What is Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy?
Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy are highly refined and specialised systems of treatment designed to stimulate the natural healing process (homeostasis) by helping to restore damaged muscles and soft tissue in the entire body to their previous good health. We use series of well designed movements and low velocity low impact mobilisations applied to the muscles and joints in the body. We concentrate on all layers of muscle that have become depleted of their normal blood and lymphatic flow and restore circulation to the cellular level. In very simple language we restore the natural balance of your body.
Tight adherent muscles and fascia are weak and the cause of most of the diseases due to their involvement in restricting the circulation of blood and lymphatic fluid, by the entrapment of nerves in soft tissue and in the impairing of normal structural alignment.
Think about this, the effect of damaged or adherent muscles and fascia can be compared to a garden hose with a kink or bend in it. The normal flow of water is blocked and the garden is not watered sufficiently. When a similar disruption in muscle and soft tissue occurs, the normal functions of the blood, nervous endocrine and lymphatic systems are diminished or blocked and the tissues and organs nourished by these systems are not properly fed.
Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy are designed to release and balance the damaged or adherent muscles, joints and soft tissues. The improved circulation that results causes changes on the cellular level to both muscles and fascia, relieves entrapment of nerves which in turn reduces pain as well as increasing range of motion to limbs and joints thus maintaining our body's proper structural alignment.
Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy has been shown to be effective to overall health as it works on every system in the body and successfully restores full function and range of motion in the following conditions:-
Arthritis: Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy moves toxins out of the muscle and joints, moving out swelling, inflammation and pain. Tight muscles pull the joints together which increases pain when these muscles are released not only is there less pain, the cartilage is able to carry out its regeneration process. It also improves the range of motion of the joints.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI): Functional Myotherapy relieves muscle and fascia tightness from the median nerve area of entrapment.
Constipation & Digestive Distress: Functional Myotherapy improves tone in limp, flaccid muscles of the colon wall contributing toward improved peristaltic action.
Headaches: Functional Myotherapy releases adherent factors in the neck, improving blood flow to the brain, as well as relieving a major cause of headaches: stress!
Heart Problems: Functional Myotherapy relieves congestion from around the heart and improves the tone in muscle walls of the blood vessels as well as muscle pathways leading to the heart. It also improves circulation to and from the heart.
Joint & Muscle Pain: Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy releases adherent muscles so they can once again freely glide over one another. This also relieves the pain producing build-up of metabolic substances within the muscles. It improves range of motion & lubrication within the joints.
Neck & Back Pain: Functional Myotherapy releases adherent back and neck muscles, restoring their ease of motion and reducing the incidence of spasm. It helps spinal adjustments to hold more successfully.
Occupational Injuries: Occupational injuries often result from overuse of a muscle in a repetitive movement causing muscle strain and restriction. Functional Myotherapy restores the muscle's blood and lymphatic flow so it moves freely and without pain. Inflammation caused by repetitive strain injury (RSI) is treated in the same way.
Paralysis: Functional Myotherapy opens muscular pathways so that fresh oxygenated blood can reach muscle cells thereby improving the function of the nerve in the motor unit. (If the muscle is too dry, the supply of freshly oxygenated blood is inadequate, contraction cannot take place and the nerve seems non-functional).
Poor Circulation: Often damaged muscles deep in the body will press on blood vessels impairing blood flow. Functional Myotherapy helps cold hands and feet, dry skin, varicose veins, old injuries which are slow in healing and other circulatory problems to improve.
Sciatic Pain: Sciatic pain is often caused by tension or spasm in the piriformis, erector spinae and/or illiopsoas muscle, resulting in entrapment of the sciatic nerve. Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy resolves this irritation along the nerve pathway in the specific areas of entrapment.
Sports Injuries: Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy releases muscle restrictions which helps to balance the stress on weight-bearing joints. It also improves joint range of motion and reduces spinal subluxations.
Tendonitis and Bursitis: Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy reduces inflammation and congestion surrounding bone, cartilage, joint capsule, joint spaces and bursa. It isolates and relieves the restrictive muscle which is pulling on the joint and causing pain in the soft tissues.
Trauma & Motor Vehicle Accidents: When injuries don't heal in the normal time frame, there is often underlying muscle distress, resulting in a cycle of chronic pain. Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy interrupts the chronic pain cycle with corrective muscle work. Joint limitations resulting from old fractures can often be corrected.
Whiplash: Whiplash can cause damage to the minute fibers of the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the neck and back. It often also results in pain and muscle tightness in the sub-occipital and throat muscles. Functional Myotherapy and Musculoskeletal Therapy removes the pain by removing the tightness and increasing the range of motion.
How we treat you?
We treat you with traditional myotherapy, musculoskeletal and soft tissue techniques, joint manipulation and mobilisation techniques such as the Dorn Method, tendon and ligament re-alignment as taught by Lester Cox, Tracy Fleming and Bill Hatchard, deep tissue and neuromuscular techniques such as the Emmett Technique, osteopathic procedures such as muscle energy techniques and myofascial release techniques as well a unique form of myotherapy known as SLM Bodywork that uses acupressure, heat and massage techniques to treat muscular dysfunction in the whole body.
