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Soft Tissue Therapy treats many of the minor and chronic musculoskeletal pains, injuries and dysfunction caused by any number of life’s stresses and strains; the inevitable part of life which most people are likely to encounter in one form or another over the years. And although sport can be a common factor, it is far from being the main or only issue in the majority of cases.
The human body is an amazing self-repairing organism but it can’t always remedy the accidents, injuries and overuse stress we encounter. Becoming less adaptive with age, the cumulative effects of postural and occupational stress, together with the legacy of past injuries, eventually take their toll. Typical ailments such as neck and backache, shoulder, hip and knee pain might not justify more serious medical treatment, but they do affect our enjoyment of life and deserve to be treated.
Set within a framework of assessment and rehabilitation procedures, Soft Tissue Therapy combines a range of advanced soft tissue bodywork techniques and principles in a way that best meet the specific needs of the individual for both Sporting Performance and General Lifestyle enhancement. Embracing recovery and remedy it helps identify the underlying causes of injury and how a client’s body structure works in the context of their everyday movement demands. It offers remedial advice in physical wellbeing and injury prevention to help counteract continued and potential problems in the future.
The framework of Soft Tissue techniques includes the more familiar deep tissue sports and remedial massage, but on a much higher clinical level than just sports massage alone. These hands-on myofascial techniques have been developed to improve the body’s healing potential and effectively reduce many of the painful symptoms encountered within the musculoskeletal system. They treat through layers of soft tissue, with the depth and pressure appropriate to the individual’s needs. This will depend on the specific site of pain together with the wider underlying causes, referred pain and compensatory dysfunction; in many cases the site of pain is not necessarily the cause of the problem.
Treatment of a specific injury or long-term unresolved tension can be uncomfortable. So where the physical training or lifestyle load is known to be significant, it is preferable to plan regular treatments as an injury prevention measure or for the ongoing maintenance of comfortable physical and mental wellbeing.
IanPollard
Soft Tissue Therapy / Sports & Remedial Massage
BTEC Level 5 Professional Diploma in Clinical Sport & Remedial Massage Therapy LSSM / ISRM
Massage therapy during pregnancy is a wonderful complementary choice for prenatal care.
You can be treated both during pregnancy and post-natally, so you can have some much needed “me time”
If you have a C -Section, once the surface scar has healed, ScarWork can help reduce any restrictions and improve the appearance of the scar.
“Hidden depths and fascial icebergs” a very descriptive quote by myofascial release expert John Barnes, highlighting how a small scar on the surface can be connected to deep tissues. Whether the scar appears superficial and insignificant, or is highly visible with contortions and restrictions, the treatment is the same. Using gentle myofascial touch and specific moves that are rarely painful, working within the client’s comfort zone, these restrictions and deep fascial layers can be quickly reintegrated into the fascial matrix, improving both the appearance of the scar and functionality of the body.
“A scar is the result of the healing process of any kind of skin wound, linear or punctiform. A significant percentage of scars (38-70%, depending on the study) results in a pathological condition, i.e., pain, functional and psychological disorders, or cosmetic damage.” (Ferriero et al, 2015).
When scars form, the surface and underlying skin, fascia – and possibly even muscles and tendons – loose the organisation and integrity of normal, healthy tissue. Some people never notice a problem with their scars, but for others it can leave them in permanent discomfort or pain.
Scarwork is not a new therapy having been developed by Sharon Wheeler, an American therapist back in the ‘70s. She found that working with what seems like a casual, light touch “reminiscent to working with bread dough”, that ScarWork could make profound lasting changes to old and new scars – whether from accidents or surgery.
ScarWork is holistic and often affects people’s emotional well-being, allowing them to accept their scars, reduce or eliminate pain, resolve numbness and make visible cosmetic changes.
Jane says, “Many of my clients have not been aware of any problems stemming from their scars, some even failing to mention old injuries or surgery.”
Scar tissue techniques can be incorporated into massage or undertaken as a separate treatment plan. Amazing results may be achieved, both improving the appearance of scars and with pain reduction.
The million-dollar question is always “how soon can you work on a scar?”. As soon as the sutures have been removed, all scabs have shed, and you have been signed off by your consultant.
Hot stone fusion massage is a creative process, a unique seamless dance of stone and hands-on massage.
Warmed basalt stones are used in combination with massage strokes, creatively flowing over the body to enable deeper but lighter work.
The warmth and movement of the stones encourages your muscles to relax and you to let go of tension. This creates a deeply relaxing experience.
Indulge yourself in a luxurious full-body treatment or a more targeted treatment to help with pain and tight muscles.
Hot Stones alternated with cold stones can be used remedially to help with painful conditions and sporting injuries. The hot stones relax the muscles allowing deeper work into problem areas. The use of cold stones on an injury or acute condition can help reduce inflammation and swelling.
Using hot and cold stones alternately “flushes” an area, bringing flesh blood and nutrients to the site and removes waste. This is beneficial for chronic inflammation and repetitive strain injuries.
