Collins Place Physiotherapy Clinic

Myotherapy is the treatment and management of musculoskeletal pain involving extensive physical evaluation and an integrated approach to affected muscles, joints and nerves. This approach is used in the treatment of acute or chronic conditions and in the area of preventive management. Myotherapy treatment involves the use of soft tissue and skeletal mobilisation and also includes myofacial dry-needling, electrical stimulation (ultrasound TENS), functional taping, pain management techniques and prescriptive exercises.

Musculoskeletal pain may be divided into two categories: a) myofascial pain 
originating from a soft tissue problem, which can be general throughout a muscle or may present as myofascial trigger point/s or as taut bands of muscle fibre, and b) pain originating from other musculoskeletal conditions with a variety of presenting symptoms.

Myotherapists can be described as primary-care practitioners with a multi-dimensional approach to the diagnosis, treatment and management of musculoskeletal pain. This requires a thorough and comprehensive knowledge in the clinical sciences, combined with an extensive repertoire of sophisticated manual skills, which remain at the very heart of myotherapy. These attributes must also be supported with communication and management skills, an appreciation of legal and ethical issues, as well as an understanding of potential behaviour and psychological issues.

The distinguishing feature of Myotherapy is its specific form of clinical reasoning in the assessment and treatment of musculoskeletal pain, using the standard methods of investigative assessment such as postural evaluation, orthopaedic, neurological, and functional testing. However a primary focus of the assessment involves a thorough palpatory exploration of spinal and peripheral joint play, the contractile state of specific muscles and an interpretation of these findings in their relationship to myofascial pain.