Treatments 

The traditional massage experience, enhanced with the use of warmed mineralised stones. It is thought the stones themselves have their own healing properties. 

All muscle is enveloped in fascia; it is this fascia your therapist is trying to influence and correct when performing Myofascial Release. Fascia is a 3-dimensional matrix that intertwines, surrounds, protects and supports every other structure in the human body. It is a totally integrated system that works as a tensional network throughout the body. 

 

This technique can be very gentle, or you can work more directly, whichever is more appropriate. MFR is a client led therapy involving communication between the therapist and client, to actively promote feedback on the body’s response to treatment. 

MET’s were originally a form of osteopathic manipulative diagnosis and treatment. A patient’s muscles are actively used on request, from a precisely controlled position, in a specific direction against a counterforce. This is a direct treatment technique where the patient provides the initial effort and the practitioner facilitates the process, to correct the presenting muscular dysfunction. 

 

This technique is especially beneficial in restoring the normal muscle tone, strengthening weak muscles, increasing joint mobility, boosting local blood circulation and improving musculoskeletal function. 

An Advanced technique that is used to assess, stretch and manage soft tissues. It targets specific muscles, and areas within those muscles using a combination of movement and manipulation. STR involves pining the muscle with precise pressure and then targeting specific areas in the muscle to stretch. 

 

This technique can form an important component in rehabilitation after an injury and is especially helpful where adhesions have developed on the muscle. 

A common misconception is that sports massage is just Deep Tissue Massage, but DTM is a technique that targets the deeper tissue structures of the body working through the muscle layers. This technique is more subtle than people believe, requiring persistence and coaxing, as well as firm pressure. The simple application of deep pressure alone can demonstrate inexperience or a lack of training of the therapist. 

 

Many people enjoy deep massage as the resultant pain produces large amounts of endorphins (the body’s own painkiller) giving a natural high. However, excessive or prolonged pressure can have a negative impact on the muscle, increasing levels of tightness, leaving the body feeling traumatised. 

The term “trigger point” was initially coined by Dr Janet Travell in 1942. Dr Travell described trigger points as painful nodes or lumps felt within tight bands of muscles. When pressure is applied to trigger points it reproduces the pain symptoms which often radiate in a specific referred pain map. A trigger point makes its host muscle shorter and fatter, reducing its efficiency and may result in pressure being placed on nerves and blood vessels. Trigger points are often embedded in muscles which are remote from where the patient may be experiencing pain. Trigger point therapy is a technique aimed at deactivating these painful knots.