Remedial or Relaxation Massage?

Written by: Niki Holding

Usually when you mention massage people tend to think there is only one type, however, there are many different types of massage and one of the most common questions I get asked is, what’s the difference between relaxation massage and remedial massage?

Both types of massage have many benefits but can vary depending on which type you choose.

Remedial Massage

Remedial massage is a treatment to help reduce pain, encourage rehabilitation and correct physical issues that might be causing problems such as chronic pain like neck pain, backaches, headaches, injuries from sports or occupational, postural and many more, therefore it has a specific end goal. Different techniques are used throughout the treatment to achieve these goals such as deep tissue, trigger point therapy and therapeutic techniques. Some of these techniques may feel uncomfortable at times or commonly referred to as ‘good pain’, however, they are specifically used to achieve an outcome. Several sessions may also be required as part of the treatment process.

Relaxation Massage

Relaxation massage provides a general loosening up and an effective way to relax the mind and body. Relaxation massage uses more soothing techniques with the aim to help make you feel relaxed, calm and is great way to recover from any stressors that you may be experiencing in everyday life. It is less specific to remedial massage and techniques are usually long, smooth flowing strokes, pressure may be deep but not to the point of pain.

So if you are experiencing musculoskeletal pain and tension or want to increase range of movement and enhanced athletic performance then a remedial massage would be more suited to you, however, if you are feeling stressed and tired, then relaxation massage would be a more beneficial choice.

Optimus Health has Remedial Massage available as below:

Mondays: 4:30pm - 8pm

Wednesdays: 3pm - 8pm

Fridays: 9am- 1pm

Saturdays: 8am - 12pm

You can book in by calling us on 9913 8986 or online here.

Put a stop to what is causing that headache!

We normally put headaches down to being stressed or having a bad cold but did you know that there are many other factors that may be contributing to your headaches that you might want to rule out.

The most common causes are:

Stress and anger!

Yes! This is a major cause of headache. When we are stressed we tense up our neck and shoulder muscles causing extra stress where these muscles attach into the skull. This extra muscle pull can cause a tight band-like sensation around the back and sometimes the front of your head.

Can Physio really help?

YES!.. and in the meantime try some relaxation techniques like a having hot bath, doing some deep breathing or using a heat pack on your shoulder and neck muscles.

Poor Posture!

Another obvious one..... Sitting for long periods of time in a bad posture is a major cause of headaches. If you sit with your upper back rounded and chin poking out it can cause extra stress across the joints in the middle of your neck where you hinge forwards, which can get stiff and irritated. You will also develop tightness of the muscles that attach into the base of your skull resulting in headache pain. Typically, the pain throbs in the base of the skull and sometimes flashes into the face, especially the forehead.

Can a trip to the physio help with this cause of headache –
First try to avoid sitting for too long and check that you have a good desk/computer set up and a high back supportive chair but if it continues then Physio is your next option!

Sinus pressure or a cold!

Sinus headaches develop due to infection and tension build up in your sinuses. The headache can feel like pain and pressure around your eyes, cheeks and forehead and may feel like a throbbing pain.

Can a trip to the physio help with this cause of headache

Not this one. This type of headache needs to be managed with appropriate medication as guided by your doctor.

But you might not have considered these sources…..

Teeth Grinding:
If you grind your teeth at night you can end up getting really tight muscles in you jaw (TMJ region). Because muscles around the jaw, upper neck and skull work closely together this can lead to referral of achy pain from your jaw up into the side or back of your head.

A physio can assess and treat the muscle imbalances are your jaw to relieve your pain. However you should also make an appointment to see your dentist to work out why you are grinding and manage the cause!

Bad weather:
If you're prone to getting headaches, you could find that grey skies, high humidity, rising temperatures and storms can all bring on head pain. Pressure changes that cause weather changes are thought to trigger chemical and electrical changes in the brain. This irritates nerves, leading to a headache.
Sorry we cant change the weather but we can help with some of the symptoms you develop due to the weather factors like tightness in your neck and jaw that may be making your headache worse.

Strong smells:
Could your housework be making your headaches worse???! Household cleaners, along with perfumes and fragranced air fresheners, contain chemicals that can bring on headaches.
We can’t help with this one either… If you feel that strong smells might be a trigger you should avoid heavy perfumes and strong-smelling soaps, shampoos and conditioners etc and use fragrance-free household cleaning items.

Upper back pain and breastfeeding

Getting an achy or painful upper back while breastfeeding your baby?

