Frequently Asked Questions





Is Sport & Remedial Massage just for people that do sports?


In short - no. Sport & Remedial Massage works on the soft tissues - the muscles, tendons, ligaments and connective fascia (don't worry I can explain more about this in the treatment). In sports people they may get an overuse injury, a muscle strain, muscle imbalance or they may want help to improve their flexibility. Much of this applies to the average person. You can get an overuse condition by using the computer too long, or strain a muscle by picking something up that was too heavy or awkward. In fact a lot of treatments for sports people are correcting muscle tightness imbalances from their work. They may well get a sports injury, but while they're not exercising they may be working a 9-5 office job just like many other people. Sport & Remedial Massage can benefit a wide range of people so feel free to email me for more information.


Is there a difference between 'Sport' and 'Remedial' massage?


There's not a huge amount of difference in the actual treatments. At the end of the day I'm still treating the soft tissues, but the treatments may vary depending on what you'd like to achieve. For sports people, you may want a treatment for a specific injury, or a maintenance program to prevent injury and pick up overuse trauma before they turn info an injury. For everyone else, you may have a number of things you'd like to get from the treatments and I'll aim to help whether its to releive some aches and pains, improve posture or just to relax.


Whats the difference between Spors Massage and physiotherapy?


This is quoted directly from the Institute of Sport & Remedial Massage website as I feel they answer this pretty well:

"The Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (CSP) was initially formed by a group of remedial massage therapists, so about 100 years ago there was no difference. But remedial massage has many clinical limitations and, quite rightly, physiotherapy began to develop techniques, procedures and equipment to overcome some of those limitations. Along the way, however, massage became a smaller and smaller part of training and in many cases today hardly appears on their training curriculum.

Remedial massage, in one form or another, has been the most effective treatment for minor soft tissue conditions for thousands of years. Although it lost its popularity in the 20th century it did not die out altogether and has seen a great revival over the last 20 years. Of course the equipment used in massage, human hands and palpation skills, has not diminished over the years, nor has there been a change in the soft tissue conditions people suffer. So what was effective throughout history is no less effective today.

Physiotherapists today are being trained to deal with more and more serious conditions, and the minor soft tissue problems may not be given the importance they deserve. Remedial massage today is dealing quickly and effectively with many minor and chronic muscular problems which still seem to respond to good old-fashioned remedial massage better than anything else.

Physiotherapists, generally speaking, use very little massage, but remedial massage therapists use nothing but massage, so the two are clearly very different now. But the two do work very well together and we see great examples of remedial massage therapists working within physiotherapy clinics in the private sector, as well as working independently."

Source: http://www.theisrm.com/faq.php#ques6, accessed 07/02/2006


What can Sport & Remedial Massage do for me?


Sport & Remedial Massage can help in a number of ways. See the About Sports Massage page for more info.


Whats involved in a treatment?


The initial treatment will consist of case history taking and a discussion about what you'd like to achieve from the treatment. The treatment itself may consist of a number of techniques including general massage, assisted stretching and a number of other techniques.

Some people are worried about what to wear. You will not be asked to fully undress as it is not necessary. In fact quite a few of the techniques can be done with the client fully clothed. Normally though, treatments are with the client in their underwear with towelling to cover areas not being treated so those areas are kept warm and you feel more comfortable. If you prefer, you may feel more comfortable wearing running shorts or similar, if you are having a treatment on your legs.


How often should I get a treatment?


This varies depending on what you are having the treatments for and it really depends on your preference. For regular sports men and women, treatments every 4-8 weeks are generally most beneficial. During periods of intense training you may want treatments more often (every 2-4 weeks).