About Us

With years of pounding my body as an athlete and experiencing the physical and mental stress of competing in endurance road cycling, I knew the benefits of massage first hand. There were times my body was so tight and my muscles so knotted that I wondered how I could ever carry on with the activities I loved.

Louise da Costa Remedial Massage Therapist and Lymphoedema Therapist

My journey and the tremendous benefits that I have received from massage have made me a true believer, and my goal is to offer the same freedom and benefits to others. That is why I launched Massage Central – to give others what I have so wonderfully received.

Questions to Consider

• Do you have recurring muscle spasm or acute muscle pain?

• Do you find yourself frequently trying to alleviate tightness in your neck, lower back or chest?

• Do you have frequent headaches?

• Have you noticed your shoulders riding up towards your ears when you are tense?

• Have you been ignoring pain in your body, hoping it will go away?

• Does your body feel stiff getting out of bed?

• Are you carrying an old injury and have limited movement?

• Do you regularly promise to book in for a massage but never do anything about it?

Massage Services Offered

Deep Tissue

Deep Tissue Massage focuses on realigning deeper layers of muscles and connective tissue. It is particularly helpful for chronically tense and contracted areas such as stiff necks, lower back pain, tight and sore shoulders and other parts of the body under stress or fatigue. It will also assist to break up scar tissue from previous injuries and will generally rid the body of aches, pains and stiffness. Everyone can benefit from deep tissue massage from the young to the elderly.

Remedial Massage

When muscles and tendons become damaged or impaired, knotted, tense or immobile, Remedial Massage provides a healing treatment that can be gentle or strong, deep or shallow. Remedial massage traces the discomfort as far as possible back to the original cause and may focus on just the area concerned or work with the whole body. Remedial massage is concerned with remobilizing the body. This is achieved by increasing the blood circulation to problem areas as well as correcting parts of the body that have locked up due to overuse or weakened muscles that have caused functional imbalance. Remedial massage can reduce calcification, increase the full range of movement  and get  muscles working again.

Sports Massage

Sports Massage is for both the professional sportsperson and those that exercise regularly. Techniques used will range from deep tissue, joint mobilization, stretching and trigger points which assist in increasing muscular endurance and performance to minimize the chances of injury, and if there is an existing injury to reduce the recovery time, reduce chronic pain and improve restricted flexibility.

Lymphatic Drainage – Boost Your Immune System

The Lymphatic system is our front line of defense in fighting infections, detoxifying the body and transporting metabolic wastes, excess water, bacteria and toxins out of the body. The Lymph glands (at neck, armpits, groin, etc.) are connected by a broad network of vessels which transport the fluid. Muscular movement is required to move it, as there is no “Heart” to pump it. Lymphatic Drainage is a gentle whole body treatment that relaxes the nervous system, aids the body’s immune system and is highly recommended for those prone to and recovering from sore throats, colds, infections, on-going tiredness, excess fluids, low immunity, swollen and sore nodes, bruising, skin conditions, sinusitis and for the physically inactive or bedridden.

Lymphoedema Therapy & Management

Lymphoedema is a swelling of a body part usually occurring in the extremities. It can also occur in the face, neck, abdomen or genitals and is the result of abnormal accumulation of protein-rich edema fluid in the affected area. Lymphoedema is classified as either Primary which may be present at birth but more often develops later in life without obvious cause, or Secondary Lymphoedema which is much more common and is the result of surgery or is a side effect of radiation therapy for cancer. Complete Decongestive Therapy (CDT) is a combination of Manual Lymphatic Drainage, bandaging, exercise and skin care of the affected areas and is the treatment of choice for chronic extremity Lymphoedema.