Orthopedic massage is a comprehensive system of hands on therapy used to treat the pain and injury associated with orthopedic conditions. Orthopedic conditions refer to any of those that involve the locomotive structures of the body: skeleton, joints, muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. It is commonly used to treat musculoskeletal problems like: SI joint dysfunction, Lumbago, Cervicalgia (Neck Pain), Whiplash, Torticollis (wry neck), Adhesive Capsulitis, Frozen Shoulder, Scoliosis, IT Band Syndrome, Sciatica, Thoracic Outlet, Morton’s Neuroma, Carpal Tunnel, Pec Minor entrapment etc. etc.
What sets this type of massage therapy apart from others and me from other therapists, is the therapeutic process used, the training involved, palpation ability and clinical reasoning skills. When a client comes in we do an in depth intake consisting of a health history and assessment of the areas of their chief complaints including structural, functional hands on range of motion testing actively, passively and with resistance. The results gained determine whether massage is indicated or whether outside referral is necessary, the functional elements or mechanisms of injury, the types of tissue involved. We use all the information gathered during intake including MRI’s if pertinent and special orthopedic tests to determine which structures to treat and how to match the appropriate technique to the tissue type, joint restriction, or joint end feel encountered. This increases the effectiveness of the treatment by ensuring that mobility is increased, structure is more balanced, and that strain of the involved tissues is either eliminated or reduced.
For example you come in because you can’t raise your arm over your shoulder without pain. Next we assess that movement with you performing it. Next I perform it slowly. And finally I lightly resist the movement and we notice a diffuse pain at the coracoid process, indicating a tendinosis or strain of the pectoralis minor muscle. Raising your arm to the side is belabored at about 150-160 degrees and you can’t quite get it all the way to your head. I then use an orthopedic test to assess your Supraspinatus muscle and with light resistance you also feel a pain behind the shoulder going down the back of the joint indicating a tendinosis in this tendon of the posterior rotator cuff. Next I passively raise your arm from your side and palpate and notice scapular movement before 90 degrees which indicates capsular adhesions. Actively rotating your shoulder away from the side with elbow fixed reveals a bone on bone end feel and lack of full range of motion. This indicates a capsular fibrosis within the joint.
This is a common scenario that is seen in PT, chiropractor’s, osteopathic, and trained massage therapy clinics on a fairly regular basis and responds well to an orthopedic approach after as little as one visit. Yet without proper structural and functional assessment, an untrained therapist may try to “fix “ the painful area with “deep pressure”, move a joint too quickly, or miss the nonverbal cues the injured client is modeling and further damage the already complicated shoulder problem .
So you see assessment is everything. Knowing what to do, how to do it, and when to do it is critical to the success of your treatment. Before you leave we provide you with a couple movements to either stretch and or strengthen the affected areas to gently speed up your recovery.
What sets this type of massage therapy apart from others and me from other therapists, is the therapeutic process used, the training involved, palpation ability and clinical reasoning skills. When a client comes in we do an in depth intake consisting of a health history and assessment of the areas of their chief complaints including structural, functional hands on range of motion testing actively, passively and with resistance. The results gained determine whether massage is indicated or whether outside referral is necessary, the functional elements or mechanisms of injury, the types of tissue involved. We use all the information gathered during intake including MRI’s if pertinent and special orthopedic tests to determine which structures to treat and how to match the appropriate technique to the tissue type, joint restriction, or joint end feel encountered. This increases the effectiveness of the treatment by ensuring that mobility is increased, structure is more balanced, and that strain of the involved tissues is either eliminated or reduced.
For example you come in because you can’t raise your arm over your shoulder without pain. Next we assess that movement with you performing it. Next I perform it slowly. And finally I lightly resist the movement and we notice a diffuse pain at the coracoid process, indicating a tendinosis or strain of the pectoralis minor muscle. Raising your arm to the side is belabored at about 150-160 degrees and you can’t quite get it all the way to your head. I then use an orthopedic test to assess your Supraspinatus muscle and with light resistance you also feel a pain behind the shoulder going down the back of the joint indicating a tendinosis in this tendon of the posterior rotator cuff. Next I passively raise your arm from your side and palpate and notice scapular movement before 90 degrees which indicates capsular adhesions. Actively rotating your shoulder away from the side with elbow fixed reveals a bone on bone end feel and lack of full range of motion. This indicates a capsular fibrosis within the joint.
This is a common scenario that is seen in PT, chiropractor’s, osteopathic, and trained massage therapy clinics on a fairly regular basis and responds well to an orthopedic approach after as little as one visit. Yet without proper structural and functional assessment, an untrained therapist may try to “fix “ the painful area with “deep pressure”, move a joint too quickly, or miss the nonverbal cues the injured client is modeling and further damage the already complicated shoulder problem .
So you see assessment is everything. Knowing what to do, how to do it, and when to do it is critical to the success of your treatment. Before you leave we provide you with a couple movements to either stretch and or strengthen the affected areas to gently speed up your recovery.
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