How can I help ?
My philosophy is simple, I aim to work with you to treat your condition as quickly, professionally and efficiently as possible to get you back to a normal state of fitness and life. To do this I will use different techniques suited to the particular circumstances.
My remit is to work with the many soft tissues in the body (muscles, tendons, ligaments etc.) and to resolve any issues that may be being caused by them. Aches and pains may be caused by overuse or maybe a trauma, whatever the cause, there will be some damage/dysfunction of the tissue however minor or major.
There are many techniques a soft tissue therapist can use that will have an effect on the tissues within a body and which one is used will be dependent on the individual circumstances.
When any injury to soft tissue occurs the first thing the body wants to do is start the repair process. Part of this process is to protect the damaged area with scar tissue and then when the body decides that it has fulfilled its purpose it will then start to break down the scar tissue. The only problem with this is that it is unlikely to break down all this tissue. Massage helps to break down any adhesions that may have formed around the damaged tissue and the surrounding healthy tissue.
The natural massage strokes help in many other ways but especially in the movement of blood and other body fluids helping to move waste away from the damaged site.
Soft Tissue Release (STR) is a technique whereby the aim is to release scar tissue. The technique uses small stretches to break down the adhesions between the scar tissues and the surrounding healthy tissue.
Another technique that I may use will affect the Neuromuscular system. When a muscle is stretched it will naturally want to contract to relieve the body of pain, this may seem like a good idea. The only problem with this action is that the Neuromuscular system then sets this new contracted length as the norm and the muscle becomes shortened. By using a technique called NMT (Neuromuscular Technique) the aim is to reset the system to accept the correct length for the muscle and restore it to its normal length.
A muscle uses energy when it is contracting and this energy can be used to restore a muscle to its normal length and elasticity together with releasing tension in the muscle. The technique, Muscular Energy Technique (MET) is not a way to lengthen muscles or make them more elastic it is simply to restore them to the norm. This technique needs regular exercises afterwards to have a continual affect.
All the above techniques have used a direct force to affect the change required, with Positional Release it takes the force off the tissue with the aim of releasing any adhered tissues.
Leaving the clinic will not be the end of the treatment, most treatments will need ongoing exercise/stretch routines and maybe also a change to posture. These will be important to the long term effect of the sessions and I will make sure you have the necessary information to allow you to follow this through.
It maybe that your condition is beyond my remit, if this is the case I will refer you on to the appropriate therapist for further treatment.