The new activities that come with caring for your new baby like repeated lifting and poor postures from carrying and of course breastfeeding may result in stress and overload of the upper back or neck structures. This can result in anything from mild achy discomfort to severe distressing pain and the pain can be caused by strain or irritation of any number of structures in your upper back or neck.

The most common causes of this pain are from spinal joint stiffness or muscle/ ligament overload due to sitting in poor postures for long periods of time.

What does this feel like?

Anything from achy to sharp pain in your upper back or neck. It probably gradually builds up while you are feeding and is sore to move in certain directions. It may be uncomfortable to laugh, couch or breath deeply as these actions cause stress on all the structures of your upper back.

What can I do?

This pain can be easily assessed and managed relatively quickly by your physio with manual therapy and exercises. Make sure you are appropriately supported so that you can relax when you are breastfeeding and try to adjust your position if you feel the pain build up. A heat pack or hot bath may help.

However, there can be other causes that are a little trickier to fix, but very manageable!

A bulging disc in the upper or middle back which may or may not be causing compression of a nerve.

What does this feel like?

This can be a sharp or burning pain starting somewhere along the spine and potentially referring out to the side. If the pain starts in your lower neck you may feel the referral of pain all the way into your arm. This pain likely comes on quite quickly when you adopt your breastfeeding posture.

What can I do?

This pain can also be assessed and managed by your physio with manual therapy and exercises. They may request an MRI scan depending on the severity of the symptoms to identify the level of disc and nerve involvement. You will likely need to discuss with your physio alternative postures and options for breastfeeding to avoid aggravating the symptoms.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS)

TOS happens when too much pressure is placed on the nerves and vessels that pass between your collarbone and the rib underneath. It can be caused from being very hunched or flexed in your shoulders and when the joints and muscles at the side and front of your neck tighten up.

What does this feel like?

Symptoms can include sharp, burning or aching pain into your breast, armpit, lower neck or upper shoulder. Other symptoms may include tingling or weakness in the hand and arm or coldness in the hand on the affected side.

What can I do?

Again pain from TOS can be assessed and management by your physio who will guide you on appropriate exercises and strategies to improve the problem and manage your pain. It will be important to address the issues that are causing the compression on the vessels or nerves like postural adjustment, joint stiffness and/or muscle imbalance. They may need to refer on for further investigation in severe cases.

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Whatever the issue – don’t suffer on! Following the correct advice and sometimes making small changes to the postures and positions you are feeding and caring for your baby in can fix up most of these aches and pains easily.

Give one of our physios, Dawn, Kath or Cierra, a call to chat about your issue or book your initial assessment in online here

Dawn Cantwell - Originally from Ireland and now Clinical Director of Optimus Health and Mum of Naoise (3.5) and Finn (1.5). I am incredibly passionate about helping women who are currently experiencing pain pre/post-pregnancy and those who want to return to the level of fitness they were pre-pregnancy. If you would like to book a pre or postnatal assessment with Dawn click here:

Reducing your chance of injury when community sport returns

We are two weeks away (fingers crossed) from restrictions being lifted in VIC and the return of community sport has already been flagged as an agenda topic for the National Cabinet. At Optimus, we are heavily involved with footy, soccer and rugby and rumours are fast circling around potential training and match dates. Although these are just rumours, there is enough substance behind them to take them seriously and start thinking about your preparation for returning to sport.

The return of elite sport - NRL.

Consider the elite environment. The NRL is aiming for May 28th as the start date for matches. Even with online access to the best health and fitness professionals during COVID, with 4 weeks preparation, the players will not be at the physical standard required to play. Injuries will be higher, both contact related and muscular injuries which will reduce available players putting pressure on players to play through injuries or come back too soon due to the shortened season.

So what chance do community athletes have for remaining injury-free? How ready are you to return to play?

 Speaking to our community we’ve identified 3 COVID fitness levels -  ask yourself which category do you fall into?

1.     You’ve probably been hitting the drink a bit harder than what you should have been. You could audition for Masterchef with your banana bread skills but you have managed a bike ride and a few walks around the block.

2.     You’ve been trying, you’ve stayed involved with your club by taking part in online workouts, you’ve downloaded (and used) all the latest fitness Instagram workouts and have been using those wine bottles and your dog for weight training.

3.     You’ve had a structured periodised strength training program and have followed a fitness running program.

3 is better than 2, 2 is better than 1 and if you’re a 1…well you might need to put down that spatula and start paying attention. No matter what category you fall into, if you strapped on your boots and walked out onto the oval/field tomorrow a lot of people will be a ticking time bomb for preventable injuries.

