Advanced Clinical Massage
Therapy time: 60 mins £60
Session includes assessment, fascial release, treatment of trigger points, stretching and home care advice.
Please allow an extra 30 mins for consultation and assessment (included in the price).
Advanced clinical massage (ACM) was designed to deal mainly with chronic musculoskeletal pain by two very enthusiastic ladies who both studied in USA. Their aim was to open a school in UK offering the high level of training common in the USA, Canada or Australia, making the profession more professional. After two decades of their own clinical practice, they developed a fusion of techniques that combined art, science, great touch and precise knowledge and wisdom from both East and West. From the East, the knowledge of meridians, acupressure points and Thai stretching. From the West, the insights of trigger points (TP), deep fascial work and person - centered counselling.
This treatment is designed to help people with neck, shoulders, back, knee and jaw pain, headaches, migraines, sciatica syndrome, tennis elbow, golfers elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis and many more musculoskeletal issues. Some diseases, such as arthritis, can't be healed because there is already damage done to the joint. But ACM can help to restore balance in the muscles, (which may be imbalanced and not used in the right way due to pain). By gently mobilising the joint, and working on muscle balance, the pain is reduced and the joint function will be improved.
Consultation and muscle assessment helps to plan the treatment for each client. The use of heat or cold will relax muscles, make the fascia more pliable and help to get rid of some trigger points. Fascial techniques are more important for some people than others and might be more helpful then other techniques. Treating muscles with precise trigger point therapy is very important as trigger points can be the main reason for a client's pain. Some acupresure points may be used to restore the natural flow of energy in the body. Stretching techniques, such as static proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation or active isolated stretching, help muscles to regain healthy functioning. At the end, the client is taught some self-help strategies to sustain healthy balanced bodywork. Self-treatment of trigger points, and stretching or mobilisation exercises will also help protect the body from developing more pain-causing trigger points.
As the health issue has usually developed over time, the pain doesn't usually go away immediately after the first treatment, although there is often some pain relief. Significant improvement is generally felt after three treatments. Six treatments may be required (once a week), but that depends on the individual.
I would also recommend having an assessment (scan) of joints with arthritic type pain as arthritis is not always the cause. Some trigger points and muscle imbalances mimic this type of pain. The same can apply to Carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis. Pregnant women have an increased chance of pain in wrist, hand and arm which can be mis-diagnosed as Carpal tunnel syndrome. After doing a simple test and neck assesment the therapist may come to a completely different diagnosis. Women in late pregnancy tend to sleep the whole night on the side - this is completely understandable as the growing baby is pushing on the inner organs whihc makes sleeping on the back uncomfortable. Unfortunately, sleeping in one position for several hours might lead to pressure on the neck muscles, where trigger points will be likely to develop. Trigger points in the scalenes (neck muscles) can result in pain that is very similar to Carpal tunnel syndrome pain. The good news is that in this instance it can be help with Advanced Clinical Massage.
Trigger points
TP are a points of tenderness in muscles, tendons or its associated fascia and can be relieved by a variety of methods including stretching, pressure or acupuncture. The size of the TP varies from pea size to olive or even golf ball size. TP develop where the sliding filaments of the muscle become stuck. Blood supply to the area is reduced and irritating toxins are not removed. That can be a result of acute overload strain, direct trauma like poking in the muscle with a sharp object or cumulative trauma like poor posture. Physical, emotional or chemical stress might also lead to TP development (and that includes the effects of poor diet). TP pain can be local but also it can also cause refered pain in a predictable zone of reference unique to each muscle. For example TP in the pelvic muscle Iliopsoas can be identified by pain in the lower back and front side of the thigh. Some TP are painfull only when pressed, some produce constant pain. These are usually primary trigger points. Secondarily developed satelite TP are often situated in the pain reference zone of a primary one. Both must be treated.
Sensory, motor and autonomic phenomena may be triggered by TP, including: spasm, tenderness, sweating, redness and tearing of the eyes. It might be surpristhe ing that some professional work on neck muscles can help to relieve headaches, migraines or even ringing in the ears. Of course there might be other reasons for these late symptons such as hormonal activity. But the therapist can look at all aspects of life trying to identify the reasons. In some cases where there are suspicions of nerve entrapment in the spine, the therapist will recommend a chiropractic visit first before doing any more work. Entrapment is usually easy to recognise, for example spine entrapment of the sciatic nerve results in sharp electric pain shoting down lateral side of the leg - and that is a work for the chiropractor. If there is more of a dull pain, that points more to nerve entrapment by the buttock muscles, most likely spasmatic piriformis. It can easily be helped by Advanced Clinical Massage.
Please keep in your mind that different chiropractors work in different ways. So, you might have experience with one who didn't help and therefore belive that any others can't help. Kat recommends her family chiropractor, who helped with a serious injury where doctors said they couldn't help any more. She is also treating Kat's son, and works with children with autism and other health issues.
GIFT VOUCHERS AVAILABLE FOR ALL TREATMENTS
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I wish you good health and will be looking forward to welcoming you personally at my practice. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.