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Why Masks are important

What’s the purpose of wearing a mask? Masks don’t do anything. My response to this? Tell that to the surgeon and nurses next time you’re in surgery! As we breathe air in and out we are also breathing in any particles that are in the same air – dust and pollen for example - asthmatics and people who suffer from hay-fever around the world will not argue with this statement. So it stands to reason that we will also be breathing in any other airborne particles, smoke for example from recent...

Plantar Fasciitis and MSTR

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McLoughlin Scar Tissue Release Brochure

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Can Massage Help Scar Tissue?

The McLoughlin Scar Tissue Release (MSTR®) was created by Alistair McLoughin, a Bowen Therapist in the UK. This method allows the practitioner to work on the often dense and fibrous scar tissue that can form in the body as a result of traumatic event such as surgery, burns, accidents where the skin in penetrated or a  stabbing for example. Scar tissue can be present not just at the site of a surgical insertion for example but also deep within the body's soft tissue - fascia, muscle and org...

Massage and Cycling

There seems to be some confusion around Sports Massage and what a sports massage is. Clients often ask for a sports massage indicating they want a very firm or hard massage as opposed to a relaxation massage  - apparently soft. Sports massage is in fact a remedial massage that is designed specifically to aid in the performance and recovery of athletes in their sporting pursuits. Weekend warriors and professionals alike.  Over the past few years I have done some work with a group of ama...

What type of massage should I book?

Not sure what type of massage you need or just confused by the different options? For a general massage to release tension and relax - choose remedial, for a general overall relaxation and to zone out in bliss for an hour -  choose relaxation or hot stones, to deal with specific areas that are knotty, tight and may have restricted function or range of motion choose deep tissue, or if you are a sports nut and need to be in form at the next race, choose a sports massage. If time is short but ...

Soft Tissue Synergy

Listening to a podcast today that was talking about polarity in our relationships- the balance between masculine and feminine energies not only within ourselves but with our partners. Polarity also exists in our muscles although more commonly referred to as synergy- the balance between active and inactive muscles when we move. Physical movement requires an agonist- the prime mover or main muscle that is being activated, an antagonist - the inactive muscle and a synergist - the helper or stabilis...

Jaw Pain and Disfunction

Headaches, sore teeth and jaw, earaches, blocked ears, ringing in the ears. What do these all have in common? The Temporomandibularjoint or TMJ can be a contributing cause in all of these conditions. Massaging the jaw both externally and internally can greatly relieve these symptoms.Many years ago I experienced TMJ dysfunction - I could not fit a spoon in my mouth! A few sessions of manual therapy later and I was eating breakfast again. Now I regularly self massage to relieve ringing in my ears,...

What is the Vagus Nerve?

Have you heard of the vagus nerve? There is some amazing science about the role, importance and the benefits of this nerve. It directly affects our parasympathetic nervous system - the very same that massage taps into! Poor vagal tone has been linked to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression as well as gut disorders. There is growing evidence to support the use of vagus nerve stimulation to improve conditions such as epilepsy, anxiety, rheumatoid arthritis and depression. You can i...

Massage and Cancer - Peripheral Neuropathy

I've recently been spending some time scouring clinical research papers (yawn 🥴) for supportive clinical evidence of massage on various conditions. Many claims are made about the benefits of massage but when working with physios, GPs and surgeons, we need to be able to support our claims. Luckily there are plenty of papers to show just how effective massage can be. This one landed on my desktop today, long story short, massage can help in the prevention of peripheral neuropathy in breast...