When muscles become knotted and tense or damaged, remedial massage provides a healing treatment that can be gentle or strong, deep or shallow. Remedial massage holistically treats the body. The massage therapist endeavours to identify the original biomechanical dysfunction, thus healing the cause of the disorder, as well as the symptoms.

Remedial massage uses several specialised techniques to locate and repair damage to muscles, tendons and joints. Massage therapy supports and speeds up the body's own repair mechanisms. A lubricating medium (usually oil) is applied directly on the skin. This ensures that the muscles associated with the disorder are deeply penetrated. Passive joint stretching moves are also used.

Key benefits of remedial massage include the stimulation to the blood supply allowing toxins in the muscles to be removed; the calming of the peripheral nervous system to ease pain and discomfort; and the toning and relaxing of muscles to improve joint mobility. An improvement to the health of the cells, the repairing of tissues, and the easing of stiffness and tension can also be experienced through therapeutic relaxation. Muscular and skeletal dysfunctions often addressed with remedial massage include muscle tightness and pain, arthritis, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, whiplash, neck and back pain, scoliosis, headaches and sports injuries.