Massage Therapy

Massage therapy in Victoria and Oakbay at Arbutus Physiotherapy and Health Clinic

We offer massage therapy services. For athletes. And for everyone else.

Benefits of massage therapy

Getting a massage can provide you with a host of benefits:

increases joint mobility and range of motion
acute and chronic pain modulation
aids in healing processes in acute and chronic injuries
decrease in scar tissue and adhesions due to postural faults, surgeries etc.
postural awareness
decreases general muscle resting tension
relaxation/reduces sympathetic firing
promotes general functionality

Let us know if you have questions, or want to book an appointment.

Massage for athletes

Anyone can benefit from a relaxing massage. But for athletes, massage can be an important part of a high performance regime.

Our Registered Massage Therapists

Our massage therapists are Christy Mader, Kristen Bradley and Sarai Goodwin.

Common conditions that we treat

Here’s a few of the common conditions that people see us for:

acute and chronic pain conditions
muscle tension
tension headaches
osteoarthritis
joint dysfunctions
frozen shoulder
impingement
lumbar spine conditions
chronic back pain

Massage therapy techniques

At Arbutus, we use a range of techniques, including:

deep tissue
general Swedish Techniques
myofascial and fascial release
joint mobilizations
proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation
biofeedback
muscle energy
dynamic release
stretching
trigger point techniques
hydrotherapy modalities

A rough guide to insurance at a health clinic, part 1

A close up of a dandelion ready to spread it's seeds.

We get a lot of questions about insurance here. “Do you take x?” “Can you direct bill for y?” To understand insurance, it's important to know the difference between primary and secondary coverage...

We had the good fortune of sitting down with Sarai (pronounced like hurray) Goodwin this summer to talk about life, massage therapy, travelling, swimming in the ocean and existence as a single mother...

A massage therapist presses and holds the trapezius muscles around a patients back and neck.

Very occasionally I'll meet someone who isn't really into massage, and when this happens I resist the impulse to frown and explain why they're deeply ...

A still clear glass of pure water. Water is life.

Water. It makes up most of your body and it makes up 75% of our muscle and brain tissue. Pretty important stuff...

Garry and Alli Valk play tennis, work out.

Athletes today are searching for the technologies and the techniques to get the most out of their schedules. Physiotherapy can play a major preventative role for athletes that are pushing and risking injury...

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Some interesting research from Yale and other American Universities suggests that we should be careful to resist the prevalent social attitudes about obesity and weight...

Wine and cheese at the clinic to help with collaboration

All the practitioners at Arbutus run busy practices so at times we only see each other as we pass in the reception area. To allow more collaboration and mentorship we have started...