The competition is open to residents who live within a 30km radius of Healesville, Victoria, Australia aged 18 years or over except employees of Rapid Recovery and their close relatives and anyone otherwise connected with the organisation or judging of the competition.
  3. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
  4. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
  5. Route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter are via https://www.facebook.com/rapidrecoveryclinic/
  6. Multiple entries are allowed. The participant must like the post and then tag friends in seperate comments.
  7. Closing date for entry will be Friday 10th August at 11am. After this date the no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
  8. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
  9. The rules of the competition and how to enter are as follows:

Enter by liking our competition Facebook post.

 

  1. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.

 

  1. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.

 

  1. The prize is as follows: 2 x 40 minute Rapid Recovery treatment, 1 for the winner & one for the friend tagged.

The prize is as stated and no cash or other alternatives will be offered. The prize is not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.

 

  1. Winners will be chosen:

Out of a hat at Rapid Recovery’s main clinic – 305 Maroondah Hwy on Fri, 10th August 2018.

 

  1. The winner will be notified by DM on Facebook. We will also post the winners name to Facebook. If the winner cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.

 

  1. The promoter will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected / is delivered.

 

  1. The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

 

  1. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.

 

  1. The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by Australian law.

 

  1. The winner agrees to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material, as well as their entry. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current Australian data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.

 

  1. The winner’s name will be available 28 days after closing date by emailing the following address: fixme@rapidrecoveryclinic.com.au

 

  1. Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

 

  1. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Network. You are providing your information to Rapid Recovery and not to any other party.

 

Facebook release of liability:

By entering and participating, entrant agrees to hold harmless, defend and indemnify Facebook from and against any and all claims, demands, liability, damages or causes of action (however named or described), losses, costs or expenses, with respect to or arising out of or related to (i) entrant’s participation in the Sweepstake, or (ii) entrant’s participation in any Prize related activities, acceptance of a Prize and/or use or misuse of a Prize (including, without limitation, any property loss, damage, personal injury or death caused to any person(s).

 

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook.

 

Massage Oil – Why we use the best!

Rapid Recovery – Remedial Massage Healesville – 2 Healesville locations!
What sort of massage oil do we use?
To put it simply, we use the best massage oil available for anyone suffering aches and pains. Why? Read on!
With so many different types of oils and liniments on the market how do you know what’s best?

Realistically it depends on it’s purpose. We have thoroughly researched and worked with an amazing oil distributer near Healesville to create the best oil for clinic use! What’s in this  oil? What do the other massage creams & lotions we use do?

Our massage oil – A special blend of rosemary, marjoram & wintergreen 

The ingredients:

Wintergreen – the most powerful ingredient

  • Improves blood flow
  • Pain killer
  • Muscle relaxer
  • Anti rheumatic – helps with rheumatic pain
  • Antiarthritic – helps with arthritis
  • Antispasmodic – reduces muscle spasms & cramps
  • Antiseptic
  • Astringent – Is used in anti-ageing products, firming the skin
Rosemary
  • Pain relief
  • Improves Circulation
  • Natural anti inflammatory
  • Relieves stress
  • Helps immune function
  • Mental stimulant
Marjoram
  • Painkiller
  • Antispasmodic
  • Antiseptic, anti-viral & anti-bacterial
  • Improves brain function
  • Sedative
With our remedial massage treatments, we often mix these with our magnesium oil & fisiocrem. The major benefit of magnesium is to help with cramps & spasms. It also improves heart & brain function, helps prevent osteoporosis, increases energy levels & helps to regulate blood glucose levels. Magnesium is extremely important for your body.

Fisiocrem is loaded with arnica which extremely effective in treating soft tissue injuries and especially for recovery from bruising. St Johns Wart soothes damaged & irritated nerves. Calendula as a natural anti inflammatory & melaleuca for it’s pain killing properties.

You can book your appointment in about 33 seconds by following this link – it’s honestly the simplest software we’ve ever seen for online booking:
Or if you want to hear what some of our amazing clients are saying about us follow this link 🙂
Any question? We’re only a phone call away!

What’s more effective… Remedial Massage or Anti Inflammatory’s?

Remedial Massage Healesville:

What’s more effective for chronic lower back pain – Remedial Massage or Anti Inflammatory’s?

It’s a question we are often asked and with an over reliance by many on pharmaceutical drugs we thought we’d have our evidence based input.

