Registered Massage Therapy Vancouver
A Healing Touch
No matter what your ailment or ache, massage therapy can help! Registered Massage Therapy in Vancouver is a licenced practice that helps the body relax and heal from injuries. It is effective for managing pain, depression, anxiety, stress, spasms and much more.
What conditions does our Vancouver RMT treat? Virtually everything, from minor to chronic conditions depending on your needs. Unsure if it’s right for you? Just call the clinic to ask – we are always happy to help!
What Is Massage Therapy and
How Does it Impact Health?
Massage therapy is the manipulation of soft body tissues to enhance health and well-being. It is based on the premise that the body is a unit with interrelated parts, each requiring attention to keep it functioning efficiently. A form of alternative medicine, massage therapy Vancouver uses various hands-on therapies and techniques to improve one’s health and encourage well-being. It is often used to treat people who suffer from chronic pain or are recovering from an injury.
Registered Massage Therapists (RMT’s) in Vancouver are trained professionals who use massage to treat their patients for a wide range of conditions — everything from physical pain and emotional stress to pregnancy relief and imbalances in posture or movement.
As massage therapy improves the blood flow to tissues and helps reduce inflammation, it is an effective way to help the body reestablish homeostasis and heal more quickly from injury. Many of our massage therapy Vancouver patients report immediate improvements in musculoskeletal aches and pains, a decrease in anxiety or fatigue, better movement overall and even improvements in their mental clarity and function.
At Doctors’ Choice Integrative, our Vancouver RMT has years of experience and uses various massage techniques to support your well-being: effleurage, Swedish massage, myofascial release, trigger-point therapy, craniosacral therapy, neuro-meningeal manipulation, somato-emotional release, lymphatic drainage, deep tissue massage and much more!
What is Hot Stone Massage?
Hot stone massage is a very effective technique that therapeutically heated basalt stones to impart healing to the body. For thousands of years, various cultures around the world have used this therapy to support healing. Popularized in the 1990s, this treatment has become an invaluable therapeutic tool for registered massage therapists as it can deepen the effectiveness of treatment and shorten the body’s healing time.
What is Deep Pressure
(Deep Tissue) Massage?
Deep pressure or deep tissue massage is a very effective technique that is used to release muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia. Through the application of direct pressure to the deepest layers of affected tissue, the purpose of deep tissue massage is to improve circulation and decrease inflammation. This helps to reduce muscle tension and spasms, relieve chronic patterns of stress, stretch shortened muscles and restore normal movement patterns to the body.
Is Registered Massage Therapy
Vancouver Right for You?
In general, massage therapy is safe for most people. It is an effective and often very relaxing way to decrease stress and anxiety, alleviate headaches or migraines, improve circulation, deepen sleep, relieve muscle tension and pain, and it can even help resolve allergies and asthma.
Prior to your first visit with our Vancouver RMT, you will complete comprehensive intake forms outlining your health concerns. Your Registered Massage Therapist will then work with you to identify any contraindications and precautions that may apply to your particular case. They will then make the appropriate accommodations to navigate your treatment in a safe and effective way.
The following are some conditions that are important to inform your massage therapist about prior to receiving care:
- Pregnancy
- Metal in the body (some examples are pins and screws used after surgery)
- Anyone with an infectious disease such as chickenpox or the flu
- People who have just had surgery and are still bleeding
- Patients with deep vein thrombosis (blood clots)
- Hemophiliacs and diabetics
Your Vancouver RMT will ensure that any treatment you receive is safe and indicated for you at this time.
What Medical Conditions can be
Treated by Massage Therapy Vancouver?
The benefits of Registered Massage Therapy are many and varied. Some of the more common conditions that massage can help with are:
- Chronic back pain
- Prenatal discomfort and postnatal concerns
- Fibromyalgia (polymyalgia rheumatica)
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Sciatica
- Migraines and headaches
- Bursitis (inflammation in the fluid sacs surrounding the muscles, tendons and joints)
- Osteoarthritis
- Tendonitis (inflammation of a tendon)
- Tennis elbow or Golfer’s elbow
- Arthritic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and gout
- Allergies, asthma and other breathing disorders
The Effectiveness of Massage
after Automobile Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents are traumatic, no matter how they occur. Even if you do not sustain obvious injuries, you may still experience more hidden or subtle damage, such as whiplash, concussion or damage to your spine. With massage therapy Vancouver sessions following an accident, a registered massage therapist will analyze the soft tissues of your neck and back for signs of injury. They may also give you advice on how to move in order to limit any further potential for harm.
If you have experienced a motor vehicle accident, a Registered Massage Therapist will inform you of the appropriate treatment schedule for your injuries. In certain cases, you may need to wait a little bit before you receive a massage, so that your body may complete important aspects of the healing process. Your Vancouver RMT at Doctors’ Choice Integrative will help and guide you in the timing of this. Rest assured, you are in good hands with us!
What To Expect On Your First Visit
to a Registered Massage Therapist
At your first massage therapy Vancouver appointment, your Registered Massage Therapist will discuss with you the type of treatment that is best suited for you. The massage therapist may also ask about your health, past and present, to ensure that massage therapy is safe for you at this time. This is the perfect opportunity for you to highlight any specific areas of your body that you are experiencing tension or discomfort so that your Vancouver RMT can tailor their treatment to your goals and needs.
Following your massage treatment, you may experience minor physical discomforts. This is your body integrating the messages your Vancouver RMT has given it and so generally speaking, this discomfort is completely normal. These discomforts may include:
- Muscle soreness
- Tension headaches
- Stiff neck or back
- Sore or tender muscles
Whatever your experience following your massage, please be sure to let our amazing Vancouver RMT know so that they may support you and adjust their treatment to match your body’s unique needs.