Frequently Asked Questions

Can you help me?

Donna has extensive sports massage experience, and has treated people of all ages with tired or tight muscles through work, posture or exercise, including professional cyclists, professional rugby union players & international calibre athletes, all of whom receive the very same friendly and professional service & advice.

She can provide treatment and advice for many conditions, including:

What should I expect when I arrive?

You will be greeted by Donna and taken into the clinic. If it is your first visit a short consultation form will need to be completed. Donna will then discuss any anomalies from the form and find out in detail why you are visiting. It’s important to get as much information as possible, including history and current lifestyle including exercising, if applicable. Depending on your ailment Donna may then perform some tests and you will be asked to get onto the massage bed either sitting or laying prone or supine where the treatment will commence. If necessary Donna will ask you to move positions throughout the treatment.

Will it hurt?

Sports massage is a deep treatment but you should always be enjoying the treatment. Donna will frequently ask you if the pressure is suitable or warn you if a deeper technique is required. Throughout the treatment you are in control of the pressure. Donna advises you do not allow her to go above an 8 / 10 discomfort. The discomfort should always feel ‘good’, like it is releasing and helping your condition.

I have discomfort in my neck and shoulder. Can you help?

I am frequently visited by people with tension in their neck and shoulders. Tension in the neck and upper trapezius (shoulders) – which is caused mostly by inadequate posture and a poor working environment – can cause the following symptoms:

Afflicted patients often describe their headaches as a ‘strong pressure’ on the back of the head. During a session of deep sports massage treatment, I am able to increase range of movement, reduce stiffness and reduce pressure caused by the tension. As a result, pressure-induced headaches disappear.

Depending on the client, I will choose something appropriate from the following techniques:

Patients leave my clinic feeling looser and headache-free. As part of an appointment, I provide follow-on advice about stretching that will prevent these problems reoccurring.

A few days after treatment, I contact clients to understand the impact of the treatment, and to suggest future treatments if necessary. My aim is to help you feel better.

We often put up with a lot of pain and we don’t have to!

Should sports massage be included in your running routine?

Yes!

Repetitive movements associated with running means that your muscle fibres will slowly become shortened. You are therefore more prone to injury because the muscle fibres will be compressed and have less supply of blood. Less blood means less pliable and so you will be more prone to pulls, strains and even tears in the muscle or connective tissue. Stretching will help lengthen the muscles after runs, but sports massage will do that and a great deal more.

Sports massage increases the blood flow to the area which will help these compressed muscle fibres relax. There are many deep stretching techniques within sports massage treatment which help stretch the muscle fibres and restore them to their original length.

Sport massage improves the whole circulatory system, which means that the muscles will not only be supplied with more blood, but with more oxygen and more nutrients too and have less waste products. This means fewer cramps, less lactic acid and more endurance allowing you to run longer (nutrients) and faster (oxygen). By increasing the circulation to the muscles themselves you will also be benefiting other parts of your body such as more oxygen and nutrients to other cells and tissues.

Sports massage treatments are cumulative. The more you have the more benefit you will gain. If you have one treatment after a race, this will help recovery, but as it’s cumulative, you will gain more benefit if sports massage is incorporated into your whole running routine.

For it to work best decide how often you can afford to get treatment. Then schedule it into your running programme, i.e. once a month, once a fortnight, once every 8 weeks. Once you’ve completed a treatment book your next one before you leave the clinic so that it doesn’t get forgotten!