What is the difference between Remedial Massage and Myotherapy?

On the surface, remedial massage and myotherapy appear to be the same, yet there are important distinctions between the two treatments. To help you better understand whether treatment is right for you, we'll look at the small distinctions between the two therapies, including what they are, how they operate, and what they're good for.

What is Remedial Massage?

Remedial massage is a massage-based therapy that is used to treat a variety of disorders involving the body’s muscles, tendons, and ligaments. It’s mostly used to relieve muscular tension, improve bodily function, help healing, and improve relaxation, with an emphasis on injured, knotted, tense, or stiff muscles. Remedial massage is often used in sports medicine, but it can help anyone who is in pain or injured.

How is this different from Myotherapy?

While remedial massage focuses solely on manipulative massage methods, myotherapy encompasses a larger range of therapies that are used to treat complicated muscular and musculoskeletal disorders that remedial massage alone cannot resolve. Myotherapy is a scientifically validated extension of remedial massage that incorporates a greater grasp of human anatomy and physiology.

To become a qualified Myotherapist, you must first obtain the same qualifications as a remedial massage therapist (a diploma in remedial massage or a Cert IV in Massage Therapy), as well as an advanced diploma in myotherapy, which focuses on postural analysis, biomechanics, and injury rehabilitation. Myotherapy goes beyond therapeutic massage in that it addresses both the immediate symptoms as well as the underlying source of the problems, whether they are behavioural, structural, or muscular.

Other therapies such as remedial massage, physiotherapy, and osteopathy are frequently used in conjunction with myotherapy.

How does Remedial Massage work? 

The soft tissues of the body—the superficial and deep muscles, tendons, and ligaments—are manipulated in Remedial Massage therapy. A massage therapist uses their hands to detect physical and biomechanical difficulties, palpating the patient’s body to assess tissue condition and pain regions. The therapist can then propose the appropriate kind of treatment, which may include deep tissue massage, stretch therapy, myofascial release and others.

How does Myotherapy work?

Myotherapists examine each joint in the body for any problems. The patient’s medical history, posture, range of motion, gait, and soft tissue status may all be examined during the initial assessment. They also look at how these elements interact with other important body systems like the neurological and cardiovascular systems. When it comes to treatment, a Myotherapist typically employs a technique known as trigger point therapy, which involves applying pressure to specific areas of muscle tissue in order to relieve tension.

Myotherapists look for issues in each joint in the body. During the initial examination, the patient’s medical history, posture, range of motion, gait, and soft tissue health may all be assessed. They also investigate how these elements interact with other vital body systems, such as the nervous and cardiovascular systems. When it comes to treatment, a Myotherapist usually uses a technique called trigger point therapy, which is applying pressure to specific areas of muscle tissue to reduce tension.

A Myotherapist may discover that a patient’s discomfort is caused by a different section of the body, in which case they can treat the patient accordingly. A Myotherapist’s role may be considered more holistic than that of a remedial massage therapist because it considers the complete body during examination and treatment.

Which one should you book in for?

Enhanced joint mobility, faster pain alleviation and body healing, improved heart rate control, improved relaxation, and a reduction in depression and anxiety are all scientifically documented health advantages of remedial massage.

Acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain and diseases are the focus of myotherapy. Myofascial pain, lower back pain, tension headaches and migraines, sports injuries (e.g. muscle sprains and rips), tendon pain, degenerative joint page, and surgery rehabilitation are among conditions that can be treated with it.

Myotherapy also focuses on advanced injury prevention, with a Myotherapist detecting a problem before any symptoms appear (proactive myotherapy), potentially saving money on future treatment costs. Finally, a Myotherapist can provide you with comprehensive health and fitness recommendations, including activities that can help you enhance both your physical and mental health.

While remedial massage and myotherapy may appear to be the same treatment with different titles, there are significant variations between the two. Myotherapy uses a broader scope of knowledge to treat the underlying cause of muscle and musculoskeletal conditions.

Remedial massage is great for identifying and treating immediate muscle and musculoskeletal conditions, but if you want to go further and treat the underlying cause, myotherapy is the way to go. If a remedial massage therapist hasn’t been able to resolve a persistent issue, a Myotherapist’s expertise may be required.