Our natural therapy association has been accrediting myotherapists for more than 60 years, ensuring that they meet the highest educational and training standards required for membership.
Every myotherapist in our directory is qualified and capable of delivering first-rate treatment.
Find myotherapy practitioners across Australia, in our directory of experts.
Myotherapy is a physical therapy designed to prevent, treat, and manage musculoskeletal pain, improve joint and muscle function, and increase performance.
Myotherapy therapists are healthcare professionals who treat and rehabilitate joint and muscle-related pain, injuries and dysfunction. Treatments are sometimes offered alongside osteopathy, physiotherapy, and chiropractic therapies. Myotherapists are also trained in a wide range of neurologic, orthopaedic, and functional testing. This allows them to gain a holistic picture of a client’s physical capabilities.
Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is defined as the “sensory, motor and autonomic symptoms caused by myofascial trigger points (MTrPs).” American physician Dr Janet Travell is generally credited with bringing MTrPs to the attention of healthcare workers in the 1940s. In 1966, she founded the North American Academy of Manipulative Medicine, and in 1983 published The Trigger Point Manuals. These were a comprehensive review of more than 140 muscles’ symptoms and their referred pain patterns.
The International Myopain Society (IMS) was formed in the US in 1999 as a result of more clinicians observing muscles as a source of patients’ pain. It expanded to incorporate European clinicians and more recently, those from the southern hemisphere.
In Australia, myotherapy evolved from the massage industry, with practitioners recognising the additional training and clinical knowledge needed to effectively treat patients. The first myotherapy course was instigated at Melbourne’s RMIT in 1989. Today, the industry continues to grow based on the increasing part that myotherapists play in treating muscle pain and injury.
Myotherapy draws on the Western medical principles of physiology, anatomy, pathology, and biomechanics. It includes a range of manual therapies including joint mobilisation, soft tissue therapy, dry needling, myofascial cupping therapy, taping, corrective and rehabilitative exercise, and prescriptive advice on muscle and pain management.
Myotherapy can help prevent and treat a wide range of chronic and acute musculoskeletal issues and disorders. These include:
Because myotherapy is a form of manual therapy, hands-on treatment may include massage, mobilisation, stretching, and repetitive movements. However, you can accept or reject any manual therapy intervention. Some Myotherapy techniques have the potential to produce discomfort, particularly in tender or painful areas. Clients also sometimes experience mild soreness for a day or two after treatment, but it is usually similar to the soreness felt after mild exercise. At no point should you experience pain that is excessive or unmanageable.
This largely depends on the extent of your pain or injury as well as a range of other variables. However, generally, you should expect to see some improvement after a couple of consultations. Your myotherapist will discuss if further treatment is required after your first appointment.