Sports Massage – can aid the recovery of soft tissues involved in repetitive movements such as sports, prolonged postures (sitting/driving) or manual work.
Remedial Massage – an umbrella term for many different manual therapy techniques. It aids in the recovery of injured soft tissues or chronic pain conditions. It also aims to discover the root cause of pain and injury to further assist in recovery.
Deep Tissue Massage – a firm massage incorporating sustained pressure and flowing movements to get to the deeper layers of tissues to relieve muscular tension and can also provide relaxation.
We offer all of these services. Treatments are designed for symptom relief and to improve movement efficiency. As such, your therapist will use a variety of massage and manipulation techniques working with the soft tissue structures of the body, to achieve the desired outcome for each individual.
Definitely! Even if you do not partake in sport or exercise, our day to day movements can put stresses and strains on our body, which, especially if repetitive, over time can lead to ongoing issues. The human body was not designed for the lives we lead nowadays with many of us spending hours at desk based jobs, driving etc. Regular sports massage can help to alleviate some of these stresses and strains on your body and help to reduce the risk of more serious issues arising.
Yes. Contraindications are conditions when you should not have a massage. This is by no means an exhaustive list but common contraindications include:
- Fever or infectious disease
- vascular conditions
- severe heart disease
- cancer
- recent operations and injuries
- diabetes with vascular dysfunction
- blood disorders
- fractures
- open wounds/cuts or abrasions
- contagious skin conditions
Some conditions may be localised to a specific area so it may be possible to receive treatments in other areas. A full consultation will be completed prior to your first treatment and it is your responsibility to alert the therapist to any medical conditions you may have. If you are unsure whether you may have a contraindication to massage please consult your GP or get in touch with us.
Although many may think it would be beneficial, you should not book a massage during the acute phase of an injury – ideally you want the initial inflammatory process to do its thing and then seek out treatment. Depending on the injury of course, we recommend at least 5 days before booking your appointment. If you are unsure, please contact us.
This is a bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question and will depend on what you are wishing to achieve. Some individuals prefer to have a session once a week, some once per month and others once in a blue moon and everything in between. It may be a bit of trial and error to find the right timings for you but like anything, consistency is key to achieving and maintaining improvements. There are lots of factors that contribute to how regularly an individual will have a treatment e.g. their training volume and intensity/ job/ hobbies/ circumstances and the list goes on. Initially we recommend having a few sessions in closer proximity to get on top of the issues, before then increasing the time between appointments.
Each treatment should provide benefit, however, as with most things consistency can provide the most effective outcomes. If our pain or discomfort has taken months or years to develop, it is reasonable to assume we may require a good amount of time to offset the disruptions within the soft tissues and muscular imbalances. We are constantly working to rebalance the overuse of each individuals daily life.
Sports/Remedial/ Deep Tissue massages use more pressure than a more therapeutic style of massage and the focus is usually more direct. Yes there is discomfort involved, but it should never feel ‘painful’, although pain is subjective to each individual. We like to describe it as a tenderness that instinctively feels alleviating. There is a misconception that sports massage in particular, must be high pressure and painful to achieve the desired effects – this is not the case at all. The therapist will work with everyone as an individual and open up communication to make each and every client feel as comfortable as possible.
Please wear anything that you feel comfortable in. Clothes that are easy to get on and off are generally easier. As long as you feel comfortable, your therapist may ask you to remove clothing down to your underwear in the areas intended to be worked. The therapist can step outside of the room to give you privacy whilst undressing and towels are used to cover areas of the body not being worked on, as well as, providing warmth.
We do use oils and whilst best effort will be made to remove any excess oil off the skin, some may remain and therefore, could transfer onto clothing so please do not wear your Sunday best! Women – sports bras aren’t necessary and can be a nuisance if they have lots of straps and cannot be easily unfastened during a treatment.
It is not uncommon to feel sore, achey or tender for 24-48 hours post treatment. It is also common to feel quite stiff when you first get up the following morning – this stiffness will ease as you get going throughout the day.
Fatigue and flu-like symptoms, increased thirst, lethargy, stuffy or blocked nose, redness and increased sleepiness can also be side effects felt fairly immediately post treatment.
Drink plenty of water and rest as much as possible. Do not do any strenuous exercise for ideally 24 hours post treatment to allow the body to settle and to experience the most out of your session.