What is SLM Bodywork?
SLM is Steve Lockhart Myotherapy, an advanced hands on form of bodywork based largely on an ancient art of healing from the East. It was made popular by Steve Lockhart in the early 90s and is totally changing the way pain and injury is being treated.
SLM bodywork is best defined as, 'manipulation of the body's soft tissue using a unique combination of acupressure and myotherapy techniques that put length and function back into the muscles and balance the body, allowing it to function normally.'
SLM bodywork is not just another form of massage but a powerful combination of techniques and knowledge that helps rid the body of pain and injury. An SLM Practitioner is trained to know how different muscles in the body are connected and how problems in one area can refer pain to a totally different area.
SLM Practitioners are also trained to recognize when a body requires attention to diet and/or exercise before it is likely to respond properly to bodywork. This combined knowledge that forms the basis of a more holistic approach to a problem, means SLM Bodywork is highly effective in the large majority of cases.
Through a variety of activities or just our lifestyle in general, the body tends to get 'out of balance'. Often what starts out as a small problem, builds up over time and before you know it a chronic pain condition has surfaced and stayed or an acute injury happens out of nowhere
This original imbalance causes the muscles in the body to be loaded up unevenly, some having to work harder than they should carrying you through a day and some working less. In time the body starts compensating for this uneven state and you start to lose flexibility and gain weight. At some point in the body where the pressure from the imbalance is at it's greatest you will invariably end up with chronic pain.
To fix pain you need to work at a deep structural level and remove any imbalance that is present. By removing the imbalance and taking away the compensations you return a body to how it was months or even years earlier, before the problem initially came about.
By fixing the imbalance you invariably fix the original cause of the problem and so the pain is often gone for good. The full body, deep tissue, incredibly effective SLM Bodywork techniques are one way you can safely achieve this.
The health, strength and suppleness of our body goes a long way to determine how significant this imbalance is and how easy or difficult it will be to remove. That is why a therapy shouldn't just manipulate the body but look at ways, through diet, exercises and self treatment to make the body more responsive to the muscle work.
It doesn't matter what your lifestyle, everyone has occasions when their body is in pain or a state of dysfunction. SLM bodywork is a fast and effective way of returning the body to its normal state whilst treating the cause of the problem so that it doesn't return.
At some stage or another most active people develop problems in their body. You can't run a high performance motor car without servicing it, and the body is no different. The more we push our body the more likely problems will develop.
By working on the whole body SLM Bodywork restores balance to the muscle groups and stimulates the flow of chi energy, blood and oxygen, helping to ensure that the body is maintained in the best possible condition and less likely to develop problems in the first place.
What is The Dorn Method?
The Dorn Method is regarded as the gentle alternative to Osteopathy and Chiropractic. It was developed in Germany some 30 years ago by Dieter Dorn and is now fast becoming the widest used therapy for the treatment of back pain, spinal disorders and joint disorders in Germany.
A wholistic, effective, safe and Non-Manipulative Therapy to correct misalignments in the spine and joints and a true self help method!
The Dorn Method is featured in numerous books and medical expositions, taught to medical students in some universities, covered by most private medical insurances and is becoming more and more recognized in mainstream medicine.
What is The Emmett Technique?
The Emmett Technique is a safe and simple muscle release therapy developed by Remedial Therapist Ross Emmett. It is used to address pain and discomfort, improve body movement and can restore a positive emotional state.
The Emmett Technique is a special form of body therapy that involves application of light finger pressure at specific points. These are in sequences that enable gentle releases for common problems which include neck, shoulder and back pain. Techniques derived from NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) are also integrated within the treatment to encourage homeostasis.
The Emmett Technique can be used as an effective adjunct to enhance the treatment value of other types of muscle release and neuro-musculoskeletal therapies, for example: Myotherapy, Chiropractic, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy or may be used as an effective therapy on its own. Accurate and fast assessment of imbalances present in the body are an integral feature of this technique.
The therapy addresses tissues that may include muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin, joints, or other connective tissue (fascia), as well as lymphatic vessels, or organs of the gastrointestinal system.
The benefits.
O.K. we all know we feel great after our pain is gone but what are the therapeutic effects of our treatment.
In it's simplest form "myotherapy is the systematic application of pressure applied externally to the body for the purpose of achieving homeostasis", which is the body’s inbuilt system to heal itself, but in reality the effects can have a profound effect on the whole person both physically and psychologically.
Many of the ancient therapies including massage, acupuncture, yoga and tai chi have their origins in the prevention of disease for example while you're healthy get regular treatment to maintain your health.
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".
So in essence don’t wait until you are sick or in pain to do something about it. In modern Western culture we have adapted a system of addressing health issues after the fact meaning you go for treatment when you feel unwell.
Our treatment not only helps flush the lymphatic and venous systems, improve tissue nutrition, balance the musculoskeletal system and stretch connective tissue, it lets you know where things are going wrong.
A trained myotherapist can point out abnormalities that you can then work on at home through appropriate stretching and strengthening exercises. The myotherapist will also apply soft tissues techniques to reduce the problems encountered.
