massage therapy

Massage Therapy is now available at Resolution!

Quality of care is at the centre of everything we do at Resolution Physiotherapy & IMS Clinic in Barrie.

We are excited to now be able to offer massage therapy to our clients
from exceptional Award Winning Registered Massage Therapists.

Whether your increased muscle tension or pain is related to competing in your sport, sitting for hours at a desk, or simply related to a busy life, treatment from a Resolution Registered Massage Therapist can help!

At Resolution Physiotherapy & IMS Clinic in Barrie, all of our therapists work together to ensure we maximize recovery for our clients.

Our Registered Massage Therapists collaborate with our Physiotherapists and Orthopaedic Surgeon and incorporate a wide variety of techniques to achieve our clients’ goals.

Resolution Massage Therapists have been honored as winners and nominess of “Barrie’s Favorite Registered Massage Therapist” in the Barrie Readers Choice Awards.

What is Massage Therapy?

In Ontario, Massage Therapy is a regulated health profession.

Our Registed Massage Therapists have all graduated from Accredited Colleges and are Registered with the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO).

“Massage Therapy is the assessment of the soft tissue and joints of the body and the treatment and prevention of physical dysfunction and pain of the soft tissue and joints by manipulation to develop, maintain, rehabilitate or augment physical function, or relieve pain.”
(Massage Therapy Act, 1991)

Therapeutic Massage Therapy treatment at Resolution may include a
combination of the following techniques:

Deep Tissue Massage

Deep tissue massage is a massage technique that’s mainly used to treat musculoskeletal issues, such as strains and sports injuries. It involves applying sustained pressure using slow, deep strokes to target the inner layers of your muscles and connective tissues. This helps to break up scar tissue that forms following an injury and reduce tension in muscle and tissue. It may also promote faster healing by increasing blood flow and reducing inflammation.

Sport Massage

Sport Massage is “the application of specific massage techniques to an athlete with the purpose of enhancing the athlete’s preparation for, or recovery from, the physical demands of training or competition.” (csmta.ca -Canadian Sports Massage Therapy Association) Sports massage is beneficial for pre-performance, post-performance, during training, or for rehabilitation.

Sports massage uses a wide variety of techniques and may include effleurage (stroking), petrissage (kneading), compression, friction, tapotement (rhythmic striking), vibration, gliding, stretching, percussion, deep tissue, myofascial and trigger point release.

The goal of Sport Massage is to help athletes maximize performance, improve physical conditioning, reduce risk of injury, and speed recovery from injury. Sports Massage has been shown to reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), reduce local resting muscle tension and neuromuscular tone, alter perception of pain and fatigue, reduce stress, and improve quality of sleep. Pre-event sport massage therapy can help stimulate and warm up superficial tissue, increase blood flow to muscle, activate the nervous system and muscles, and decrease stiffness. 

Prenatal & Post-Natal Massage

Pregnancy massage is wonderful for expecting moms. While pregnancy brings so many wonderful things it can also bring on some discomfort as your body changes. At Resolution Physiotherapy in Barrie, we have Registered Massage Therapists who have advanced training in Prenatal and Post-natal Massage who can help you feel calmer, energized and comfortable throughout and your pregnancy and after the birth of your baby.

Prenatal Massage can help improve your circulation and reduce swelling, reduce pressure and pain in your belly, joints and lower back, as well as reduce stress, induce relaxation and improve the quality of your sleep.

Post-natal massage can help you recover faster, lower stress, increase circulation and relax your muscles. Postnatal massage can also help improve your sleep and breastfeeding.

Massage for Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Stability

Though Registered Massage Therapists do not treat the pelvis internally, as it is not within their scope, they can indirectly have an influence on the pelvic floor by working on some of the external muscles involved with pelvic floor dysfunction and stability. Pelvic floor dysfunction can result in incontinence, pelvic pain, prolapse and diastasis recti. When there is weakness or tightness in the pelvic floor, the rest of the body will try to compensate for this. Registered Massage Therapists can treat the compensating muscles involved such as muscles of the inner thigh, hip and abdominals. Muscles in these areas can become hypertonic, overactive or weak due to postural imbalances and instability of the pelvis. Registered Massage Therapists can use massage techniques to treat specific areas of muscle tension, provide strengthening and stretching exercises to help to stabilize the pelvis, and they can educate patients on how to utilize proper breathing mechanics as it can have a direct affect on the pelvic floor.

Abdominal Massage

Abdominal massage can be very beneficial for postural correction, treating constipation, treating Diastasis Recti, scar reduction, and recovery from abdominal surgery (such as cesarian sections, hysterectomies, etc). A combination of massage techniques can be utilized to increase relaxation, to promote motility in the colon, reduce adhesions and scar tissue, improve range of motion and to reduce any muscle tension in the abdominal muscles and/or deep hip flexors. For Diastasis Recti, your registered massage therapist may educate you on proper muscle contraction and recommend gentle exercises to help to stabilize the lumbar spine and pelvis.