Being a Strength & Conditioning Coach with experience in working with both elite and community athletes I know that physiologically it takes 6 weeks to adapt to a training load. That’s a 6-week structured, progressively loaded training plan that encompasses the technical, tactical, physical and psychological skills for sport. How can we expect both elite (NRL) and community athletes to hold up to the rigours of playing with potentially only 4 weeks of a gradual build-up to play?

Those who fall into Category 3 will be in the best possible position (but there is still work to do), but my fear is, most people will not fall into this category and it is my worry that the majority of people who will complete 4 weeks training and then go back to the field will come unstuck on the injury front.

So what should I be doing and when should I start doing it?

NOW!!! Get started on some basic plyometrics (exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time with the goal of increasing power). You’ll find some examples of plyometrics below:

Next up is high speed running (sprinting) WITH change of direction at high speed. If you’ve been pounding the pavement on a regular basis you will have been improving your general fitness BUT with no change of direction at a fast pace, you will leave your body vulnerable for hamstring, groin or achilles overload which is where we see tendon rupture injuries. Grab your annoying little brother or sister, or convince your flatmate that if they can catch you, you’ll let them pound you into the ground at your local park.

See below; After a period of no training during the 2011 Lockout, there were 12 achilles ruptures in pre season! This is compared to an average of 5 per full season…

Let’s talk about contact….

Tackling, bumps and scrums (scrums happen in Rugby for you footy fans). IF there is an accelerated return to sport you may only get 4-6 sessions involving contact before your first practice/trial match (compared to at least 12-16 in a normal pre-season). Remember how much it hurts after your first real contact game of a season? Get a head start by incorporating some isometric body positioning to a resemblance of match positions during a game (once again use your bro/sis/mum/grandad*/flatmate) (maybe only grandad if he is still a wrestler/BJJ coach)

So…in summary I should be?

• Completing high-speed running drills

• Implementing plyometric exercises into your home workout routines

• Getting your flatmate or sister chasing you around the park (short, fast, multidirectional sprints)

• Keeping those muscles in top shape by stretching (Pilates is great for this), foam rolling and regular Remedial Massage

• Getting on top of any niggles, tightness or pain and see a physiotherapist that understands sports, like my colleagues at Optimus Health

And finally….work with a strength & conditioning coach and START NOW. Based off what we have heard we may only be 8 weeks away from community sport kicking off again…

Want to know the good news?

Optimus Health will be releasing a training program designed for the community athlete for category a, b or c individuals. Our belief model is that everyone requires a tailored program- but if you aren’t in a position to get one made up this will be the next best thing. If you would like a copy of this when we release it fill in the form below.

Even if we only get 6 rounds this year put yourself in the best possible position to not get an injury that could impact you into 2021.

Jake Leslie

Jake is the High Performance Manager at the Optimus Performance Centre, his qualifications include Sports Therapy, Remedial Massage, Personal Training and Strength & Conditioning.

Jake is currently the Head Therapist at Kew Football Club. His previous experience includes the Western Bulldogs and Head of Medical and Rehab for NRL VIC Junior Representative Program.

Pre or Post Natal Pain, what might be causing it?

As a mother of two children under 3.5 years of age I know first hand the joys and pain that bringing little humans in the world can cause. As a physiotherapist, I am lucky enough to understand the who, what, why and how behind the pain. It is my passion to help mums to be and new mothers better understand the changes that are happening in their body and give you the strategies and tools to help you overcome any pain. Leaving you to continue to enjoy your pregnancy or newborn.

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Physiotherapists are trained to identify the reasons for your pain and guide you on management strategies and safe strength and mobility exercises to help your body feel stronger as your pregnancy progresses as well as after your baby has arrived. Our focus is not just on fixing your pain but we also aim to manage the causes. We always try to keep you as physically active as safely possible which is so important during your pregnancy and vital for building up your strength after baby has arrived.

So what are a few of the common aches and pains that motherhood can bring?

PRENATAL PAIN

There are a wide range of sources of pain during pregnancy. The main contributor to aches and pain are the changes in your bodies hormones and anatomy in preparation for labour. These changes in your pelvic and tummy anatomy to facilitate your growing baby and prepare for delivery, as well as all the new hormones you are producing, can lead to your low back and pelvic joints and muscles feeling achy, weak and less mobile.

Here are two of the most common reasons for prenatal pain that we see at Optimus Health.

Pelvic Floor Weakness

What is it?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that form the base of your pelvis. Your pelvic floor supports the structures inside your pelvis and helps with bladder and bowel control. Carrying your baby while pregnant and the potential damage during labour can make your pelvic floor muscles weaker.

What is happening?

When these muscles are weaker you may find that you have less bladder (or even bowel) control or maybe you will just feel excessive pressure pressing down between your legs while walking/lifting etc.

