Body Balance by Jo Gwilliam

It's 'Snow' fun!

2010-12-22T08:15:00.000-08:00

Well what a week, this snowy weather has played havoc with some of my clients being able to make their appointments and I haven't left the the house since Sunday - I'm going a bit stir crazy to be honest. So I have decided to put my spare time to good use and write about the benefits of massage, particularly for those who are active in sport.

Sports massage can help promote a healthy lifestyle as well as helping to enhancing the performance of an active sportsperson. Here are some of the ways sports massage can help benefit you:

Relief of stress, tension & pain
Enhancing posture
Re-energising exhausted bodies
Improvement of blood circulation and lymphatic flow
Increased muscle tone and length
Improving range of movement
Help to prepare the body for competition, both physically and mentally
Improved recovery rate after an event by helping the body to remove metabolic waste such as lactic acid
Helps assit the body in injury rehabilitation
Remodelling of scar tissue to help reduce pain and to avoid the risk of further injury

So if you are going to make any New Year resolutions for 2011 make one of them to book up for a sports massage treatment, it's one resolution you will enjoy sticking to!

Have a great Christmas and wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year.

Jo

Prevention is better than cure!

2010-12-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

Please don't make the mistake of thinking that remedial massage is only for those people suffering with an injury, as the old adage goes 'prevention is better than cure'. I treat a number of clients who use massage as part of a maintenance programme to help prevent injury rather than leaving it until its too late. Massage can help to keep muscles and the fascia that encases our muscles relaxed and tension free. When muscles are relaxed the flow of blood into and around the muscle is improved, fresh oxygen and nutrients help to keep the muscle healthy which gives you a better range of movement (ROM) when exercising. A tight muscle limits your ROM which can cause the muscle to over stretch and in worse cases tear. Regular massage and stretching, as part of a maintenance programme can therefore help loosen areas of tightness and greatly reduce your chances of injury.

So my advice, use remedial massage regularly every 4-6 weeks as part of your training schedule, you will reduce your risk of injury and improve your performance.

My week

2010-10-01T10:35:00.000-07:00

Busy week this week, finished off with a reflexology treatment on a long standing client which was good (except we talk too much during the treatment!). Tried out some new moves as part of my initial foot massage to help relax the feet and open up the body prior to treatment which my client really liked.

Also tried out my new reflexology routine which I had updated to include some advanced moves, it was good but still need to practice a couple of the moves so I'm 100% confident with them.

Have a good weekend, Jo

My Dad!

2010-09-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

Amongst other clients I have been treating my Dad this week, he has been suffering with discomfort in his ankle and asked for a couple of treatments prior to him going off to marshal at The Ryder Cup.

There are a lot of ligaments and tendons which support the ankle and injuries in this area are not uncommon. My main focus when treating my Dad was really to try and reduce any stiffness and improve flexibility with massage. I used general massage techniques to help improve the condition and function of the tendons and ligaments, working around the ankle joint and treating both the dorsal and plantar sides of the foot and ankle. In my massage I also included treatment of the Achilles tendon as this is of fundamental importance in activities such as walking and can be a common area for strain and over-use.

In addition to massage, I advised my Dad to wear an ankle brace when marshalling, as he will be on his feet for several hours each day for over a week, this will help provide support and should reduce the amount of discomfort he feels. I also made sure he had a bag of frozen peas to take with him as he may need to treat his ankle using the RICE principle (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate) if his ankle becomes swollen.

Hope the massage has helped Dad and you have a good week at Celtic Manor! x

New Reflexology Routine

2010-09-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Having had 3 months off on maternity leave I'm now back treating clients and loving it - I did miss it even though I had my hands full with a new born!

At the moment I'm busy revamping my Reflexology routine to incorporate some of the advanced techniques which I recently learnt when I attended an Advanced Foot Reflexology course, run by the FHT.

I learnt some really relaxing new moves which I have enjoyed practicing and which have been well received by my clients so I'm now making them a permanent part of my routine. You really should come and try them for yourself!

Jo x