Hot Stone Massage

Hot stone massages include the use of heated basalt stones to reduce specific areas of muscle tension, to increase relaxation and to stimulate blood flow throughout the body. The basalt stones are kept at 110-130 degrees Fahrenheit, while keeping in mind the individual’s heat tolerance and preference. The temperature of the stones may be adjusted accordingly to ensure that the stones are able to do their job without causing you any harm. Stones are often placed on the back and the extremities with a barrier such as a towel or sheet between the stone and your skin to prevent tissue harm. Your registered massage therapist may also massage the body with the stones placed in their palms. Treatments are generally full body treatments that last up to one hour with a focus on relaxation. However, more specific treatment may be performed such as trigger point therapy with the use of the stones. Cold stones may also be used throughout the treatment as a form of contrast therapy and can be used to help to reduce inflammation in particular areas of the body.

Myofascial Release Techniques

Myofascial release is a type of physical therapy often used to treat myofascial pain syndrome. Myofascial pain syndrome is a chronic pain disorder caused by sensitivity and tightness in your myofascial tissues. These tissues surround and support the muscles throughout your body. The pain usually originates from specific points within your myofascial tissues called “trigger points.”

Myofascial release focuses on reducing pain by easing the tension and tightness in the trigger points. It’s not always easy to understand what trigger point is responsible for the pain. Localizing pain to a specific trigger point is very difficult. For that reason, myofascial release is often used over a broad area of muscle and tissue rather than at single points.

Trigger Point Release

Trigger point is believed to be a localized spasm or knot in the muscle fiber that may cause pain to be referred to other, more distant parts of the body. The objective of trigger point release is is to release or soften a muscle knot and reduce, or eliminate, the pain related to the trigger point. This release happens by applying various levels of pressure to muscle knots, and may also include stretching the affected areas following the release technique.

Swedish Massage Techniques

Swedish massage is one of the most commonly offered massage techniques. It’s sometimes called a classic massage. The technique aims to promote relaxation by releasing muscle tension. Swedish massage is gentler than deep tissue massage and better suited for people interested in relaxation and tension relief.

Friction Massage

Transverse friction massage (also known as cross-friction and cross-fiber massage) is a massage technique that involves applying deep pressure with the balls of the fingers and/or thumb transversely across muscle fibres. Transverse friction promotes optimal collagen healing by increasing circulation and decreasing collagen cross-linking, thus decreasing the formation of adhesions and scar tissue.

Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO) Release

Golgi tendon organs are small bundles of fibers that are located in muscle tendons that are activated when a muscle contracts or is stretched. Golgi Tendon Organ Release technique use static bowing, rhythmic pressure or muscle approximation on tendons and muscle attachment points to activate the GTO’s. Once activated, GTO’s stimulate muscle relaxation, reducing muscle tone and spasm.

Superficial Lymphatic Drainage

Your lymphatic system is a complex network of vessels and nodes throughout your body that absorb fluid with waste and bacteria and moves it to your lymph nodes, where impurities are filtered out. Your lymph system plays essential roles in fighting infection and maintaining fluid balance. Lymphatic drainage massage is a form of gentle massage that encourages the movement of lymph fluids around the body.

Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobiliization (IASTM)

Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) is a popular treatment for myofascial restriction. IASTM uses specially designed instruments to provide a mobilizing effect to scar tissue and myofascial adhesions.

Cupping Techniques

Myofascial Cupping combines massage and stretching techniques with the use of pressurized cups. Skin and myofascial tissue is suctioned into the cups, allowing for dermofascial and myofascial release, increased circulation and nutrient supply to the tissues. Myofascial Cupping can help reduce scar tissue, improve mobility and reduce pain.

Percussive Device Treatment

Percussive therapy uses a massage gun which provides accelerated bursts of vibration pressure into the tissues of the body. Combining firm pressure with a fast-vibrating massage gun, helps treat sore and tense muscle tissue more quickly and effectively. A percussive massage gun can be adjusted to multiple speeds and vibration settings to produce a specific, desired effect. Percussive device therapy can reduce muscle tension, reduce pain, reduce DOMS, increase flexibility and improve circulation.

Heat Therapy

Heat therapy, also known as Thermotherapy, is the use of heat in therapy. Therapeutic effects of thermotherapy include increasing extensibility of soft tissues, decreasing joint stiffness, reducing pain, relieving muscle spasms, and increasing blood flow to speed up the healing process.

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) Muscle Lengthening

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) is an advanced massage technique that combines passive stretching and isometric contractions to reduce neuromuscular holding patterns and help reset muscle tension patterns, and improve muscle length through relaxation. It can produce rapid increases in range of motion and improved athletic performance.

Low-Grade Joint Mobilization

Joint mobilization during massage therapy is performed by bringing a joint slowly through a small and precise range of motion. The goal of joint mobilization is to reduce pain and restore movement to stiff, sore or locked joints. A mobilization focused treatment is generally painfree and tends to feel more like a stretching sensation over the area being treated.

Our Registered Massage Therapists are members of:

Registered Massage Therapists Association of Ontario College of Massage Therapists of Ontario