In many cases, particularly with more chronic injuries inflammation isn’t the prime issue causing the pain… the majority of the time the prime pain causing structure is the muscle and other soft tissues. Taking an “anti inflamm” really won’t make the world of difference.

Want to see some evidence of this? Check out this study:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24707200

It found that “DTM had a positive effect on reducing pain in patients with chronic low back pain. Concurrent use of DTM and NSAID contributed to low back pain reduction in a similar degree that the DTM did.” (DTM – Deep Tissue Massage) (NSAID – Non steroidal anti inflammatory drug)

Obviously there are times where anti inflammatory’s are required and can offer significant relief. Realistically the reality is that there often overused when manual therapy should be implemented.

This overuse often leads to people seeking treatment out at a later stage then they should. It results in a longer pain episode and longer healing times.

If you suffer lower back pain check out how Remedial Massage can help you: https://rapidrecoveryclinic.com.au/services/remedial-massage-healesville/

If you have any questions or you would like to book an appointment at any of our Healesville clinics please call (03) 5962 5446 or book online.

Do you or a loved one suffer chronic pain?

Are you tired of living in pain, not being happy with how your body functions? Not sleeping well which affects your mood?  Chronic pain is horrible. It affects your day to day life, your sleep, your social life and the list goes on.

Do you want to live a pain free life, Throw away those painkillers, sleep better, be able to exercise so you look and feel amazing?

Then check this out 🙂

What are trigger points and why are they of significance? (This is how we can help your chronic pain)

Basically a trigger point is a tight area within a muscle. These are the points that when you push on are relatively painful. These trigger points often elicit a deep ache, sometimes in the area of the trigger point & sometimes in a referred area.

When we are in pain and particularly chronic pain our bodies reaction is to tighten in this area. 99% of the time there is trigger point formation. This increases pain levels & restricts movement. The muscle then tightens further, more trigger points develop and the vicious cycle of chronic muscle restriction begins.

In many of these cases this chronic pain may have started due to an acute injury. The body attempts to protect this by tightening around the area. However this acute injury can heal, and the guarding which is now just pain causing muscle tightness does not release – unless something is done about it!

How do we help?

We work through the muscle, particularly the trigger points to free them and restore quality of movement. This breaking down of trigger points and restoration of the correct movement patterns is vital in helping people manage chronic pain.

Imagine what a dramatic decrease in your pain levels would mean to you – and your loved ones.

What are your health goals for 2018?

What are your health goals were for 2018? For many people it’s to be fitter, eat healthier & overall improve their lifestyle. How do we hit our goals if we don’t have a plan?

Every Jan, Feb and even March we see numerous people whose New Year’s resolution was to become a bit fitter. Right now you may be thinking wow that’s awesome, what’s the problem if they’re coming in fitter and healthier? The trouble is they’re not.

Their training wasn’t planned properly. They now have major tightness issues and often overuse injuries that can set back progress weeks, if not months – that’s assuming they still have enough motivation to start again.

What I feel one of the most rewarding things we do here at Rapid Recovery is help people achieve their goals. We do this through well thought out and structured training plans combined with maintenance sessions.

This dramatically decreases the chance of injury and drastically increases the chances of you hitting your goals. If your New Year’s resolution is fitness based. Book an appointment in Jan and let’s work to smash these goals together!

What is a tension headache?

What is a tension headache?

Tension headaches cause millions of Australian’s pain and suffering every year. But what exactly are they & what causes them? Tension headaches are caused by tightening of the muscles in the upper back, neck and head. It is the most common of all the various headache types. Some studies have shown they actually account for up to 90% of all headaches  & affect slightly more women than men.

How do tight muscles cause a tension headache?
Trigger points! Many muscles of the neck, jaw & shoulders can refer pain directly into your head. This means the pain in the  problem area (the headache) is actually referred pain from a muscle.

What causes the muscle tightness?
There are 2 major causes of muscle tightness relating to tension headaches – poor posture & stress, in many cases a combination!

