I am best viewed from the rear! I had 12 sessions of bodywork and you can see the before and after effects on my posture. I have had scoliosis since my teen. About 20 years ago I start to get pain in the lower back, right shoulder, neck, and I couldn't turn my head very far.
I spent years and thousands of dollars on chiros, physios and acupuncture. I thought I had tried everything.
Occasionally I would get some temporary relief, but after several years I was in as much pain as at the beginning.
Then I started attending massage courses, firstly some weekend massage courses, not so much to learn how to do it, but to see if it might help. Lo and behold it did!
I had a remedial massage once a week for about 3 months, after which my pain had gone and some of the curvature in the spine had been ironed out.
At the time I had a permanent, reasonably well paid job as a TAFE Lecturer in IT, having previously spent years working with multinational computer corporations in the UK, with a career spanning over 25 years in the IT industry.
However, even though it was a huge step into the unknown and I could not get Austudy or any financial help, I felt compelled to spend two and a half years studying to enable a change of career to become a Remedial Massage Therapist for several reasons:
I felt it needed someone to get the message about Remedial Massage out into the public domain. I think practicing in Churchill Park at the foreshore at weekends for about 8 years certainly did that!
These days some health funds advertise rebates for Remedial Massage, which increases awareness, but that wasn't the case when I changed career in 2004!
I felt that there were one or two practitioners who simply wanted to book you in for more and more appointments without any significant improvements.
I was disappointed that no one I went to suggested that I try Remedial Massage. If I can't help a client make significant improvements after a couple of suggestions, I will suggest scans such as CT scans, X-Rays or ultrasounds or I will refer them on. I don't believe in overservicing.
One practitioner cracked my neck causing me to be dizzy and nauseous. I vomited on their lawn and crawled to my car. If you look after the muscles and other soft tissue, the bones generally take care of themselves!
I trade as The Remedial Massage Guy, so I clearly practice Remedial Massage but I also provide Sports massage, Pregnancy massage and rehabilitation work for injuries. I am best known for relieving aches, pains, headaches and stress, and correcting posture. I also do relaxing massages, but when you advertise relief from aches, pains, headaches and stress, that is what most people are interested in!
I started off offering Remedial Massage at the Palm Beach foreshore in Churchill Park at weekends way back in 2004. I set up on the corner, in a highly visible spot (now occupied by an electricity substation which is trying to blend in but fails miserably!). People on the phone trying to meet up with friends and family would say 'we're standing right next to The Massage Guy'. After I heard that 200 times or so, I adopted The Massage Guy as my practice name. A few years later and I thought it could easily be misinterpreted and was perhaps a bit frivolous, so I changed it to 'The REMEDIAL Massage Guy'. Google loves the name. Whenever anyone types in 'Remedial Massage Rockingham', Google puts me in a good position below the paid adverts.
The downside of being The Remedial Massage Guy is that people don't realise that I have a great deal of interest in sports, particularly fine tuning athletes in the run up to events. It is not just the training that wins races! I have helped many a triathlete, cyclist or runner to a PB. I also have a special interest in pregnancy and post-natal massage.
I live in an area where massage seems to be the solution to the unemployment problem and there are between 150 and 170 (I estimate) people keenly vying for your custom, and so you have many choices available. There are about 50 practitioners of Remedial Massage offering Health Fund Rebates in Rockingham! (There were about SIX when I first started!)
Some reasons you may want to give me consideration include:
I have THREE diplomas of Remedial Massage. This is in addition to the 5 years I spent at University in the UK in my youth, at the universities of Sheffield, Canterbury and London
I initially spent two and half years studying bodywork with Barry Harwood, Central TAFE and the Perth Academy of Natural Therapies.
Many colleges offer a Diploma of Remedial Massage in a year or less, which is insufficient time to learn everything in my view.
I would prefer for Remedial Massage to become a University degree of 3 years so that Remedial Massage gets the recognition it deserves.
I initially started attending weekend courses simply as a body to see if my pain could be relieved by massage, I wasn't expecting to change career to become a bodyworker!
I then studied Myopractic with Dr Neil Skilbeck who worked with Tom Bowen, which gave me a good grounding in Bowen techniques and Neil's own contributions of postural assessments. However, although I only had the clinical hours to complete to get his Certificate of Myopractic, I moved on because at that time the Certificate was not recognised by the health funds, and being able to offer health funds was critical to me in an industry where there is no regulation. I also had a minor philosophical difference of opinion with the Bowen technique. With Bowen, often the benefits are said to be felt days after the treatment. I want people to walk out of the room after treatment feeling much better, that the symptoms have been reduced from 10 to 3 or below, and that they have had good value for money!
Having decided to move on to remedial massage to gain a recognised Diploma (although the Myopractic has now been belatedly recognised),
I studied at Barry Harwood's Centre for Health and Healing, Central TAFE, PANT (Perth Academy of Natural Therapies) where I also started studying Naturopathy until PANT went broke without paying the teachers and so the exam papers were not marked and students didnt get any results! I have also studied numerous short courses, including courses with the Upledger Institute (for Craniosacral Therapy), Rodney Hunt. I also studied from a huge collection of DVDs I purchased from Terra Rosa which helped flesh out my knowledge of different techniques (today youtube probably provideds a lot of this info for free where I spent thousands!). I also have a really comprehensive library more suited to a college than a solo practitioner. This shows I cut absolutely no corners in training myself up to be the best that I can be and to provide the most cost effective ache, pain and headache within cooee.
I am a member of M&MA, Massage and Myotherapy Australia having changed from the Association of Remedial Masseurs (which folded)
I am registered with the Insurance Commission of WA to assist people with injuries sustained at work or in traffic accidents.
I offer instant health fund rebates and EFTPOS facilities at my clinic
I served my apprenticeship by working at the Rockingham Rugby Union Club for three seasons!
Mishka, our samoyed, doubles as my receptionist. Here she is posing with me after we attended the Pumpkin Festival in Dwellingup
