Tony, Remedial Therapist & Business Owner.

Hi – I’m Tony, and I am the Business Owner and Practice Principal here at HANDS from HEAVEN. I first trained as a Remedial Therapist back at the turn of the century after leaving a position with the Qld Public Service. I trained at a time where there was much focus on holistic care, with attention to the connection and inter-dependency across the Mind, Body & Spirit … My Diploma included thorough training in Clinical Orthopaedic Testing (just like the Physios) but also encompassed the ‘Whole Person’ in treatment attitudes, and I believe I am a better therapist because of that.

In November 2017 I entered the Certification Program offered by Massage & Myotherapy Australia to have my ability, processes and clinic assessed by an Independent Standards Council – and on 3rd February 2020 I was approved and awarded the title of Certified Specialist – Remedial. This level of professional recognition doesn’t change how I work with my clients – but it can give my clients confidence knowing that my abilities and skill set are worthy of high recognition. Now that I have achieved this level of recognition, I will be subject to review audit every 3 years – ensuring that I maintain the standards I have achieved.

I believe that people come to me because they want the care and attention only a massage can provide … Absolutely they want treatment to help recovery from an injury, or relief from persistent headaches, or to complement their physical training/work, or to correct poor postural habits, or any other of a thousand reasons to get treatment – but whatever their reason, they come to me because they want their treatment wrapped in a massage – not a bit of massage as an afterthought to treatment … so that is what I strive to do every time.

Just because I don’t do a full list of Orthopaedic Tests every time doesn’t mean my massages aren’t Remedial either…

A Remedial Massage is any massage treatment that is provided in conjunction with an Assessment Process before and after the massage to prove the effectiveness of the massage and justify the benefit to your health & well-being.

I tend to do most of my Pre-Treatment Assessment through Observation and Discussion, but the part of assessment that gives me most of the information I need is through Palpation after you mount the massage table … I have a very sensitive touch and get most of the information I need when I combine my understanding of Human Anatomy & Physiology with how your muscle tissue feels today. If we don’t make the changes you need after 2-3 sessions, then I use my Orthopaedic Testing skills to help isolate the most specific muscle/s and or structures that need more focused treatment to achieve full release.

I have found over my years that when it comes to treatment the body will do most of the work itself – all I need to do is help it, through Deep Tissue Massage, Trigger Point Release, maybe some Fascial Stretching … but essentially my focus is to calm, soften and relax the deeper layers of your muscles so that your pain is released, and your functionality is restored … simple really. The Human Body was designed in balance with adequate Range of Motion to allow you to do everything you need to … I see my role as helping you maintain the comfortable functionality you were born with!