The Bowen technique is a powerful system of soft tissue therapy that is revolutionizing bodywork worldwide! Developed by the late Tom Bowen in Australia, it is a unique system that often astonishes therapists from different disciplines. It is sometimes called the “homeopathy of bodywork”, as it uses small, controlled inputs which stimulate the body to heal itself. The gentle moves over fascia and muscle stimulate physiological changes as well as energy flow, encouraging the body’s innate resources to start a healing process. Bowen is safe to use on anyone from neonates to the aged and supports lasting relief from pain or discomfort.
Bowen technique consists of a series of precise moves on specific points of the body. These moves are light and can be done through clothing. There are pauses between each set of moves allowing the body time to adjust to the moves. A Bowen move is quite gentle, the structure (muscle, tendon, or nerve sheath) is located with the thumb and fingers, tissue slack is gently taken up and the move is a ‘roll’ of the tissue back across the structure.
A limited number of sequences are all that is required in each session ensuring that the technique is as gentle on the patient as it is deep acting. Sessions are approximately 45 minutes in length and are scheduled roughly seven days apart, allowing time for the body to integrate the work and rebalance. Bowen encourages the body to heal itself with minimal intervention.
Bowen stimulates the body to activate, or heighten, its’ own self-healing mechanisms which is why it can be used to treat a wide variety of “conditions”. The technique has been used effectively to reduce rehabilitation time after injury, surgery or any debilitating illness regardless of how long ago it occurred.
The following list of diagnosed conditions comes from claims of patients worldwide that found relief from such conditions, as well as from my personal experience as a Bowen practitioner.
MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS OF THE SPINE: Acute or Chronic, Post Traumatic, Post Surgery, or Arthritic Origin, Entire Spine – low, mid, upper, Muscle Spasms and Loss of Mobility, Sciatica, Herniated Discs…
SPORTS & OVERUSE INJURIES: Ankle, Knee, Shin Splints, Heel Spurs, Plantar Fasciitis, Adductor and Hamstring Strain, Rotator Cuff Injuries, Tennis or Golfer’s Elbows, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Repetitive Stress Injuries…
ALSO: Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Ear Infections, Tinnitus, Vertigo/Dizziness, Balance Problems, Lymphatic Congestion/Blockage, Circulation Problems, Stress, Shock, Anxiety, Grief, Depression, Adrenal Exhaustion, Stimulation of Energy Flow.
FROZEN SHOULDER: Capsulitis, Rotator Cuff, Arthritis, Limited Range of Motion…
WHIPLASH: Receiving Bowen treatment immediately following accidents will greatly speed recovery.
SACRO ILIAC: Post Traumatic or Related to Pregnancy.
COCCYX/TAIL BONE: Post Trauma or After Giving Birth.
HAMSTRINGS: Tension, Stiffness and Strain.
TMJ/JAW: Pain, Tension, and Malalignment of the jaw, Difficulty Swallowing.
DIGESTIVE: Crohn’s, Diverticulitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Hiatal Hernia, Colic, Constipation, Diarrhoea, Indigestion, Bloating, Heartburn, Nausea, Liver, Gall Bladder or Pancreatic Problems, Haemorrhoids, Proctalgia or Perineal pain
RESPIRATORY: Asthma, Allergies, Sinus Congestion, Recurrent Infections, Bronchitis, Colds & Flu, A Bowen treatment at the first sign of illness can very often stop it in its tracks.
MIGRAINE/HEADACHES: From Stress and Tension, Structural and Postural Imbalance, Digestive, or Hormonal origin
PELVIC IMBALANCES: Tilt, Leg Length, Hip Pain and Imbalance, Inguinal and Groin Pain, Abnormal Gait, Feet turned in or out, During and After pregnancy
PREGNANCY: Before conception (balance hormones and pelvis), During Pregnancy (to facilitate the changes the body will go through and to help prepare for the labor) and after for both mother (quicker recovery) and baby (crankiness, colic, projectile vomiting etc.)
GYNECOLOGICAL: PMS, Menstrual problems, Menopausal symptoms, Back Pain in Pregnancy
NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS: Bell’s palsy, Cerebral Palsy, Stroke, Muscular Dystrophy, Parkinson, Torticollis, Multiple Sclerosis. These conditions, when treated repeatedly in a series of sessions will respond to varying degrees depending on the severity. Often patients have a slow gradual improvement of their condition and of their quality of life.
Myofascial Release is a gentle, effective hands-on technique involving sustained pressure into the myofascial connective tissue restrictions. It facilitates the rehabilitation of soft tissue and fascial aches, pains, tension and restrictions, helping to eliminate pain and restore motion. It aims to release the tension in fascia caused by trauma, poor posture or inflammation.
Fascia [connective tissue] surrounds the muscles, bones, nerves, and organs of the body, it also spreads throughout the body interconnecting not unlike a cobweb. Trauma, inflammatory responses, and/or surgery can often create fascia restrictions that produce powerful pressures on pain sensitive structures. These restrictions and pressures are simply not visible in many of the standard tests undergone when a patient tries to find out why they are in pain.
