Massage therapy involves kneading the soft tissues of your body with varying techniques involving different amounts of pressure and movement. The soft tissues include muscle, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments and skin.

Massage is part of integrative medicine. It can be used for a wide range of medical conditions.

Studies of massage benefits have found massage can:

• Help reduce stress.
• Lessen pain and muscle tightness.
• Increase relaxation.
• Improve the work of the immune system.

I also offer Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilisation (IASTM) technique, an effective treatment for muscle, ligament and tendon injuries.

IASTM works like a standard massage, but specialiwed instruments are used in place of a physical therapist’s hands. These instruments can enable more direct treatment of the soft tissues involved with movement to be administered. The tissues include:

• Muscles
• Fascia, connective tissue that surrounds and separates muscles
• Ligaments, tissue that connects bones to other bones
• Tendons, tissue that connects muscles to bones