Author: Jenna Wheatman

What to wear for a Massage

Posted on by Jenna Wheatman

A very common question I get asked when somebody books in who is new to my services is what do I need to wear? This is a very valid and appropriate question as different therapists will have their preferences depending on the type of treatments they are trained in. Here at Pro-Am it is ultimately down to what is comfortable for YOU.

As a manual therapist we are trained to adapt our techniques to suit your needs. In the UK you should never be expected to lie on a table in the buff exposed, this is not acceptable practice, you will keep under garments on and there should always be towels provided for modesty and also warmth. Most of the time only one area will be exposed to treat, for example an arm, leg or back.

We will always explain what we are going to do as we go through the treatment so you can give consent for us to go ahead. You have control and can say No Stop at anytime.

What is best?

At Pro-Am if it is your first visit to us for an injury consult then just make sure you wear comfy clothes you can move in. Sometimes we may need to expose the area we are assessing to be able to see how it moves or look for signs of injury like swelling, redness and bruising. For example if you have a knee injury wearing shorts or having shorts to change into is helpful to the therapist. If it is for the shoulder or back then removing your top can be helpful, again to assess movement. Females will never be asked to remove their bra for any assessment purposes. If you are uncomfortable unclothing, do let us know, we can still assess your injury fully clothed. You have come to us because you are in pain and we want you to feel safe and comfortable.

Sports massage/soft tissue treatments may require you to disrobe to your under garments. We will always provide towels for you to keep covered and only the specific area we treat will be exposed, unless it is the glutes then we work always through the towel. If we want to finish with some exercises like stretching then we will ask if you want to get clothed first, as some positions can make you feel a bit exposed.

The reason we ask you to disrobe and expose the area to be treated for massage is so we can visually see what we are treating and so we can use oil/wax, this helps us use more gliding type techniques which can have a soothing effect on the body and help warm up the tissue before we go into deeper techniques, if required. A therapists hands should never work underneath clothing or towelling, the therapists hands should always be visible. For more deeper techniques, we tend not to use oil/wax and quite regularly apply through towelling, we may just expose the site to get a sighting of specific landmarks to where we need to treat.

Groin injuries are the one injury most will put off seeing a specialist for, it is a sensitive area for obvious reasons. We would never ask you to expose your genitals. Wearing shorts or big knickers/pants is ideal but we can work through trousers, it can just be harder to find our anatomy reference points to make sure we are palpating specific and appropriate structures. When dealing with males we may ask you to cup and scoop sensitive areas out the way either with your own hands or provide a towel to make sure we do not come into contact with anything we should not. No palpation should ever go below the pubic bone. If this is uncomfortable for you then we can ask and direct you on what muscles/tendons/bones/ligaments to palpate. Palpation is used to find specific pain sites but it is not compulsory for diagnosis or treatment. We will always explain what we are going to do so we can ask permission for consent to go ahead. If you find it uncomfortable, tell us and we can try another position or skip it all together. We have other techniques to use if hand position in the groin area is not right for you.

If you feel at all uncomfortable during your treatment please do let us know, as we can change and adapt our treatment approach to suit you.

So if you come to us for an injury consult or massage then we do not expect you to disrobe if it makes you feel uncomfortable. Just let us know how you feel so we can make your treatment approach specific to your needs and comfort.

If the therapist finds your behaviour inappropriate at any stage they also have the right to stop your treatment and ask you to leave.

Introduction

Posted on by Jenna Wheatman

Pro-Am Sports Injury Clinic promotes and improves total body health by quickly addressing the cause of your injury with a holistical approach, individual to each patients goals. 

Who we treat? Everyone, regardless of whether you are involved in sport or not. Our role is to assess, treat and rehabilitate your aches and pains and get you back to the activities you need and love to do. Getting you back moving is the key to getting you better.

If you are involved in sport then we can take your rehabilitation that step further and get you back into your sport, aswell as design a preventative strategy.

Not sure what a Sports Therapist is? Well our training is very similar to a physiotherapist apart from we specialise in musculoskeletal (muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints) from the start, for 3 years at university. This means we spend time learning hands on muscle testing, soft tissue treatments and functional movement assessment and exercise selection.

Whether your aim is to reduce pain, increase range of motion and mobility (to enable pain free daily living) or perhaps improve at your chosen sport, we can help.

