Advanced Massage or ‘Soft Tissue Treatment’ Techniques

Many advanced massage and soft tissue treatments that have been conceived and used clinically. Generally they are all concerned with decreasing pain and increasing range of motion of a body part. Myofascial Release is one such technique that Clinical Lead Mark specialises in. Others are discussed below.

Neuromuscular Technique (NMT)

Another name for NMT is Trigger Point Therapy and uses similar advanced massage techniques like Acupressure and Shiatsu from the far east.

All muscles have a ‘normal’ resting tone and this tone can be subconsciously altered if a muscle is affected in one of 3 ways: Misuse, disuse or overuse. Primarily it is an automatic, protective response of the body trying to heal itself but it can cause pain. The brain can accept this tone as ‘normal’ by the body if ignored for long enough (days, weeks or months). The tension remains long after any initial damage has healed.  An unconscious process, the nervous system may ‘hold’ a muscle in a shortened position. This ‘muscle memory’ can exaggerate the problem leading to ‘chronic’ injuries.

With skilful application of pressure on a ‘trigger-point’ the therapist will be increasing the tension on a muscle.  The pressure will send a feedback signal to the brain to say “we are too tight now” and a reflex response will relax a muscle tone to ‘normal’.  Pain relief is almost instantaneous. Allowing ones self to breath and “relax into the initial pain” makes the technique much more powerful. 

The longer abnormal tone has existed the more times a treatment would need repeating to make sustained change. As a rule of thumb, acute or recent injuries need 1 – 4 treatments. However, chronic or old injuries can take 6 – 10 treatments to resolve because of ingrained ‘muscle memory’ in the central nervous system. Exercises and stretches are proscribed in between treatments to ensure sustained results.

Muscle Energy Techniques (MET)

Is the collective name for a number of techniques which involve client contraction and/or stretching of muscles. Which may or may not involve a therapist applying pressure or support to assist the movement.  Sequenced contraction and relaxation of ‘tight’ or weak muscles stimulates proprioceptive nerves that decrease tension (and pain) in a muscle.

Variations of METs are:

• Reciprocal Inhibition,
• Post-isometric Relaxation
• Integrated Neuromuscular Inhibition
• Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
• Active Isolated Stretching
• Contract-Relax
• Agonist Contract-Relax

Assessment of the affected muscle or joint position will influence which technique a therapist uses.

Sports Therapist and Soft Tissue Therapists at Marlow Sports Therapy use a combination of these advanced massage and soft tissue technique with clients who have a problem with pain or restriction of movement and would normally get fast effective results.

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