Fluid Health Management
Established in 2006, Fluid Health Management provides health solutions for athletes, sporting clubs, and the wider community through soft tissue therapies, functional movement training, and injury rehabilitation. Co-founder Jimmy Wilson talks about this innovative centre’s aims to deliver optimum health and pain-free living.
PM: What is fluid health?
Jimmy: Fluid Health is a holistic approach to health and fitness. We offer a wide range of services including all types of remedial massage and myotherapy, functional movement screening, personal training, physiotherapy, sports physiology, nutrition coaching, as well as a full range of sports recovery equipment in our Athlete’s Lounge.
PM: You fix people with Myotherapy, how is this different to regular massage therapy?
Jimmy: I’m actually a qualified Sports Remedial Practitioner, Myotherapist and Bowen Therapist. A Myotherapist has more skills at their disposal, for example exercise prescription, dry needling and pain education. We call upon all these skills when treating patients with musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction, not just massage, although remedial massage therapy is a big part of my approach to treating chronic pain. Technically, Myotherapy is the assessment, treatment and management of musculoskeletal conditions which may cause pain and discomfort – but for me, the best results come from selecting the most effective treatment that takes into account the patient’s values, beliefs and comfort levels.
PM: What is dry needling? Does it actually involve needles?
Jimmy: It does! Dry Needling is a technique that uses super fine, single-use sterilised needles applied to the musculoskeletal system in order to deactivate myofascial trigger points. If you’re familiar with Chinese acupuncture it looks very similar, but the philosophy behind it is different. In Chinese acupuncture, needles are applied to meridian lines representing organs of the body. Their aim is to balance and maintain free flow of electricity within the body. Dry Needling is based on the theory that when trigger points develop in muscles, they lead to neuromuscular dysfunction, resulting in pain, decreased function and increased stress on surrounding structures. Needles are used to elicit a twitch response to release the trigger point and restore normal function to the muscle.
PM: What made you follow this particular career path?
Jimmy: I actually started my career in the early childhood industry, but fixing people has always been my passion. I experienced the benefits of hands on therapy in my teens after treatment for spinal tumours – so for me, I come to the profession from a place of wanting to deliver the same sort of benefits I’ve experienced.
PM: You’ve spent a lot of time working with professional athletes and weekend sports warriors – how is that different from working with general aches and pains?
Jimmy: It’s not really. Musculoskeletal dysfunction and pain in professional athletes and the non-sporting population are the same. Maybe attitudes to recovery are different, but the fix is almost always the same.
PM: Tell us a little bit about the professional sporting teams you’ve worked with?
Jimmy:
I’m originally from Sydney, so I’ve worked with NSW Cricket, NSW Rugby Union, multiple NRL teams, Australian Rugby League World Cup teams, and Sydney FC as a soft tissue therapist. Fluid Health Management also sponsors four professional athletes including a snowboarder, an elite marathon runner and a couple of triathletes.
PM: What is sports recovery and why do people need it?
Jimmy: We run Sports Recovery sessions in our Athletes Lounge on weekends, and pre-and-post events by arrangement. The sessions run for 90 minutes, and include the use of Ice Baths, Far-Infrared Sauna, Recovery Pumps and Active Recovery equipment. We also run Pre-Event Prep Sessions (PEP) on request. These sessions are designed to get your muscles in optimum shape for whatever sporting event you have coming up.
PM:
I noticed that you offer hyperbaric treatment here. What type of injuries or conditions are helped by hyperbaric therapy?
Jimmy: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy delivers 95-100% oxygen at pressures greater than atmospheric pressure to patients in a specially designed chamber. Hyperbaric oxygen has powerful medicinal properties and has been proven to be effective by dissolving oxygen in to the blood plasma, increasing oxygen tension in hypoxic tissues, enhancing white blood cell activity at wound sites and reducing oedema. People come in for treatment of various conditions, including tissue injury.
PM: What do you love most about fixing people?
Jimmy: I love making people feel better. Seeing someone leave a treatment happier, and pain free is a great thing.
If your muscles need fixing, see Jimmy and his team at:
Fluid Health Management
263A Bay Street
Ph: 9939 1133
Mon-Fri: 8:00 am - 9:00 pm
Sat-Sun: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Healthcare Rebates may apply. HICAPS facilities available