"If you service your car regularly to keep it going can you really afford not to do the same for yourself".
About our therapists:-
Wayne Stafford is the senior practitioner at Victorian Sports and Muscle Medicine.
He is a Remedial Therapist, Myotherapist, SLM Bodywork practitioner, Musculoskeletal Therapist and Advanced Dorn Method practitioner who is accredited with the Australian Traditional Medicine Society. He is also currently studying Nutritional Medicine.
Wayne has trained with such amazing people as Steve Lockhart, Ross Emmett, Lester Cox, Paul Davies, Thomas Zudrell, John Smith, Thomas Myers, Bill Hatchard, Tracy Fleming and Charles and Vicki Tuchtan. He is a practicing student and teacher of martial arts with over 35 years experience, a personal trainer, a qualified hatha yoga teacher and a former senior lecturer in anatomy and physiology, fitness and remedial massage at the AIF.
He is a passionate practitioner who believes that to treat a patient successfully you need to address the whole body and not just the area that hurts, in other words “treat the cause and not the symptoms” and it is this philosophy along with an excellent treatment regime that makes our treatments so successful for everyone from elite athletes to everyday people that are experiencing pain.
Wayne is a 'knowledge junkie' who belives that just because you are a great practitoner does not mean that you need to stop learning. He is constantly updating his skills and has completed or is currently completing post graduate studies in Nutritional Medicine, Structual Integration, The Emmett Technique, Myofascial Release, Bowen Therapy, Tendon and Ligament Manipulation, Energy Medicine and Craniosacral Therapy.
Charles Tuchtan is a Consultant Myotherapist with Victorian Sports and Muscle Medicine. He graduated from RMIT in 1988 with an Advanced Diploma in Myotherapy and also has a Diploma in Training and Assessment.
Charles was the former head of Remedial Studies at the Australian College of Natural Medicine and was instrumental in writing the course curriculum for the Bachelor of Health Science (Musculoskeletal Therapy) Degree. He is also the co-author of the book Foundations of Massage, a textbook that is used throughout the world to train massage therapists.
Charles has been involved in the health and fitness industry for over 20 years and is currently the head of teaching and learning at the Australian Institute of Fitness and the Australian Institute of Massage. He is widely respected as a Myotherapist, anatomy guru and world class educator and we are pleased to have him on our team.
Lucy Scott has a Bachelors Degree in Natural Medicine and a Diploma of Remedial
Massage and is also an amazing Life Coach. She specialises in the application of deep tissue massage and remedial techniques for the relief of chronic muscular pain and postural dysfunction.
Katherine Sharp is a Consultant Practitioner she has spent most of her working life in the health industry, initially as a Division 1 Registered Nurse, and now as a massage therapist and a multi-talented practitioner of the healing arts.
She started her career in nursing back in the days when nurses trained in hospitals almost like an apprentice would by learning on the job. Upon finishing her General Training she went on to do Midwifery.
After marriage and giving birth to four children, she was drawn more to the naturopath than the GP for their ailments. Her children played lots of sport, and there was always an ache or pain in somewhere, so she developed more than just a passing interest in massage and other healing arts.
After several short courses in massage and other healing therapies, she finally qualified to register as a Certified Massage Therapist. However, this did not mean the end of the learning. Katherine continues to undertake courses and advanced healing therapies so as to stay on top of the latest healing practices and to advance her skill set. Katherine says there is always something else to learn, and great satisfaction to be felt when I discover something new to help my clients even more.
Katherine has a Certificate in Relaxation Massage, a Certificate IV in Massage, a Diploma of Remedial Massage, is fully qualified in SLM Myotherapy, an Advanced Certificate in Dorn Therapy, a Certificate in Hot Stone Massage, a Certificate in Reiki 1 and Reiki 2, is a Facilitator of Quantum Bioenergetic Balancing Technique and a Division 1 Registered Nurse.
She is also a full member of the International Institute for Complementary Therapists (IICT) and the Massage Association of Australia (MAA).
Eileen Valentine is a consultant practitioner she is qualified in Remedial Massage and a student of SLM Bodywork. She is a consulting massage therapist with the Heal Community Clinic, which is a charitable massage centre for the homeless and/or marginalised in Croydon. Eileen attends board meetings when appropriate and undertakes projects as the clinic evolves. She also lectures at the Melbourne Institute of Massage Therapy (MIMT).
She has always been interested in holistic well being and while working as a casual relief teacher noticed how stressful life has become for parents, teachers and children, in fact, everyone. After learning about the different types of stress, how they affect the body and ways of dealing with them she learned Reiki and then retrained as a Remedial Massage Therapist and practices meditation.
She holds Cert IV Massage Therapy Practice, a Diploma of Remedial Massage, Certificates in Reiki 1 and 2, a Certificate in Adamantine Healing, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), a Cert IV Training and Assessment, and a Business Economics with Marketing BA (Hons)
Eileen is enthusiastic and committed to helping you realise and achieve your full health potential in a relaxed and supportive environment.
She is a member of the Australian Association of Massage Therapists (AAMT) and is always keen to explore new avenues by participating in regular professional development.
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