When Jim O’Connell tells people he’s a myotherapist more often than not he’s met with a blank look.

But once he explains what he does - physiotherapy meets remedial massage - the penny drops and people immediately understand that he is a healer.

Myo is Greek for muscle and myotherapy is a hands-on practice treating “pain, joint dysfunction and muscle imbalance”.

“Myotherapy focuses on treating the person and not just the pain, it’s more like a holistic perspective,” explains the owner of Kiama myotherapy clinic Heyo Myo.

“It looks at a whole lot of things - a person’s history, the work they do, old injuries, lifestyle, the impact of stress levels, the nervous system and hormonal changes, along with posture and movement through the joints to see how everything fits together.

“It’s more hands-on than traditional physio would be these days, with a strong focus on remedial massage.

“But it's more clinical than just remedial massage because it's looking at where the pain's coming from and what the main contributor is, what's driving it.

“Once we figure that out then we introduce change for the long term, through stabilisation, rehabilitation and maintenance.”

Jim and his family moved to Kiama from Melbourne a little over three years ago for a sea change after Victoria’s extensive COVID-19 lockdowns.

He set up Heyo Myo on Terralong St in 2022, in the building that was once home to the town’s squash courts.

“I’ve seen a few clients who used to play squash there,” says Jim, who says the most common injuries he treats are back, neck and shoulders, in that order.

He also gets plenty of referrals from his neighbours at Emergence Yoga Studio, from whom he rents his workspace, not to mention the town’s surfers.

“Being on the coast, there are a lot of surfers so I frequently treat shoulder injuries,” explains Jim.

“But they can be tricky, because they often show up as neck pain, so treatment is focused on the shoulder even though the client presents with neck pain.

“I also work a lot with the nervous system. It's the bodyguard. You can't make any change without regulating it first.

“A lot of surfers are also professionals sitting at a desk all day, so it’s easy to confuse shoulder injuries with neck pain but once we get to the cause of the pain we can treat it and get them back out there doing what they love.”

Jim's interest in the human body, what makes it tick and how to fix it, was sparked by repeated injuries as a sports-mad kid.

“I had my fair share of injuries as a teenager, a few knee surgeries, and you find yourself in a world of doctors, surgeries and allied health,” he says.

Jim credits a really good osteopath for helping him to manage his injuries and says empowering and educating people to manage injuries themselves is a focus of myotherapy.

“I just give them the tools, then they do the work through rehabilitation and clinical exercise prescription. It’s amazing how much change you can make to someone's pain through hands-on treatment in just 60 minutes,” says Jim.

“That’s why I love what I do,” he says.

Jim's career trajectory has pivoted several times - has a commerce degree from Sydney University - but all roads led to holistic healing.

“I finished my degree and realised sitting at a desk is not for me,” says Jim, although the degree came in handy when setting up his own business.

“I started doing my diploma of remedial massage at Victoria University at nights and on Saturdays, while still working a day job, and once I was a qualified I worked alongside an osteopath and chiropractor.”

Jim took some time off to travel with his wife and was “three months into a four-month trip around South America” when COVID hit.

The pair returned to Melbourne but lockdown was a “weird space” for a remedial therapist.

“It was a pretty grim time for anyone working in that industry,” says Jim. So he pivoted, just slightly, again and began studying for an advanced diploma in myotherapy.”

During Jim’s training, his wife had given birth to their first child and the couple was keen to swap city living for something “coastal”.

“We came up to Kiama for a week for my wife’s birthday and it felt right,” says Jim. “We wanted a small town but not too small. I’ve always hated commuting to work so now I just ride my bike and it’s the perfect place to raise a family.”

Jim also offers dry needling (a tool used to reduce pain), myofascial release (targeting tissue around muscles), pregnancy massage, cupping (using suction to increase blood flow and promote healing), remedial massage and chronic pain coaching.

March 11 marks the start of Australian Healthcare Week and there’s no better way to get healthy than to get moving, says Jim.

If you are struggling with pain, joint or muscle dysfunction visit Heyo Myo or call 0418 472 033 for more information.