You can find out more by scrolling through our website or if you want to find out more get in touch.

Loyalty Card Membership

Posted on by Jenna Wheatman

1 year membership is £10

What you get for joining

  • 10% discount off every session booked.
  • Every time you use our services you will gain a 10% discount sticker.
  • Build up your discount and use towards the following treatment.

For example

  • If you had 5 treatments, you will have built a 50% discount which you can claim and use towards your 6th treatment. Then you can start building your discount again.
  • You may decide to bank your discounts until you have had 10 treatments. This means you can claim a free treatment.

Massage is not a luxury its an investment in you. Your physical and mental health.Many of us put alot of energy into our exercise, work and daily life (regardless of what our individual goals may be) but we can forget about looking after the body that helps you achieve it until pain stops us in our tracks. Massage may feel like a splurge but it’s not to put off until you have a race or dealing with a nagging issue.Regular massage can help free stiff muscles making it feel easier to move more efficiently. If you feel good, you perform better. If you book in for 40 minutes every 6 weeks you can tackle problems quickly instead of pushing through pain and compounding it. Don’t just come when you are hurting, it can end up costing more and not just in money but in your time and possibly confidence and motivation to start back again.

Exercise and Massage

Posted on by Jenna Wheatman

Professional athletes training programmes have cycles of increasing volume and intensity and then decreasing back down to aid repair and recovery. Our bodies can not be pushed continually, this is when it starts to break, combine this with massage to flush the system and they feel fresh for there next block of training. Massage is part of every professional athletes training program but we also work just as hard in our jobs/exercise/hobbies and life so why don’t more people take advantage of what massage has to offer. You get your hair cut which helps keep it in good condition, why not a massage for your muscles which help you get around?

We are all told that exercise is important for the body to stay mobile and strong and it is but sometimes our daily stresses make us feel less inclined to exercise as we feel tired and achy. During these times exercise can actually add to that stress and tip our nervous system into survival mode which can then affect our sleep, hormones and our systems can become sluggish which can lead to an increase in toxins in the body. How do you remedy this, one, you can decrease the volume and intensity of your exercise (yin yoga or yoga with twists for detox) or you can have a massage.

The effects of massage have that feel good factor exercise gives you without you having g to get a sweat on or put any effort in. I am not saying to ditch exercise but once a month having a massage to help re-charge the bodies systems, can stop the build up of toxins by helping our circulation and lymphatic system.

Just like a machine our response times can slow, things may miscommunicate and get cluttered. What do we do with a printer not wanting to print, we power down and reset it. Massage can do this for the body.

However just like exercise those first few sessions may make you feel a little heavy and sluggish as your systems needs time to adjust. Massage is more beneficial if you have one regularly. Maintainance is far easier if kept on top of than it is to ignore and then only attend to it when damaged.

Many of my clients say that there first few sessions were a little uncomfortable but then they soon quickly became really relaxing and really notice the difference when they have to delay an appointment (we have seen alot of this due to covid).

So if you find your self out of balance, not sleeping well finding exercise harder than usual maybe its time for a re-set.

A monthly massage that can re-charge your body is the best approach. Here at Pro-Am we have some great health scheme offers to help keep you committed to your health and well being. Get signed up before 20th December for a fresh start in 2022 and before our prices go up.

Special Offers for November/December. Why not give someone the gift of health.

Anxiety, stress and depression. How can massage help?

Posted on by Jenna Wheatman

We can all suffer from anxiety, stress and or depression from time to time. Stress can be good for you but repeatedly pressing the stress response button can start to negatively effect the body. Finding the cause of your anxiety, stress and or depression is very important. Everybody has different triggers and will require different approaches to manage the effects these conditions have on the body. Our advice is to always be open and willing to try different strategies whether it is meditation, yoga, bootcamp, cold water swimming, running, crafting or under guidance of your doctor cognitive behavioral therapy, counselling or medication. Sometimes we are our worst enemy in that we have an excuse for not trying things like I don’t have time, its just part of my job, I don’t want to let anybody down, its our willpower or lack of. This is not the article to go into this but if you want a really great read about willpower and why we make the choices we do and how to change your approach, Kelly Mcgonigal ‘how to master the new science of self control – maximum willpower’ is a great start.

