We start by understanding you.

Before treatment begins, we talk.

We want to understand what you are experiencing, where you are feeling it, when it occurs, what makes it better or worse, and what you would ultimately like to achieve from treatment.

We may also discuss your work, exercise, previous injuries, current healthcare, daily demands and anything else that may be relevant to the way your body is moving and feeling.

This conversation gives us context — and just as importantly, makes sure we are both working towards the same goal.

You should know what we are hoping to achieve and why.

We look beyond the area that hurts.

Where appropriate, your remedial treatment may include assessment of movement, range of motion, muscular tension, restriction and relevant movement patterns.

This helps us build a clearer picture before deciding where treatment should be focused.

Because the place you feel discomfort is not necessarily the only area contributing to it.

A shoulder complaint may involve the neck, thoracic region or surrounding musculature. Hip discomfort may be influenced by movement elsewhere. A continually tight muscle may sometimes be responding to another demand rather than simply needing increasingly firm massage.

Assessment helps us avoid treating the body as a collection of isolated parts.

It allows us to ask a better question:

Why might this area be working so hard in the first place?

We target treatment rather than following a routine.

Once we have talked and assessed, we build your treatment around what is most relevant to you that day.

There is no predetermined sequence that every remedial client receives.

Depending on your presentation, treatment may involve a combination of remedial massage techniques, myofascial work, trigger point techniques, neuromuscular approaches, mobilisation, stretching and other appropriate hands-on techniques.

But technique alone is not the goal.

Purpose is.

We consider where we are working, why we are working there, how much pressure is appropriate, how your tissues are responding and how you are responding as a whole.

That includes your nervous system.

More pressure does not automatically mean better treatment.

For some people and some presentations, slower or more measured work may be more appropriate than continually increasing intensity. Comfort, breathing, guarding, sensitivity and your overall response can all help guide how treatment progresses.

The aim is not to overwhelm your body in pursuit of a “deep” massage.

It is to provide enough input to be useful while continually responding to what your body is telling us.

Your treatment does not have to exist in isolation.

You remain part of the conversation throughout your care.

We explain what we are finding, why we may be focusing on particular areas and how your treatment plan may change as your presentation changes.

Where appropriate, we may reassess movement or symptoms following treatment and use that information to help guide future sessions.

And if you are already working with other health professionals, we are very happy to support that broader plan.

With your consent, Natural Symphony can work alongside your physiotherapist, GP, exercise physiologist, podiatrist or other healthcare provider, taking their recommendations, rehabilitation goals and treatment objectives into consideration.

We don't want to compete with the rest of your healthcare team.

We want to complement it.

If another practitioner is strengthening an area, progressing rehabilitation or asking you to manage a particular load, your remedial treatment can be adapted with those objectives in mind.