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By Rachael Bird, Myotherapist  Muscle soreness:
Why? This is your body adjusting to the work that had been done Muscles have been stretched, released, or worked in a new way to aid in restoring function. What You Should Know: Over the next few days, you might notice other muscles getting tight.
What Can Help?:
Posture & Movement
Follow-Up & Home Care
Please Contact Your Myotherapist if:
By Peter Pascalis, Clinical Myotherapist Muscle pain can strike suddenly and disrupt daily life. When this happens, many people wonder which therapy will provide the best relief. Should you see a physiotherapist, a chiropractor, or a myotherapist? While these therapies share some treatment methods, the key differences lie in their areas of focus and expertise. Myotherapy stands out as the specialist approach for muscle pain caused by tight, knotted muscles and related nerve issues. This post explains why myotherapy might be the best choice when your muscles are the main problem.  Understanding Myotherapy and Its Focus Myotherapy is a manual therapy that targets myofascial pain, which means pain originating from muscles and the connective tissue around them. Myotherapists are trained to identify and treat muscle tightness, trigger points (knots), and nerve irritation caused by muscle dysfunction. Their goal is to restore healthy muscle function and relieve pain by addressing the root cause within the muscle tissue. Unlike some other therapies, myotherapy focuses deeply on muscles and their related nerves. This makes it especially effective for sudden muscle pain that appears without an obvious injury or for chronic muscle tightness that limits movement. Myotherapists use techniques such as:
How Physiotherapy Differs Physiotherapy covers a broad range of physical rehabilitation and injury management. Physiotherapists treat muscles, joints, bones, and neurological conditions. Their work often involves restoring movement after injury or surgery, managing chronic conditions like arthritis, and improving overall physical function. While physiotherapists do treat muscle pain, their approach is usually more general. They might focus on joint mobility, posture correction, and functional movement patterns alongside muscle treatment. This makes physiotherapy ideal for complex injuries or conditions involving multiple body systems. For example, if you have a sports injury that affects both your muscles and joints, a physiotherapist will design a program to address all aspects of your recovery. However, if your main issue is painful muscle knots without joint involvement, myotherapy offers a more targeted solution. What Makes Chiropractic Care Unique Chiropractors specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal problems, especially those related to the spine. Their hallmark treatment is spinal adjustments, which aim to improve spinal alignment and nervous system function. Chiropractic care is often sought for back pain, neck pain, and headaches linked to spinal issues. While chiropractors may use soft tissue techniques and advice on posture and exercise, their primary focus is on the spine and nervous system rather than isolated muscle pain. If your muscle pain is related to spinal misalignment or nerve compression, chiropractic care can be very effective. But for muscle pain caused by tight or knotted muscles without spinal involvement, myotherapy usually provides more direct relief. Why Myotherapy Excels in Treating Muscle Pain Myotherapy’s specialization in muscle pain means it offers several advantages:
For example, many people experience tight muscles after long hours at a desk or from stress. These knots can cause pain and restrict movement. A myotherapist can quickly identify the problem areas and use hands-on techniques to release the knots, improving muscle function and reducing pain. In our experience, patients often report faster relief from muscle pain with myotherapy compared to other therapies because the treatment is so focused on the muscle tissue itself. When to Choose Each Therapy Choosing the right therapy depends on your symptoms and needs:
If you are unsure, many clinics offer combined approaches or can refer you to the most appropriate specialist after an initial assessment. Practical Tips for Muscle Pain Relief at Home While professional treatment is important, you can support your muscle health with simple habits:
These steps can reduce muscle tension and improve the effectiveness of myotherapy or other treatments. Final Thoughts on Choosing Myotherapy Muscle pain can be frustrating, especially when it appears suddenly or without clear cause. Myotherapy offers a focused, effective approach to treating muscle knots and restoring healthy muscle function. While physiotherapy and chiropractic care have their strengths, myotherapy’s specialization makes it the best choice for muscle-related pain. If you struggle with tight, painful muscles that limit your movement, consider booking a session with a myotherapist. Their expert hands-on care and tailored exercises can help you get back to feeling strong and pain-free. Remember, managing muscle pain is about finding the right treatment for your specific needs. Myotherapy provides a clear path to relief when muscle pain is the main issue. Take the next step and book an appointment to explore how myotherapy can support your muscle health today. By Rachael Bird, Myotherapist If you’ve just had your first myotherapy treatment, you might be wondering what comes next. It’s completely normal to experience a few changes in your body as it begins to respond and adjust. Some of these effects are short-term and part of the healing process, while others are positive signs that your muscles are starting to function more freely. We’ll walk you through what you can expect after your session and share some simple ways to manage any discomfort so you can get the most out of your recovery.  Muscle soreness:
Why? This is your body adjusting to the work that had been done Muscles have been stretched, released, or worked in a new way to aid in restoring function. What you should know: Over the next few days, you might notice other muscles getting tight.