Below is a table showing just some of the symptoms related to anxiety, stress and depression.

Anxiety StressDepression
Physical symptoms
Feeling irritableGrinding teeth, clenched jawLack of energy
Problems with sleepHeadachesUnexplained aches and pains
Feeling of dread, panic or impending doomIndigestion or acid reflux symptomsChanges in appetite
Racing thoughtsDizziness or general feeling of ‘being out of it’Moving or speaking more slowly than usual
Difficulty concentratingMuscle tension in neck, face or shoulders.Disturbed sleep

The above table is just a very simple example and you can have anxiety, stress and depression seperately but you can have all 3. Sypmtoms can be very similar for all 3 which is why it is always best to speak to a medical professional to work out your cause and triggers and how to manage it the best way for you.

Massage can be effective to treat some symptoms of mild, short term cases by helping with muscle tension, decreasing pain, helping sleep etc. It can also be very useful for severe chronic cases but must be part of a treatment strategy as it will not work on its own.

Massage helps to reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) and muscle tension by eliciting feelings of calm and deep relaxation. Massage increases localised blood flow which helps the travel of positive hormones like endorphins, serotonin and dopamine to areas of high stress and give a sense of well being. Massage can also reduce feelings of stiffness by increasing tissue elasticity by rising muscle temperature. Very similar effects to exercise.

When booking a massage to help with your stress and anxiety management notify the therapist of why you want the treatment. This way they can create the right environment for you to be able to relax. Asking the therapist to not talk during your treatment is absolutely fine. We are here to help.

Why are injury assessments are so important?

Posted on by Jenna Wheatman

There are a number of reasons for performing an initial injury assessment, these can include:-

  • Medical Screening, this helps us decide whether we can treat you or if you will need referral to other medical professions (x-ray, surgery)
  • Which structures are involved. When possible, we determine the possible cause of the problem/complaint. In some cases, this involves determining the anatomical structure that is causing pain. In some cases, this is not possible, but determining all the possible contributing factors to the pain is important. Knowing which structures are involved and how they were injured can guide you on how long the injury will take to recover.
  • Causes: We determine the factors that led to the injury and/or complaint. The above step and finding the cause is critical in determining the appropriate treatment plan and preventing it happening again.

The assessment may include both structural and functional testing. We will look at your movements, combined with the therapists manual testing of specific structures. For acute, traumatic injuries the assessment has a strong structural approach. For chronic and/or gradual onset injuries, the assessment has a strong functional approach.

To analyse all the relevant information can be complex (client history, signs and symptoms, aggravating factors, client goals, past medical history, clinical assessment/examination findings, diagnostic imaging, etc).  It will all help towards finding an appropriate treatment, which is why clinical expertise is important.

We have a very patient centred approach which means we take into account what is important to you, what activities you want to get back to and we plan treatment to focus on these goals.

At the end of the assessment, the following information will be identified:
  • The patient goals
  • A problem list (pain, difficulty with activities, etc) and treatment plan to overcome these.
  • A clinical diagnosis as well as possible differential diagnoses.

Our aim is to send you home better understanding your injury and how you can recover. We will set a simple home treatment plan directed towards your goals. This may include up to 5 exercises which we will dicuss how best to put into your routine.

Assessing your injury is important to find out which structure/s have been injured or the majority of the time irritated. This will guide you on what movements to stay away from, just while it recovers and what treatments/exercises can be started straight away and how to progress towards your goals. Complete rest is rarely advised. We will always try to keep your sports training going/keep you in work, we may just need to modify things during recovery.

POLICE Rules

Posted on by Jenna Wheatman

With reduced access to help for injuries, here are a few steps you can take to help you recover.

Most people have heard of the RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) regime to help treat an acute injury such as a strain or sprain, in the early days. However ‘rest’ has now been replaced with ‘protection’ and ‘optimal loading’. Rest initially can be immediately beneficial but early mobilisation (loading) stresses tissues in the correct manner for full recovery. Rest is now known to create joint stiffness and muscles weakness, making a longer recovery.

P – Protection, rather than resting the injured area, think about protecting it from further damage. A short period of rest immediately after is helpful to unload the area but total rest can limit your recovery. Combine this stage with optimal loading.

