Massage Therapy

Massage Therapy at Ace Physio is provided by a Registered Massage Therapist. This ensures that your massages are provided by a healthcare professional that is professionally trained and licensed to provide safe and effective treatment.

At Ace Physio your Massage takes place in a private downtown Toronto Physiotherapy clinic setting, where you will be massaged on a comfortable deluxe massage table. Our massage therapy sessions can include; soft music or tranquil sounds, along with candle light and soothing aromatherapy oils to help you relax.

In addition to massage, a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) scope of practice allows them to;
– assess orthopedic and neurological systems,
– access and repair soft tissue (muscles and tendons), skeletal injuries and chronic neuromuscular conditions
– provide remedial exercise and client education programs.
By combining all the above an RMT is able to contribute and promote the health and wellness of their clients.

 

Types of Massages Therapy offered at Ace Physio

Relaxation Massage
Relaxation massage as the name indicates allow you to get relaxed fully and is considered more like a recreational massage with soft music, fragrance of aroma oils and gentle dim lights that helps you to relax emotionally.
The technique normally involves soft strokes on the entire body focusing more on the tense and tender spots like shoulders, neck and back. It also helps in enhancing the blood flow and release mental as well as physical stress.

Deep tissue massage
The aim of massaging is to improve blood supply to the tissues that helps in elimination of toxins and chemicals that are produced as a result of different metabolic processes. The primary aim of deep tissue massage is to serve following functions:
– Deep tissue massage aims at releasing stress and tension in the muscles of the body. This involves deep muscular components also like fascia, connective tissue and tough ligaments and tendons.
The technique involves application of moderate and calculated pressure on the deeper tissues (underneath superficial tissues) to ensure the quiescent muscle fibers get stimulated and warmed up. Most doctors suggest deep tissue massages to chronic hypertensive individuals who are refractory to pharmacotherapy. Additional benefits include enhanced recovery of damaged tissues and prevention of unsightly scar formation.

The ideal candidates for deep tissue massage are:
– Athletes who report persistent or chronic muscular pain.
– Individuals who are exposed to muscular-skeletal issues as a result of chronic muscular injury.
However, any individual can get deep muscle massage, only limitation is the mild to moderate pain in surrounding muscles for a day that is absolutely normal and resolve without any residual sequelae.

Myofascial release massage
It is a special type of manual massage technique that aims at releasing the knots and bonds between fascia, skin, integument and muscles that causes moderate to severe pain. The primary target of massage is to loosen up the tense and taut muscles and attached connective tissues to enhance and improve the mobility and range of motion.
To achieve the above goals variety of devices are used that apply shear stress, stretch and compression to tissues via manual exercises or in some cases by using rolling machines. The majority of myo-facial release techniques are performed without oil.

Sports massage
Sport massage is especially used in athletes who perform vigorous physical activities for long hours. To achieve the best results, the techniques of massage are different in each athlete depending upon the area of muscle tension and activity. The main aims of sports massage are:
– To release stress and tension in muscles before a big event
– To enhance the pace of tissue recovery after exercise or a big event where forceful and aggressive muscle activity has lead to tissue damage.
Techniques vary and may range from stretching to manual tissue stretching and rolling. If performed properly, it can lead to:
– Improved range of motion
– Flexibility and elasticity of movement
– Prevention of sports related injuries like ligament tear or damage to tendons.
– Improvement in the muscular endurance
– Decrease fatigue after vigorous activity as muscles are fresh.

Manual Lymphatic Drainage
It is a special type of massage therapy that is employed in individuals who develop:
– Edematous swelling of the tissues due to stasis of blood flow or lymphatic drainage
– To improve mobility and relieve swelling in pre surgery or post-surgery patients (who are bed-ridden for prolonged duration).
– In obese individuals who develop stasis of lymph flow due to valve failure.
– In post chemotherapy patients who develop swelling or inflammation of lymphatic channels. Such is often the case when performing lymphatic drainage for breast cancer patients.
Manual lymphatic drainage is extremely soothing and helpful for the promotion of lymphatic flow across the channels. The light finger strokes run in wave like motion to aid in detoxification of tissues.

Trigger point massage
Trigger point massage is a special type of massage that is directed only against tense and tender spots that may be active (painful all the time) or latent (episodic pain) and may manifest symptoms that may be local (on the area of tense spot) or referred (far from the area of tender spot, along the nerve supply).
The aim of tender point massage therapy is to passively stimulate the nerve ending by local application of pressure or by instrumental vibrations to excite and then numb the pain nerve endings. The benefits of trigger point massage are:
– Improvement in the frequency and severity of the episodic or stress related headaches.
– Fewer pain signals or muscular spasms.
– Improvement in the full range of motion.

Swedish massage
One of the very popular massages today, Swedish massage aims at enhancing the flow of blood and lymph across superficial and deep tissues, while releasing stress and tension at the same time. The basic technique involves the use of different soft skin strokes that provides a soothing and relaxing effect in the muscles.
These strokes are:
– Smooth skin stroke for soft tissues
– Kneading stroke for deeper tissues
– Circular motion to enhance blood flow
– Cupping motion to release stress and knots in connective tissue
The overall benefit of this massage is help facilitate smooth and relaxed muscles, while relieving of chronic pain and improving in the range of motion.

Pre and post natal massage
Pregnancy increases the bar on body by increasing the stress of all the joints of the body because of:
– Rapid weight gain that is not properly dissipated all over the body
– Under the influence of hormones, the muscles and ligaments undergo various changes.
Pre and post natal massage are becoming very common, especially during labor when the muscles are exhausted and aching. These massages have proven efficacy in improving the performance of woman in labor and it also has relaxing effect on babies.
After child birth, post natal massage helps in relaxation of tense and aching muscle and improves the overall outcome.