MFR targets muscles and muscle chains using relatively firm pressure. Many people, especially sports people, like firm pressure and find that their muscles benefit from the depth of pressure, muscular stretch and deep therapy work of MFR. People seek MFR treatment after losing flexibility or function following an injury or if experiencing ongoing back, shoulder, hip, or virtually pain in any area containing soft tissue. Conditions that can be treated by MFR therapy include Temporo-Mandibular Joint (TMJ) disorder, carpal tunnel syndrome, possibly fibromyalgia or migraine headaches.
Symptoms experienced that suggest a person may consider MFR usually include:
Tightness that restricts motion or pulls the body out of alignment, causing individuals to favour and overuse one hip or shoulder, for example. An experience of excessive pressure on muscles or joints producing pain. Pain in any part of the body, including headache or back pain.
Using MFR allows for a holistic approach to each patient, treating them as a unique individual. A single session involves a hands-on treatment during which various MFR techniques can be used to improve movement, enhance strength, improve flexibility, postural and movement awareness.
FER is a very gentle facial massage which frees years of tension in the fascia/connective tissue and muscles of the face, neck, shoulders and scalp. It is not a facial, but a complete holistic treatment. By stimulating acupuncture points, FER releases blocked energy not only in the face and neck but throughout the body. FER contributes to a younger, healthier appearance, a more invigorated body and a relaxed mind.
The lifting techniques of FER massage work deep into the connective tissue smoothing and plumping the face, encouraging cell regeneration and reducing sagginess. It is extremly relaxing, releasing set expressions developed over years in the face, creating a fresh and flexible face.
FER initially starts with fingertip movements gently loosing and warming the skin and the underlying connective tissue, encouraging blood supply to facial muscles and stimulating the lymphatic system to flush toxins out. Working with very light pressure muscles are then isolated, lifted into facial holds to stimulate and tighten the fibers, easing years of contraction from facial expressions, such as frowning, twisting the mouth, squinting the eyes, that leave an indelible imprint in muscle and connective tissue over time.
FER releases deep seated tension held in the muscles and connective tissue from different emotional stressors experienced over the years. It frees up the different layers of muscle and connective tissue, allowing more space for the muscles to relax and rehydrate. It helps restore skin tone, texture and colour by encouraging healthy blood flow back into the tissues and by stimulating the lymphatic system to flush the toxins out of the skin and its underlying tissues. The light fingertip massage of FER helps untangle collagen and elastin fibres improving skin elasticity, giving a slight ‘spring’ to the tissues, thereby helping to ‘lift’ the face promoting a relaxed, more mobile and youthful appearance.
Throughout a FER session specific acupressure points on the face are activated [8 of the 12 major energy meridians have points on the face]. Once stimulated these encourage the balancing of the flow of the body’s subtle energy leaving one feeling relaxed and uplifted with a deep sense of well-being. FER works in complete synergy with the body’s natural anti-ageing defence systems.
A FER treatment may provide some or more of the following benefits.
Creates brighter and more alert eyes
Reduces under eye bags and puffiness
Reduces wrinkles, stress lines and sagginess giving the skin a glow
Muscle tone improved [a workout for your face]
Releases tension
Increases elasticity
Improves skin tone
Speeds up the elimination of toxins
Curbs Congestion [such as sinus congestion]
Relieves stress-related symptoms such as headaches, eyestrain, tinnitus, anxiety, insomnia, aches and pains
Detoxifies the Body [by stimulating the lymphatic system, helping to facilitate toxin elimination]
Light Touch Spinal Alignment is based on the Laws of Leverage, taken from Structural Engineering. These basic laws of leverage function on the understanding of the impact the forces of gravity on structures, any structures [including the human body]. Stress in whatever form, physical, mental emotional, even nutritional, can create imbalances to the core centre of gravity in the body. Light Touch Spinal Alignment allows the body to realign and recreate balance and stress-control for the entire body and its systems. The technique is a gentle ‘instruction’ that allows the body to recover its innate stability and equilibrium. It is considered by many the gentle alternative to osteopathy and chiropractic and possibly the ultimate ‘holistic’ therapy for those who have a stressful lifestyle.
Through the assessment against a plumb-line the treatment can be adjusted to exactly the needs of the client at the time. The realignment helps correct distortion and encourages the body to gently heal aches and pains – sometimes within minutes.
The technique has shown success in treating a wide range of conditions including the following:
Ankylosing spondylitis, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, back pain, balance problems, digestive problems, fatigue, frozen shoulder, headache, infertility, insomnia jaw problems, joint pain, low energy and fatigue, lumbar pain, menstrual problems, migraine, multiple sclerosis, neck pain, pins and needles, problems during and after pregnancy recurrent infections, repetitive strain injury, scoliosis, sciatic pain, sinus problems, sports injuries stress, tennis elbow, tension, visual disturbances, whiplash injury and more.
Soft Tissue Therapy, Sports & Remedial Massage £70
Pregnancy Massage & Hot Stone Massage Treatment £90 (1.5 hours)
Massage, Bowen and Scar work Treatments £65 (1hr) £90 (1.5 hours)
Acupuncture (1-hour) – £50
