Performance Massage Practitioners at The Performance Clinic will be able to identify the most appropriate treatment plan for each individual, providing a tailored soft tissue treatment specific to your needs.
There are many benefits that can be directly linked to the application of soft tissue massage including:
There are also different stages at which Sports massage can be used and beneficial. This depends on what you want to gain form the treatment and when you go to see the practitioner. The different timings include:
Performance Massage Practitioners at The Performance Clinic will be able to identify the most appropriate treatment plan for each individual, providing a tailored soft tissue treatment specific to your needs.
Massage Therapy is available at our clinics in Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland.
Shi’atsu’ Massage (means finger pressure) therapy originated in Japan in the 19 century. With roots in Chinese medicine and sometimes described as “acupuncture without needles”, Shiatsu is recognized as an excellent therapy for sports injuries.
Shiatsu has been part of the health care system in Japan since the early 1900’s. In the 60’s and 70’s, a global revival in Asian philosophy and healing arts helped spread Shiatsu to Europe and North America where it has become recognised form of massage and body work.
So what makes Shiatsu therapy so unique?
It is a true holistic therapy that combines the Western perspective of muscles and fascia with the Eastern philosophy of energy and channels. A Shiatsu therapist’s goal is to address the root of the problem affecting not only the muscles, fascia and blood flow, but the health and productivity of one’s organs. A good Shiatsu therapist will assess the body on multiple levels; physical, energetically, emotionally, psychologically, as well as diet and lifestyle. Bringing the body back into equilibrium is necessary for optimal performance.
So what is a Shiatsu treatment like?
Shiatsu therapy, unlike other body work does not use oils or lotions. The person is fully clothed lying on a special futon-like mat, or though it can be carried out using a massage table/plinth, and the therapist applies vertical pressure on acupoints and channels to stimulate blood flow and movement of Qi (energy). Although the pressure is given with thumbs, palms, forearm, elbows, even knees, the treatment can be very relaxing. Shiatsu incorporates many techniques like; stretches, joint mobilization and passive resistance techniques, making it an effective treatment for a wide array of injuries and illnesses.
How Shiatsu can help with sports injuries
Today, professional athletes, coaches, yoga teachers, personal fitness instructors, bodybuilders, dancers and martial arts trainers are using Shiatsu to treat acute and chronic conditions
During the London Olympics, the Japanese team used Shiatsu and acupuncture to help them win an impressive 19 medals. Minoru Yajima, medical advisor and physiotherapist for Japan’s Triathlon team said “If an athlete feels pain, we use acupuncture as first aid. Most of team Japan’s medal winning medical strategy is preventative and based on a time-tested Japanese tradition – Shiatsu therapy.”
Fascia – is your own personal onesy of connective tissue keeping you intact, lying just under the skin. Around the muscles, in between the muscles, amongst our organs. It is everywhere! And it is intelligent, adapting to stresses both physically and emotionally. When trauma and stress occurs this fascia loses mobility affecting its function and creating tension throughout the body. It is not surprising that we find people complaining of pain as a result of trauma to the fascia.
For example plantar fasciitis, runners ITB, Hip pain, Back pain can all result from a change in function from the fascia.
If you have had surgery scar therapy is ideal for you to restore function. Aside from improving aesthetics, Come and see our specialists to get your body moving well again!
Manual Lymphatic Drainage is a specialist treatment used to reduce swelling/oedema through rhythmical, gentle, oil free massage designed move fluid from swollen areas of the skin to functioning drainage areas to be reabsorbed by the lymphatics. Whether your oedema is a result of surgery, injury or lymphoedema, MLD can help you.
There are a number of different MLD methods.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) Casley-Smith Method
The Casley Smith technique is based on the Foldi method and follows the principles of re-direction within a compromised lymphatic system which provides more flexibility for treating clients.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage is a specialist treatment used to reduce swelling/oedema through rhythmical, gentle, oil free massage designed move fluid from swollen areas of the skin to functioning drainage areas to be reabsorbed by the lymphatics. Whether your oedema is a result of surgery, injury or lymphoedema, MLD can help you.
MLD provides a systematic approach to the clearance of lymphatic drainage regions, comprised of hand manoeuvres, effleurage strokes and breathing exercises. Delivered in a slow, rhythmical fashion using gentle pressures, MLD is provided within a programme of physical therapies including specific gentle exercises and skin care, complimented with compression garments or sometimes bandaging to help prevent fluid rebound.
What to expect during MLD Massage
A treatment of MLD involves working on the main drainage routes and is a full body massage which will take around 45 minutes, and is carried out as skin-to-skin contact, so some undressing will be necessary. Some of the specific techniques can be simplified into a slow effleurage movement over the skin, and these together with clearance of the main draining lymph nodes will be taught to the client to be used for self-management.
Every effort will be taken to maintain your privacy and decency using towels and drapes. Special soft balls will be used during the massage to empty nodes of lymph in areas such as under your arm, groin and behind the knee. These can be purchased to be used at home for Self Lymphatic Drainage (SLD). Your treatment will include advice on how to manage your oedema and help reduce its negative effects. This will include how to perform SLD and advice on diet and exercise. You may require a series of sessions to get your oedema under control.
Following a treatment of MLD it’s usual to need to pass urine more often as the body processes the increased reabsorption of lymph, and also to feel more tired or lethargic for a while, due to the removal of toxins through the lymphatic system. To help alleviate these effects it’s important to drink plenty of fluids and to rest if necessary.
We will help you take the first step in the right direction towards being healthy and pain free.
Our Physiotherapists prioritise your health and wellbeing; we’ll listen to all your concerns, make sure you are understood, and we’ll go one step further to tailor an individual treatment plan to your needs.