What can help?:
Posture & Movement
Follow-Up & Home Care
Please contact Your Myotherapist If:
Remember, every body responds differently, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns after your treatment. If you’re ready to take the next step in your recovery journey, book your next appointment today and keep your body moving at its best. By Megan Cornish, Myotherapist Calling all my fellow dancers! Regardless of what style you specialise in, as a dancer myself I am well aware that keeping our hips healthy whilst engaging in our sport can be challenging. This can be due to excessive load passing through the joint, the positional nature of the style (e.g. external rotation of hips in ballet) or repetitive strain over time. These external influences can sometimes lead to the development of overuse injuries of the hip or sudden onset injuries which can be painful and make it difficult to continue to participate in dance and other daily activities. So let's talk about common pathologies that can affect hips in dancers and how we can keep our hips happy and prevent injuries from occurring.  Common dysfunctions that can occur at the hip joint as a result of load, wear and tear and repetitive strain in dancers are progressive onset conditions such as cartilage degeneration, bone spurs, gluteal and hip flexor tendinopathy, and/or hip impingements. Sudden onset conditions can consist of an injury to a soft tissue such as labral tears, muscular strain and ligament and tendon tears or in severe cases a fracture to the bone itself. Regardless of the onset, any of the above pathologies can cause pain at the side, back or front of the hip as well as causing possible referral to other regions of the body, most commonly down the leg of the affected side or the lower back.
Although there are conditions that can occur at the hip joint, we can proactively do things to protect the healthy function of our hips and prevent issues from arrising. Dynamic Warm Up I'm sure we’ve all had our teachers take us through a high energy warm up routine before commencing each class and there is a good reason for this. Warming up our muscles prior to engaging in dance is super important to allow time for the soft tissues to get used to quick changes of direction and length which will prevent muscle strains and sprains. If you’ve ever done a fan kick and felt a quick pull in your hamstring you’ll know what I mean and your muscle was likely not warm enough to accommodate that movement safely. Cool Downs Cool downs after dance are just as important as warm ups when it comes to injury prevention and treatment of delayed onset muscle soreness. This gives muscle tissue time to return to their usual daily functions whilst increasing circulation and processing lactic acid build up from strenuous exercise. Strengthening Core This is an interesting one and is to do with muscular imbalances. When our core is weak there is less structural support happening through our lumbar spine and other muscles will overactivate to provide that stabilisation. Usually these will be muscles in our hamstring or hip flexor groups. When hamstrings and/or hip flexors overactivate, we get a recipe for potential complications at the hip joint so if we can share the amount of work these muscles have to take on with our core it can prevent that muscular imbalance from occurring. Have a look at your feet! Next time you are standing barefoot have a look down at your feet and see if you can observe any rolling inwards or outwards of the ankle. You can even try a mindfulness exercise where you close your eyes and take note of where you can feel the majority of your weight distribution is on the foot - can you feel it more on the outside of the foot? Is there more weight through your big toe? Your heel? Ect. Foot health can tell us a lot about what the hip is doing and can be a contributing factor to potential hip complications arising. Investing in supportive footwear throughout the day is highly recommended for us dancers as our pointe, jazz and/or tap shoes don’t always provide enough arch support which can affect our hips overtime. Don't push through pain My last point and arguably the most important is under no circumstances should you push through pain! Pain is your body’s way of letting you know that something isn’t quite right and therefore should never be ignored. My biggest piece of advice would be if you experience any pain, listen to your body, stop the movement causing pain, limit aggravating factors and get it assessed/ treated so that a cause can be identified and addressed before it worsens. Myotherapists are musculoskeletal experts who are experienced and qualified in treating a range of musculoskeletal conditions such as dancers hip! As a dancer myself and experiencing my own hip complications I am fully aware of the impact this can have on not only your ability to dance but complete daily activities and live comfortably. If you are a dancer of any style and are experiencing hip pain I highly encourage you to book an appointment so that we can get you back to moving the way you want to! |
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Shop 12B/150 Kelletts Rd, Rowville VIC 3178 |
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