Soft tissue occupational therapy

    Our clients benefit from less pain and muscle tension. This improves day-to-day functioning at home and work both physically and mentally.

    Clients report a greater capacity to build resilience and manage life’s stressors, clearer thinking, a decrease in niggling pain and a capacity to achieve satisfaction with tasks. This can enhance quality of life and enables people to continue to do what they love with less pain.

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    West Coast Occupational Therapy

    Via a GP referral West Coast OT also treat:

    • MVA clients
    • Clients with GP chronic disease management plans and patient care arrangements
    • Workers compensation clients

    Who will benefit!

    Who may benefit from soft tissue occupational therapy include, but are not limited to, people experiencing:

    • Low back pain
    • General stiffness, pain and tightness in muscles
    • Poor posture
    • Headaches and neck pain
    • Sports injuries
    • Rotator cuff injuries
    • Bursitis and tendonitis
    • Sprains and strains
    • Adolescent growth injuries
    • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
    • Jaw pain (TMJ dysfunction)
    • Repetitive injuries – elbow, wrist
    • Sciatica
    • Poor range of movement or poor flexibility
    • Chronic pain conditions
    • Poor performance

    Treatment

    Treatment involves a hands-on approach to work through muscle tension and injury, restore normal movement patterns and prevent further injury. Some types of neuromuscular treatments used at West Coast Occupational Therapy include:

    Trigger point therapy involves the application of firm pressure to a hyper-irritable spot or taut band, known as a trigger point, to release tension in the muscle.  These points and can often refer pain to other parts of the body.

    Myofascial release is a very effective hands-on technique that breaks down myofascial restrictions and allows the spreading and stretching of fascia over the muscles to improve symmetry and restore body balance.

    Stretching and strengthening is incorporated in treatment to assist in restoring optimal movement patterns and to positively affect the health and function of soft tissue structures.

    Activating the internal intrinsic stabilising system to unlock poor motor patterns. Addressing dysfunction from a subcortical level and creating new functional motor patterns​

    By educating the client on the effects of posture and demonstrating methods to minimise physical stressors on the body optimises lasting recovery and a reduction in reoccurrence.

    Supporting ligaments/tendons/muscle tissue to enable ultimate positioning and support.​

    Dry needling is a technique that can be used to reduce muscle restriction by releasing trigger points (tender points within muscle) with acupuncture needles. The therapist uses individually packed sterilised acupuncture needles and inserts the needle directly into the trigger point to produce a local response (like a twitch) of the muscle which then quickly dissipates and allows the muscle to relax.