BIRMINGHAM CENTRE FOR CHINESE MEDICINE
245 Alcester Road South, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 6DT
Tel: 0121-441 2757
REMEDIAL AND SPORTS MASSAGE
WHAT CAN REMEDIAL MASSAGE TREAT?
- Muscle pain
- Joint pain which may be caused by tight muscles
- Tendonitis eg Achilles tendon pain, tennis elbow
<- Muscle soreness or tension
- Pulled or strained muscles
- Twisted ankles
- Frozen shoulders
- Backache & sciatica
HOW MASSAGE WORKS
Remedial massage works deep into muscle tissue to stretch and loosen tight or knotted fibres. A muscle may become tight and tense through excessive or repeated use, through stress or after injury.
- If a muscle is asked to perform repeatedly any activity to which it is unaccustomed, such as hill walking, painting a ceiling or digging the garden it may respond by tightening.
- Mental and emotional stress can have the same effect, usually to the shoulders or buttocks.
- A sudden unexpected movement - bending down, slipping or overstretching, also very frequently damages muscles. This is particularly likely to happen if the muscles are already tight, and even a slight muscle tear can cause the muscle fibres around to tighten to protect the injury, leading to further discomfort and restriction of movement.
- Around the site of the injury, the healing muscle fibres bind together to form "scar tissue", which feels like a knot of muscle which prevents individual fibres moving freely. When a movement is made the knotted fibres pull on the bone and joint and may make movement painful.
- Frequently tightness in a muscle will not produce pain at the site of the problem, but on a joint or muscle which is pulled by the action, or where a tight tendon rubs across a bony prominence. This is frequently the cause of knee or ankle pain.
The remedial massage therapist will first identify the source of your problem by looking at which movements are restricted or painful, and by massaging gently around relevant area to feel where the muscles are tight or scar tissue occurs. This also begins to loosen, warm and stretch the tissues around the area. Gradually the therapist will focus in on the area and massage more deeply into the fibres, stretching them and breaking apart the "knotted, gummed up" tissue.
Margaret and Chris use various techniques derived from different schools of massage practice: "trigger points" are tender spots which usually coincide with the points used in acupuncture and which cause the painful muscle to relax after a few seconds of focused sustained pressure. Soft tissue manipulation and connective tissue massage stretch specific parts of a muscle or tendon and works on the relaxation produced in a muscle after it has contracted. Margaret also makes use of aspects of Chinese Medicine including Chinese massage or tuina, which moves "Qi", or vital energy away from areas of "stagnation"; moxa is a dried herb which is burnt over an injured area and gives a deep penetrating healing warmth; cupping creates a suction over an area of tight or injured muscle which draws out impurities and loosens the muscle. As well as using the general massage techniques, Chris is also trained in Myofascial Release, a method of freeing restricted myofascial tissue, which may be the cause of pain or restriction. Myofascial tissue is the binding material found throughout the body, which gives support to muscles and ligament, and covers bone. It can go into spasm or tighten, when an area of the body is injured. The technique is derived from Rolfing and involves a flicking type movement, which can involve momentary pain and subsequent short-term soreness, to release the spasm.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM MASSAGE
After talking about the origin of your problem, and what movements are restricted or painful, you will be asked to undress to expose the areas which need attention. Although at first very relaxing and gentle, once the problem area has been identified massage can be quite painful, though you will probably feel a sense of release and diminishing pain as the work progresses. It is entirely up to you how deep the treatment is - the deeper the work, the quicker the problem will be resolved!
After the treatment, which will last up to one hour for the first treatment, and thereafter either 30 minutes or an hour, you may feel bruised, though this should disappear within 24-48 hours. After that you should notice considerable relief to your problem, though for how long and how much will depend on how long you have had the problem and how serious it is, as well as your general health. After each subsequent treatment you should experience relief for a longer time, until the pain or restriction no longer exists. At that point one or two further treatments are recommended to ensure that all the tension or scar tissue is removed so that the problem will not recur. Often exercises, which will keep the muscles loose and stretched, will be recommended for you to carry out between treatments. Doing these regularly will also speed up the time till complete recovery.
MASSAGE FOR SPORTS PEOPLE
Serious training to improve performance means that you are always working your muscles harder and harder, so even with regular stretching and warming up they are likely to become tight and sore. Tight muscles are more susceptible to both acute muscle pull injuries, and overuse injuries. They also lose their flexibility so for each stride you take you move less far and therefore take longer to cover the ground.
- Regular massage will increase flexibility and prevent pulls, tears and overuse injuries. Recovery time and muscle soreness from hard training or competition will be reduced and performance enhanced.
- Scar tissue from an old injury will restrict movement or cause pain, and can be broken down over a number of sessions.
- Recovery from recent injury can be speeded up and the formation of scar tissue prevented.
MASSAGE FOR GENERAL HEALTH
Eases tight aching muscles Promotes deep relaxation Combats the chronic affects of stress and tension Hastens the healing process for damaged and overworked muscles MASSAGE FOR SPORTS PEOPLE
Speeds recovery after hard training or competition Increases flexibility Helps prevent overuse injuries Treats musculo-skeletal injury
THE PRACTITIONERS
Margaret Ehrenberg, BA, PhD, MSMA, MBAcC LSSMDip received her massage training at the London School of Sports Massage; she also practices acupuncture and integrates aspects of Chinese Medicine into her massage practice. She is a 3:08 marathon runner, and is very willing to give advice to new runners.
Chris Pearce, MSMA, LSSMDip also trained at the London School of Sports Massage from where she gained a BTec (Credit) Certificate in Sports & Remedial Massage. She also holds a qualification in Myofascial Release Technique. Chris has treated several international athletes.
Chris and Margaret are both members of the Sports Massage Association, representing best practise within the field.