How can Physio help?

Physios can help guide you on the correct exercises to build up your pelvic floor muscle endurance. They will also advise you on how to perform other exercises or activities safely without placing too much stress on the pelvic floor.

What can I do to prevent it?

To help prevent problems now and in the future, such as leaking urine, you should regularly practice pelvic floor exercises. Physiotherapists can teach you what will work best for you!

Abdominal Separation (DRAM)

What is it?

Abdominal Separation or DRAM (Diastasis of the Rectus Abdominal Muscle) is separation or over-stretching of your abdominal muscles.

What is happening?

As your pregnancy progressed your abdominal muscles will have been stretched. In some cases, the two lines of muscles down the middle of your stomach get stretched apart. This is a very normal part of pregnancy! Approximately 1 in 3 women on their first pregnancy and 2 in 3 on their second experience this. The good news is, it can be fixed post-natally!

How can Physio help?

We will assess the nature and extent of the abdominal separation and guide you on the appropriate exercises to start to rehabilitate your abdominals. Just doing sit-ups will not help and could cause more damage as you add more stress to the abdominals, low back and pelvic floor.

What can I do to prevent it?

Staying strong in your core during your pregnancy, with safe, light to moderate loading exercises can help. Avoiding activities that place too much stress on your abdominal muscles later in pregnancy (high intensity core work) is important.

POSTNATAL PAIN

Low Back Pain

What is it?

Your lower back will be weaker after your pregnancy and having delivered your baby (through vaginal delivery or cesarean section). This may lead to joint aching or muscles getting tight and sore.

What is happening?

Not only is your back weaker after having your baby but you are also lifting and bending more than usual caring for your baby. Your low back joints and muscles may not be able to tolerate these extra repetitive activities resulting in pain.

How can Physio help?

We can assess your back and identify the reason(s) for the pain. We will advise you on pain management and work to relieve the pain with manual hands-on treatments. We will guide you on an appropriate strength and mobility exercises to help you tolerate your daily loads better as your baby grows.

What can I do to prevent it?

Stay strong, fit and mobile during your pregnancy with appropriate, safe exercises. Adopt good lifting, feeding and carrying techniques.

In Summary

Pain during pregnancy or after delivery can be caused by a wide range of factors. A significant proportion of the contributing factors can be easily reduced using strategies that physiotherapists are trained in.

If you were training for a marathon you would be getting regular help with niggles and aches! Pregnancy and birth have far more side effects on your body than running…

Lets get you on top of that pain!

Click here to LEARN MORE

Click here to BOOK NOW

Dawn Cantwell - Originally from Ireland and now Clinical Director of Optimus Health and Mum of Naoise (3.5) and Finn (1.5). ‘Having my babies gave me a whole new perspective of how incredibly strong and resilient mums are. Your body goes through such incredible change and trauma with pregnancy and labour and mums just deal with these problems because they consider them ‘normal’ while caring for their new babies. The reality is most aches and pains can be cleared up easily enough by getting the correct management! I am incredibly passionate about helping women who are currently experiencing pain pre/post-pregnancy and those who want to return to the level of fitness they were pre-pregnancy. If you would like to book a pre or postnatal assessment with Dawn click here:

Return To Sport Modelling Coming Soon

With Australia controlling the coronavirus relatively well, we have started to look at modelling a Return To Sport Program across all of our sports and schools community.

One of the biggest issues with what Sports Associations are presenting with a prediction of restrictions easing, is the rapid return to contact and return to high intensity movements, in a very short timeframe.

Given a few community sportspeople have still had access to modified weights sessions and running sessions, this modelling is mainly based on community athletes having taken a “Covid-Offseason” since mid- March. Effectively, 6 weeks off of any high intensity work.

We’ve seen something similar to this when the NFL players had an enforced break in 2011- see the image below- a significant increase in injuries happened when the Return To Play was dramatically accelerated from a baseline of “off-season”.

This is something that we want to prevent in Australia when restrictions on community sports training and playing is lifted.

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“Optimus will release specific Sports Modelling Timelines in the next week in order to assist clubs with Injury Prevention.”

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Bryan Robertson, Optimus High Performance Manager Jake Leslie and Clinic Manager and Melbourne Vixens Physiotherapist Katherine Taylor discussed this in detail in a podcast here: LINK AVAILABLE Date TBC

Download our timeline Modelling here: LINK TO PDF AVAILABLE Date TBC

COVID Running got your knees aching?

