Kinesitherapy and Orthotherapy, what is it?

Posted By Annie Cap on Oct 23, 2013 | 0 comments

We often hear those terms without really knowing what it is… First, they both include massage therapy, mostly swedish, this manual technique that relaxes, improves circulation, helps toxins release, reduces inflammation, helps stress management and provides a feeling of wellbeing, amongst many more benefits. A kinsitherapist and an orthotherapist both have their full studies in massage therapy by definition.

Kinesitherapy is a therapy by movements, it is a therapeutic approach that asembles all pathologies together in one hollistic system where the whole musculo-skeletal chain is taken into account. The objective of this technique is to gain back the normal mobility of a joint and reduce or stop pain around it. Its treatment includes a postural evaluation with some specific tests and palpations, followed by the therapeutic massage. This process often includes tools like essential oils, rubefacient cream and heat. Adapted mobilisations are an important asset to fix the problem, and a session always ends with some advices to follow such as muscular reinforcement, stretchings, nutrition, and more.

Orthotherapy is even more forward-thinking and complete. Its goal is to relieve all kinds of muscular stiffness and lack of mobility, often linked to lack of exercise, continuous bad positioning at work, posture misalignment, repetitive or abrupt movements, etc.  This approach works by softening muscles, realign the body in its normal axis, get strength in the proper muscles, stretch others and gain back normal amplitude in all movements. It includes deep-layers muscular massage (swedish base), kinesitherapy and mecanotherapy (including isometry, vertebrotherapy, myofacial stretchings and posturology). It reaches the third layer of muscles, these small ones that often play the biggest role in the mobility of articulations. Orthotherapy can be surprinsingly efficient for lumbar pain, cervicalgy, migrains, sciatic and other nerves issues, all kinds of back pain, hip pain, tendinitus and a full range of more pathologies, chronic or not.

My philosophy is that if you do not see changes or if your discomfort has not gone away after 6 sessions, in any kind of therapy, change therapist! Orthotherapy or not, treatments shouldn’t take that long for results, usually one or two will be enough, with few exceptions. There are so many forms of therapies out there, the hardest part is to find the one that will suits you best. Orthotherapy (as well as massage therapy and kinesitherapy) works in pair with the execution of advices that will be given to you. Of course, prevention is the key, so monthly sessions will be very efficient to avoid reccurence.  Ideal option is to gift yourself with this moment of apreciation and feel amazing benefits right after each treatment and growing sense of wellbeing over time. A therapeutic session can be very painful at times if there is a need to work on specific tensions, but the feeling afterwards is priceless. We always go according to needs and demands of each individuals so the session is optimal every time. These treatments has changed people’s lives and will most likely change the way you cope with your everyday routine and stress management, but mostly you will feel like you own your body again!

You can’t really go wrong by choosing an orthotherapist because he/she is also a massage therapist and kinesitherapist, therefore will be able to fix you with the apropriate treatment, every time. You might call for a good relaxing massage, the orthotherapist could easily find and fix misalignments at the same time, so why go else where, it’s one of the most complete body therapies there is!

Please contact us for an apointment!

Annie Cap, Orthotherapist