Registered Massage Therapy

At IHI, all massage therapy is provided by Registered Massage Therapists. Massage therapy is an important therapeutic tool for relaxation and deep muscular release. Registered Massage Therapy is a regulated health profession in Ontario and is a highly effective therapy for a variety of conditions and general wellness promotion. Massage therapy enhances joint function, improves circulation, increases metabolism and promotes the overall healing process. It is effective for many conditions in which body relaxation and the reduction of swelling and muscle mobilization are required. Massage therapy helps to bring relief from the stresses of everyday living and injury.

More and more Canadians are integrating massage therapy to assist with the physical manifestation of daily stress, seeking relief for a medical condition or complementing other therapies to speed in recovery. Massage is not a luxury. It is a necessity.

Research has shown therapeutic massage relaxes muscles, increases circulation, promotes lymphatic flow, improves healing time of strained ligaments and muscular tissues, reduces inflammation in joints, improves range of motion, reduces ones heart rate and assists in increasing endorphins, the body’s natural way of reducing pain.
The principle form of massage therapy performed at the Integrative Health Institute is Swedish massage with several adjunctive therapeutic techniques that can be employed when necessary.

Additional techniques that can be used to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of your treatment and can include:

Cross fiber massage

A perpendicular massage where purposeful direction and friction is created by rubbing across sore muscle fibers. It is helpful in releasing tension created by adhesions and scars.

Deep tissue massage

A rhythmic action that assists in flushing metabolic wastes through the use of dynamic techniques for advanced soft tissue manipulation. This sophisticated treatment affords a neuromuscular-based method of dramatic muscle tension reduction. Deep tissue massage has been found to increase muscle strength and length with significant and rapid results. It is particularly helpful for athletes in increasing flexibility and preventing injury.

Trigger point therapy

Direct pressure applied to anesthetize or desensitize trigger points. Trigger points are highly sensitive areas in the muscles and connective tissue, that when pressed, assist in releasing stored tension in the muscle.

Lymphatic drainage massage

Lymphatic massage reduces swelling and assists in clearing the lymphatic system so that lymph fluid can move freely through the body. The massage also stimulates the flow of other interstitial fluids (fluid outside of cells between different tissues), encouraging the healthy elimination and movement of dissolved toxicity and old immune cells from the system.