OL – Optimal loading, early activity encourages early recovery. Progressive loading of injured and supporting tissues can promote optimal healing.

I – Ice, applying ice can help to manage the swelling around your injured muscle or joint. It can also help reduce pain. You can use it for 20 minutes every few hours. Depending on the amount of swelling you may be able to switch to heat after 4 days to promote blood flow to the area for healing.

C – Compression using a bandage or strapping can be combined with ice to reduce swelling. If you have minimal swelling this is not required.

E – Elevation, can be used for short periods of rest again to help with swelling and pain. the injured part needs to be higher than the heart. If swelling is minimal this is not required.

Optimal Loading may be hard to identify but use common sense. Don’t be afraid to move, use the injured area within your own pain limits. A mild pain is to be expected but anything more and you are probably doing too much. This may mean protecting the area using crutches, splint or brace if fully weight bearing is over loading the injured structures. You need to keep progressing what you are doing gradually to help the tissue heal better and prevent injury in the future.

This is where we come in. As a Sports Therapist we can judge where your injury is along the stages of healing time frame. We can advice you where you need to start and how to progress your exercises and activities. As with any injury if you are worried or concerned or want to get it checked out before starting any self directed management, then you can call us, your GP or if you think you may have a fracture or ruptured tendon/ligament A&E.

Try not to take anti inflammatory drugs in the first few days of your injury, let your natural healing process take priority. If on day 3-4 you have swelling and pain then you can start to take them.

Muscle Soreness

Posted on by Jenna Wheatman

During this time there are many exercise videos hitting the internet so I have written this post to give a bit of guidance on how you may be feeling.

Did you have a go at your HIIT session but today you can’t walk, decided to go without socks and had to hobble down stairs?

Don’t worry too much there is a good chance you’re experiencing something called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Here is a little info to help get you through.

What is DOMS? It is stiffness and pain that most people will feel build between 24-48 hours after doing high intensity physical exercise or just exercise that your body is not accustomed to. Even trained athletes get DOMS when trying something new.

DOMS can be a sign you did something right, the whole idea of exercise particularly resistance training is that you are creating micro tears in your muscles, so that they can get stronger and firmer. Although it seems an unfair trade, soreness for wanting to improve fitness, it does show your fitness is progressing.

Why the next day and not straight away? For most the soreness will start within the first 24 hours and can peak at 48-72 hrs. It has nothing to with lactic acid and everything to do with blood flow and healing. DOMS creates inflammation around your muscles, a natural and required process to allow muscles to build and heal, this takes a little time.

What can you do to ease DOMS? you could have a warm bath and if you have some, Epsom salts; they are rich in magnesium that helps to boost recovery. If you think you may have really overdone it, you could maybe brave an ice bath but a good alternative is a contrast 20 minute hot and cold shower, every few minutes go from hot to cold and target areas of soreness.

Massage can be effective, right now during coronavirus if you have a foam roller you can try slowly rolling the areas of soreness, remembering to breathe. However your muscles maybe too sore for this so when you feel better in 2-3 days time, it can be something to try.

Gentle exercise like going for a walk, easy run/bike or yoga can get your body feeling back to normal.

Make sure you are eating well, you need all key nutrients to give your recovery a boost, steak, spinach, sweat potato and red peppers is just one example for a good muscle repairing meal.

Words of precaution for exercise

You can workout everyday but it is not advised to do a HIIT workout everyday, these are high intensity and need a few days recovery. If you are not use to these types of workouts then I recommend just one a week, for those use to exercise, then stick to 2 high intense sessions a week. All other sessions are about recovery and easy to moderate effort exercise can boost this. What is easy to moderate for some may be hard for others, it is very individual. If you do get DOMS and it lasts longer than 48hrs next time take it down a notch and build up gradually. It can sometimes last up to 7 days if you really over did it. Start with just 10 minute routines and build up to longer if you really are not use to these types of workouts.

Examples of high intensity exercise

Circuit training, HIIT, Running/brisk walk where you cannot talk, interval training whether running or cycling. anything that gets you heart rate zone into zone 4

Examples of easy/moderate exercise

yoga, pilates, easy running, walking, cycling anything that keeps your heart rate in zone 2-3.

Stay home, save lives. When exercising stay local and within your ability.