treatment
The main aim of a treatment, or series of treatments, is to alleviate tension or pain and help restore and maintain your body's muscle and joint function to optimal condition. Treatments might be for general body relaxation, to reduce stress, aches or tension, to address a specific injury or limitation, or to facilitate rehabilitation following an injury or surgery. Some people seek treatment to address a specific issue, whilst some seek regular treatment to facilitate their sport and training regime, reducing the risk of injury.
Whilst some elements of a treatment may involve tolerable 'good pain', treatments overall are invariably relaxing and therapeutic, both physically and mentally.
Each treatment is tailored to your needs, personal preference and choice. Treatment methods and advice are suggested based on current and recent researched evidence of what is proven to be effective.
Examples of Common Issues I Treat
General feeling of being tight and stressed
Painful tense lower back, sometimes associated with a disc hernia and sometimes resulting in sciatica
Tense upper back, shoulders and neck; the feeling of the chest being closed in, often associated with stress
Tight and painful strained/torn hip adductors (common with footballers)
Tightness and pain around the hips, sometimes associated with arthritis
Tight calves, thighs and painful knees (common with runners)
I assess and treat your muscle, fascia and connective tissue, using an appropriate combination of traditional sports massage and soft tissue therapy techniques:
Effleurage & Petrissage
Gentle to moderate pressure massage long strokes and gentle manipulation of muscles in all directions. This helps relax and warm up muscles in preparation for more heavy pressure work, stimulates blood circulation, and enables me to assess muscle condition. It feels really good and is typically what makes up Swedish massage.
Therapeutic Alliance
The rapport between someone seeking help and the therapist helping them is proven to have a considerable bearing on treatment outcome. Mindful of this, I aim to ensure you feel safe, at ease, respected, cared for, listened to and that you have a say.
Assessment of Posture & Movement
Good posture helps us function safely with optimal effort. Poor posture makes us more susceptible to injury, causes over-use of some muscles and requires more effort. Understanding posture and movement can suggest why some muscles are tense or painful, or weak, and which muscles need focused treatment.
Soft Tissue Therapy
With an understanding of the anatomy of bones, muscles and ligaments, and of posture and movement, the body can be treated with various 'soft tissue therapy' techniques.
Focussed pressure can be applied to tense muscle, knots and trigger points to release them. Internal scar tissue can be broken down to encourage muscle to recover more quickly. The nervous system's understanding of muscle length can be 'reset' to effectively lengthen (not stretch) muscles. A muscle can be pinned down to shorten it and then stretched, thus making the stretch more impactful. By adjusting limb positions, a tense muscle can brought to its shortest possible length which can release it and is pain-free.
Myofascial Release
Treatment of the soft tissue (fascia) under the skin and around muscles, rather than muscles themselves. Fascia can become tight, like muscles, and can give rise to similar problems. Myofascial techniques are relatively new, but continuing to gain popularity.