“Soft Tissue Therapy is more than ‘just’ a Sports Massage”
What is soft tissue therapy?
Soft Tissue Therapists treat clients who have musculoskeletal injury, pain or dysfunction caused by any of life's stresses and from all walks of life. Although sport can be a common factor with many of our clients symptoms, this is far from being the main issue we deal with.
Soft Tissue Therapy really is more than 'just' a sports massage and integrates three essential clinical elements:
Assessment
Applying a range of assessment methods to determine whether Soft Tissue Therapy is appropriate and devise a suitable treatment plan for the individual client.
Treatment
Applying a range of soft tissue techniques (including massage) to aid recovery from injury and improve soft tissue condition and joint mobility.
Rehabilitation
Offering advice on a range of remedial exercises and lifestyle factors aimed at speeding up recovery, preventing injury recurrence as well as improving posture, performance and function.
What is sports massage?
Sports massage involves advanced soft-tissue manipulation to improve performance. It can be used as a regular treatment to maintain healthy muscles. For those who have a heavy training schedule it can speed recovery from training and reduce the chances of injury. It is equally as effective in speeding recovery from soft tissue injury whether acute or chronic.
Sports massage is just as relevant to the many office workers who suffer back, shoulder and neck pain. It utilises powerful techniques such as muscle energy technique (MET), soft tissue release (STR), and neuromuscular techniques (NMT) to break down adhesions, relieve tension and promote blood flow to remove metabolites.
Who is sports massage for?
Sports massage can help everybody, whether you spend long hours at a desk or behind the wheel, whether you are suffering from stress, or if you're training and competing for your local fun run, or the Olympic Games.
I ensure that each treatment is suited to the needs of the individual. By drawing upon a variety of massage techniques I will provide you with the massage that YOU want. My clients range from young athletes to pensioners in their 80s.
What should I wear?
Towels are used to cover you during the massage and will be moved to allow access to the body part being treated. Generally, clients will wear their underwear. However if you feel more comfortable, you could wear a pair of shorts. Some women may prefer to wear a bikini.
The most important thing is that you feel comfortable and relaxed.
Is sports massage painful?
Sports massage can sometimes cause some discomfort as tight or injured muscles are treated. For massage to be effective you need to be relaxed and comfortable, so I maintain communication with you during the massage so you remain in control of your treatment.
You may feel some post-massage soreness in the muscles treated which is a good indicator that the body is responding well to the treatment and is healing well.
What does an appointment involve?
At the first appointment, a medical history is taken and a treatment plan will be discussed and agreed with you. A postural assessment may be carried out and depending on your requirements I may carry out passive, active, and resisted muscle tests to identify where muscle tightness, weakness or imbalances exist.
After the treatment, I may suggest exercises and stretches to aid the rehabilitation of injuries.