Remedial exercise is often an integral component of any complete massage therapy session.
Remedial exercises are used to improve your body’s health and help you heal faster. They are useful for rehabilitation after an injury or simply as part of your overall wellness plan. Your health care provider may ask you to do exercises at home, or they may be used during your treatments. In general, there are four primary types of remedial exercise: range of motion, stretching, strengthening, and cardiovascular. Most conditions will be given a combination of at least stretching and strengthening exercises, although many will be given components of all four.
In order to understand how remedial exercises work, it is important to understand how the body’s musculoskeletal system works. Every joint in the body has multiple muscles working to stabilize and/or move it. While some muscles are working to move your joints, others will work to stabilize them or slow the movements. This ensures that movements are smooth and controlled, and helps prevent injury.
Remedial exercise uses a combination of active and passive exercise to restore and improve the client’s musculoskeletal health. Remedial exercise takes three forms: active and passive range of motion, stretching (static and dynamic), and strength (resistance) training. Remedial exercises are designed to correct soft tissue and joint imbalances with counter-balance movements, which will then return the muscles to their balanced state.