When meeting new people, after a few laughs and shared stories the conversation will often end up with the question of what I do for a living.
One line that I’ve used in the past is that I fix people. If that arouses interest, I build on that momentum.
For a start, I don’t actually fix anyone. Remedial massage facilitates a process by which my clients have a good chance of tuning in and experiencing a change in their bodies. Even if those changes are temporary at the beginning, they can become the motivation for more changes later down the line, particularly if the issues are of a more chronic nature.
My remedial work is based on the anatomical understanding that the body is one interconnected unit and that when one part moves the whole body is responding. One of the main structures of the body to allow for this interconnectedness is the fascia, a type of connective tissue. It’s this tissue that holds absolutely everything in place as it wraps around individual muscle fibres, muscles, organs and bones. Any movement restrictions, aches and pains can often be traced back to changes in the fascia, which over time can become immobile.
Where fascia is not able to slide and glide freely, increased tension can be felt in that region and the normal flow of energy is interrupted. This can lead to pain and dysfunction over time and my remedial work focuses on those areas.
The Fascia and the nervous system are responding to mechanical forces when we move and they work to integrate the loads placed on our body. This responsiveness can be used intentionally in massage therapy by locking into the identified areas of tissue and waiting for a gradual release, which is triggered by the brain when discomfort or pain is felt.
When the body is stimulated through remedial massage it begins a healing process in areas of soft tissue inflammation, creating another response when the body might be stuck in an inflammatory feedback loop.
The re-introduction of movement and the separation of tissue layers that have become stuck allows for more blood and nutrients to feed the tissues, increasing the flow in the body leading to more movement and less discomfort.
A sense of release and lightness can be felt immediately after a remedial session.
Further changes can be experienced up to 3 days after treatment.
These are the first steps in the process of recovery and healing and to sustain any gains, changes in movement and postural habits need to be considered too.