What are the symptoms of a tension headache?
There are a number of symptoms associated with tension headaches, somebody suffering may have as little as one or many of these symptoms:

  • Dull constant pain, usually varying in intensity from mild to moderate and sometimes severe. Usually just above the eyes, over the temple, on the side of the head or at the back/ base of the skull
  • Constant, tight, heavy or pressing sensation over or around the head. Sometimes described as a vice like feeling
  • Tightness & tenderness around scalp (yes you have muscles in your head), neck & shoulder muscles
  • Neck movement restricted by muscular stiffness & discomfort
  • Recurrent headaches
  • Mild – moderate sensitivity to light & noise
  • Nausea
  • Trouble concentrating & difficulty sleeping
  • Depression & anxiety

What is the best form of treatment?

While pain killers may be helpful in relieving the initial pain, they don’t help to fix the cause (they are only symptoms relief!).The best form of treatment for tension headaches is manual treatment & corrective exercise. We can help with both!

Manual treatment helps to relieve these sore tight muscles causing the head ache. It will also help to improve posture, helping to fix the issue at one of it’s major causes. Not only is manual treatment good in relieving tension headaches, it is also very effective in prevention & stress relief.

Corrective exercises prescribed by health professionals help to relieve & prevent tension headaches in a number of ways. Specific stretching exercises loosen tight hypertonic muscles that are causing pain & help to promote good posture. Strengthening exercises aimed at improving posture help to prevent tension headaches from occurring. They are also very effective form of stress release as is cardio exercise such as running, cycling, & swimming.

Tension headaches would be close to the most common condition I treat in the clinic. If you are suffering or you know somebody else who is call for an appointment ASAP!

What is a trigger point & how can it cause me pain?

A trigger point is a small lump that forms in a tight band of muscle tissue. It can cause many different types of pain. It can be a dull constant ache, a sharp shooting pain or a pain in a completely different area to where the pain is (referred pain). Levels of pain caused by trigger points can vary from intermittently and quite mild to constant and sever pain or anything in-between.

A good way to describe the feel of a trigger point is a partially cooked piece of spaghetti deep within the muscle. This will also cause a tight band to form which feels like a piece of rope or guitar string.

Why should you care about trigger points?
Trigger points are one of the largest causes of pain in the human body. They can be the primary cause of pain or secondary. Even when secondary (caused by another source such as a muscle tear) the pain caused and referred by trigger points can be worse than the injury itself! In most muscular injuries a large portion of the pain can be caused by trigger points.
Trigger points are known to contribute to:

  • Head aches
  • Neck & Jaw pain
  • Upper, mid & low back pain
  • Joint pain – incl. hip, shoulder & knee
  • Arthritis

What do trigger points feel like?
Trigger points cause many different types of pain. It can be a dull constant ache, a sharp shooting pain or a pain in a completely different area to where the pain is (referred pain). The fact that trigger point pain can exist with other causes of pain can make treatment quite complex.

So we can easily understand that trigger points cause us pain, but what exactly is a trigger point?
Essentially a trigger point is a small cluster of muscle fibres in a state of contracture. If nothing is done to release these fibres they will not release themselves.  This leads to further muscle dysfunction, which leads to more trigger points forming and usually pain! It can be a vicious cycle.

How can I fix the pain caused by trigger points?
Trigger point therapy, a technique used in nearly every treatment we do at Rapid Recovery is one of the best ways to help relieve trigger points. It gently helps to stretch the fibres that are in a state of contracture and improve blood flow to the area.

Stretching is also another therapeutic activity to relieve trigger points. A gentle stretch to a trigger point can help to unlock fibres in contracture and restore the muscle to a more functional state.

Strengthening is the final step in the treatment of trigger points. Generally trigger points form due to too much load on a muscle (muscle is not strong enough to cope with demands placed on it) or incorrect biomechanics of a joint, generally caused by muscle imbalances. We can provide prescribe the exercises that would be best for you.

What do I think about trigger points?
Trigger points cause a lot of pain & dysfunction within the musculoskeletal system.  It can be something as general as a back or head ache or trigger point pain caused after a muscular injury.

Even trigger points caused by another injury can be extremely debilitating & a lack of education within the health system means a lot of people live in constant pain or on high doses of drugs when they don’t have to. Treatment of trigger points is usually extremely effective and it is very rare to have a client not improve their pain levels and quality of life.

If you or someone you know are experiencing pain that may be caused by trigger points (intermittent or constant aches (including head aches) or sharp shooting pain) feel free to call us for advice (03) 5962 5446. Many people who live in constant pain don’t have to, only problems is they don’t realise it!