Registered Massage Therapy

Garnet Santicruz
Registered Massage Therapist
Personal Trainer Specialist (Can-Fit Pro)

As a graduate from Sutherland-Chan Teaching Clinic for Massage Therapy in 2002, Garnet's focus in practice mainly has been post surgery and sports injury rehabilitation but also includes repetitive strain injuries, headaches, neckpain, low back pain, sciatica, arthritis, fibromyalgia, TMJ syndrome, motor vehicle accident injuries, soft tissue dysfunction, muscle and joint pain, pre-natal therapy.

"Using a combination of massage techniques and as well as self care, in the form of exercises and stretches, my past and previous clients have been able to maintain and as well educate themselves further with their particular or specific ailments. As a massage therapist, I have been able to assist in previous fundraisers such as Becel Ride for The Heart, Raptors Foundation (Golf Tournament), and recently the Sick Kids Foundation (Icewave). It has been an important mission, and continues to be, to provide my clients the best treatments, within my scope. To continue to live and play to its fullest is what I believe is an important part in our everyday lives. I've continued my education by embarking on becoming a Personal Trainer to understand my own clients tendencies at work and play through working out or physical activities."

Some of the techniques Garnet utilizes in his practice include:

• Trigger point therapy
• Neuromuscular therapy
• Active and passive release techniques
• Facilitated stretching
• Facial release
• Deep tissue therapy
• Relaxation Swedish massage techniques

Sports and Massage

Active individuals and athletes, professional and competitive, can benefit greatly from the restorative qualities of massage therapy. Massage Therapy can also maximize performance potential after strenous exercise.

In general, a massage can:

• Speed recovery
• Prevent injuries to muscles and tendons
• Reduce the discomforts of training
• Help cure chronic injuries
• Help heal acute injuries properly so that they do not reoccur during activity sports

Massage can be split into 4 main components:

• Preventative massage
• Pre-event massage
• Post event massage
• Sports injury rehabilitation

Preventative or training massage when utilized on a regular, consistent basis helps maintain proper muscle fiber tendon and ligament function. By keeping these in optimal working order more pliable, pain and spasm free injury and post exercise muscle soreness can be prevented.

Pre-event massage is a vigorous deep and repetitive massage used to promote speed power and endurance and injury prevention to help achieve peak performance.
Post event massage is a restorative massage instrumental in returning the athlete to a state of equilibrium after hard training or competition. This type of massage will help prevent delayed onset muscle soreness, undue fatigue, insomnia and possible post event depression.

Sports injury and rehabilitation massage will address traumatic and overuse injuries attained through exercise. Some common injuries that respond well to massage include: tennis elbow, golfers elbow, rotator cuff tendonitis, shin splints, sprains, strains, cramps and plantar fascitis.
Massage together with therapeutic exercise, can speed recovery, help restore full range of motion and reduce pain to help return the body back to its full potential.

The benefits of sports massage will help the athlete both competitive and recreational train more consistently and effectively resulting in enhanced performance,and a lengthened athletic career.