The ScoliClinic’s team of Registered Massage Therapists has grown and evolved over the past years.
The growing team brings an expansion of the collective skillset, while also encouraging each RMT to develop their own style and approach.
RMT Virginia Ghomeshi works in our North Vancouver location to serve families on the North Shore and Sea-To-Sky highway. Here she shares two favourite techniques to use in treatments for people with scoliosis and Scheuermann’s Kyphosis.
“For my first favourite technique – I find coaching a patient to improve their diaphragmatic breathing helps bring awareness to their valleys in order to expand and create space in that region – during treatment this is very beneficial, and then they are also able to carry this technique with them off the table, and apply it to activities in their day-to-day lives.”
During some RMT onboarding and mentoring sessions at The ScoliClinic, we discuss how the various curve types may affect the position and function of the diaphragm. RMTs then integrate this information with their existing knowledge about diaphragm massage techniques to create highly specific treatments for each of their clients.
“And rather than naming a second ‘technique’, I want to highlight an area of the body that a majority of my clients benefit from receiving treatment for – the front of the neck, shoulders and chest.
Whether I use techniques such as myofascial release, muscle stripping, or passive/active stretching, the majority of people feel decreased tension when we can create more space across their anterior body. So many of us spend so much time in the typical “desk worker position” (rounded shoulders/head forward posture) so this doesn’t only apply to people with scoliosis, but we do find that patients with scoliosis and/or Scheuermann’s Kyphosis find great relief after this type of treatment.
Even if people experience symptoms in their back, working on the front indirectly targets their back muscles by creating more balance between the front and back of the body, therefore taking load off those muscles that have been working extra hard… which are typically those areas that have pain and discomfort.”
We understand that some people with scoliosis or back pain may feel hesitant about having a Registered Massage Therapy treatment, because they may have sensitive backs or are scared of flaring up their pain. However, with a sufficiently-trained therapist and a curve-specific approach, hands-on therapy can really work in conjunction with scoliosis-specific physiotherapy help you achieve your therapy goals.
Reserve your times with RMT Virginia at our North Vancouver clinic, who is available in the evenings and Saturdays.
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.