COMMON CAUSES OF KNEE PAIN

RUNNERS KNEE

Where it hurts? Pain under your kneecap, feels worse after running and when you go up/downstairs

Why? Occurs when the patella (kneecap) undergoes significant stresses that are beyond its capacity to tolerate

How do I treat it? Reduce running, stretch glutes, foam roll quads (DONT stretch quads- this will increase the compression of the patella on the femur) and TFL (pocket muscle), shorten stride length/ increase cadence

Prevent it! Strength train, foam roll regularly, shorten your stride

PATELLAR TENDINOPATHY

Where it hurts? Pain below your kneecap and at the top of your shin, will hurt going up and down stairs and pain will increase when running.

Why? The patellar tendon may have too much force going through it, in a short amount of time, compared to what it is able to absorb

How do I treat it? Reduce running, a physio may recommend a patellar strap or alternative measure to offload the tendon, load management is key!

Prevent it! Strengthen key muscles around the knee, stretch your quads & hamstrings, foam roll, manage your running loads to within the tendon’s capacity to tolerate load

IIiotibial band sydrome

Where it hurts? The pain will be on the outside of the knee (location where physio Bryan speaks about in the video), will come on quickly and subsides when you finish running.

Why? The ITB runs from your hip to your knee, a fluid filled sac called a bursa sits between the ITB and the outside of your femur. When the ITB compresses this bursa, it causes pain.

How do I treat it? Reduce your KM’s, foam roll your glutes and TFL (NOT the ITB itself), consider if your shoes are right for you.

Prevent it! Strong glute and core muscles are the key, so a strength program will help. Foam roll glutes, quads and TFL and shortening your stride may reduce forces at the knee.

If you would like one of our experienced physiotherapists to diagnose your knee pain and provide the correct advice and strengthening exercises make an appointment now.

Richmond Physiotherapy

We’re a Physiotherapy clinic on Bridge Rd in Richmond, with expertise across 14 different physios, remedial massage therapists, strength & conditioning coaches and sports therapists. We’re very experienced and are extremely passionate about supporting you. Our ability to service the local community and those who may travel for our specialised services is our number 1 priority- we love getting you back to doing what you want to do.

Our Key Services (click the link for more information)::

• Physiotherapy

• Online Physiotherapy (Telehealth)

• Pre and Postnatal Services

• Remedial and Sports Massage

• Pilates

• Surgical Rehabilitation

• Concussion Rehabilitation

• High Performance Centre

Wether that’s for runners, sports people, pre and post natal exercises, clinical pilates, lifting weights, or just getting rid of your neck pain/ headache or back pain- getting you back to achieving your goals, pain free, is what we do best!

When you walk through our doors, you'll know immediately we are invested in your recovery- We’re not like a big chain or franchise, we don’t ever over book, double book, and we certainly don't use outdated physiotherapy techniques with little scientific evidence. We’ll never leave a machine on you!

Best of all- we tailor everything to your individual needs. We take the time to carefully assess, plan, and then prescribe and program sessions based on your individual needs. No cookie-cutter programs here.

Cricket Back Pain - Spondylosis

Written by: KP

While many appreciate the skill set required to excel in cricket, a lot of people are not aware of the physical tolls the game has on its players - up to 65% of young players complain of back pain!!

In this population Pars defects (stress fracture of the bones of the lower spine) or spondylosis (a type of arthritis spurred by wear and tear to the spine) is reported in up to 30% of players and this can be quite debilitating. Like most back related injuries there is a massive cost paid in not just the enjoyment of playing the game you love but also including time off work and the financial burden that can follow. 

How this occurs?

Similar to diving, gymnastics and sailing, cricket involves repetitive flexion and extension (+/- side flexion and rotation) patterns that place stress on the pars interarticularis (segment of bone that joins the facet joints in the back of the spine).

When to suspect a spondylolysis in an athlete?

 Unilateral lower back coming on with repeated flexion/extension activities
 Pain aggravated by lumbar extension
 Improved symptoms with rest
+/- radiculopathy (nerve pain into the leg)

How do you best explain what is happening?

The space between the joints in your lower back has come under increased stress and isn’t coping at this moment in time. It is important to understand what is causing this stress and address the underlying problems so you can return back to your chosen activity.

How do physiotherapists treat this condition?

 Activity modification – modifying the duration, intensity and frequency of their sport can assist in managing symptoms immensely
 Education – activity modification, nature of the injury, favourable prognosis and overall encouragement to continue moving!

 Exercise – strengthening to focus on pelvic stability, lumbar strength and global stability

If you would like to book in to see one of our physiotherapists to get your back pain assessed and receive an individualised strengthening program for the rest of the season book online at our bridge road clinic.