We’re featuring another Registered Massage Therapist at The ScoliClinic, and sharing some of the manual therapy techniques that she finds helpful for her clients with scoliosis.
RMT Kaelin Bériault works in our Vancouver location and is also contributing to the Research division of our company by facilitating discussions on research-informed practice.
Here, Kaelin shares two favourite massage techniques to use in treatments for people with scoliosis and Scheuermann’s Kyphosis.
“I really like using active techniques, which essentially means that massage therapy is combined with movements generated by the client. I find that having the client actively engage their muscles during the treatment is effective for those postural muscles that are working overtime.
Kaelin also describes how active movements can also reinforce body awareness.
“When clients participate in guided movements while receiving the hands-on feedback from the therapist, it really helps them better understand where their body is in space, and can learn new movement patterns. It can help them better perform the curve-specific postural corrections that are taught to them in detail by the TSC Physiotherapist.”
This is where the interdisciplinary collaboration comes into play – at The ScoliClinic, our team has designed specific chart notes to help Physiotherapists and Registered Massage Therapists communicate about their shared clients, which can be otherwise difficult in a typical busy work shift. Cross-discipline mentoring sessions also allow therapists to learn about each others contributions to treatment planning.
Kaelin shares that her second frequently-used approach employs various joint mobilizations.
“A client’s discomfort can come from a combination of muscle tightness AND prolonged compression of the joints. People may think that Massage Therapy only works on the muscles, but RMTs are also trained to work on the tissues of the joints. By gently moving the bones in a joint, it can help to create space and therefore pain relief in those compressed joints.”
For spinal conditions like scoliosis and Scheuermann’s Kyphosis, the joints in the spine are often the focus of treatments.
“Spinal traction techniques can help create elongation throughout the spine, which has a similar effect to hanging exercises. When it’s done manually by a therapist, we can focus on certain areas of the spine, say thoracic versus lumbar, and the client is also more relaxed when lying on a table.”
Thanks to RMT Kaelin for sharing some of her experience in this blog!
All of our Registered Massage Therapists have a unique style, so if you resonated with Kaelin’s treatment approach, contact us to reserve your times with RMT Kaelin at our Vancouver clinic.
If you like to have an RMT sessions back-to-back with your Physiotherapy session, ensure you let our Client Coordinators know so we can find the optimal times for you.