Exclusive Services for Injury Prevention & Health.....

Dr Sarah  worked for many years in academia, firstly as a PhD research scientist at the London College School of Medicine and then as a lecturer with the University of London and Open University, I decided it was time for a 
career change.  I wanted to combine my knowledge of the human body, health and nutrition with my passion for fitness and sport.
I'm a keen CrossFitter and member of the CrossFit Kent and Sussex box, I regularly run 30k per week cross country with my 2 dogs, play club tennis in the Wealden League and kickbox with the Dragon Kickboxing club.  I understand how hard it can be to train consistently and the importance of staying injury free.  My interest in learning how soft tissue therapy can play a vital role in both injury prevention as well as rehabilitation grew.
So now I am qualified with a Level 5 BTEC Professional Diploma in 'Sports and Remedial Massage/Soft Tissue Therapy' from the London School of Sports Massage - the UK's leading school for this discipline.  I set up the practice Sports Massage Works and aim to provide more than 'just' sports massage for my clients, who may be athletes or non-athletes.  My training allows me to offer the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal dysfunction.  More recently I have discovered the therapeutic benefits of pregnancy massage and am now fully qualified to provide this service too.
Through prevention and maintenance, soft tissue therapy can address issues before they cause more serious, chronic, or compensatory problems.  When pain or dysfunction are already present it can play a corrective and rehabilitative role.
 

Tanya Ball a former GB marathon runner and county level basketball player, Tanya Ball has been managing her full-time Sports Massage & Remedial Therapy practice in Hampshire (UK) for over twelve years. This considerable period has enabled her to treat a broad patient-base, with wide-ranging ages, backgrounds, and activity levels, from sedentary folk to élite/professional athletes. Her clinical work involves mutual inter-professional referrals and team work, and a strong emphasis on postural and movement dysfunction analysis, treatment, and functional goal-orientated remedial/preventative advice and exercise prescription.
Her extensive CPD training since graduating from the London School of Sports Massage (LSSM) in 1997 has included a part-time MSc in Bodywork (1998-2001), which fuelled her research aspirations, a number of the Kinetic Control® ‘Dynamic Stability and Muscle Balance’ course Series, and recent completion of Structural Integration (SI) Bodywork training according to the KMI® Anatomy Trains® model, tutored by Tom Myers and James Earls. In July 2010, she furthermore successfully passed the IASI’s Certification Board for Structural Integration SM exam to gain qualification as a Board Certified Structural Integrator (BCSI). 

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This is a BTEC level 5 qualification which is equivalent to a university under-graduate level of education. It has to provide you with a very high level of skill and knowledge to enable you to become a professional clinical therapist who can effectively assess and treat injuries. This cannot be compared to Level 3 or 4 qualifications which only teach you how to do a massage treatment and do not require such in-depth study. This is why we cannot run short intensive courses because it is not possible for the average student to complete all the essential home study in a shorter time.

We know from over 30 years of experience that the most talented and successful therapists we have trained are not always so strong in academic study. In fact, we have often found that those with the greatest hands-on skills also have learning issues such as Dyslexia. Being aware of this we have carefully designed the home study assignments to still be achievable to less academic students, or if English is not their first language. Our assignment markers are trained to make allowances for those with learning difficulties.

Underpinning Theory:

• Functional anatomy of the musculoskeletal system

• Musculoskeletal physiology

• Exercise physiology

• Pathology of injury

• Contraindications

• Acute Injury procedures

• Injury scenarios

• Case Studies

• General anatomy (Blood, circulation, CV system, skin, nervous system, respiration, digestion)

• Business and practice development

Assessment:

• Case history taking

• Muscle/tendon injuries

• Joint injuries

• Posture and trunk stability

• Functional movement

Treatment:

• Remedial massage techniques for all skeletal muscles

• Sports massage

• Injury treatment

• Neuromuscular techniques

• Soft Tissue Release technique

• Muscle Energy Techniques (integrating Post Isometric Relaxation and Reciprocal Inhibition methods)

• Myofascial techniques

• Positional Release technique

• Treating medical conditions

Rehabilitation:

• Post-acute rehabilitation

• Remedial exercises

• Injury prevention

• Posture, core stability and functional exercises

• Exercise compliance

• Sport and Active lifestyle advice

For more information please see the buttons at the bottom of the page:

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Rocktape in a premium brand of Kinesiology tape. First used by acupuncturists and chiropractors in Japan, today kinesiology tape is used by a wide variety of health professionals throughout the world to treat injuries and pain. Unlike traditional athletic tape that binds and doesn’t stretch, RockTape is engineered to mimic the human skin. This stretchiness is the secret behind RockTape. RockTape stretches up to 180% of its original length but has amazing ‘snap-back’ or recovery. This is what gives RockTape its performance advantage over other tapes.

RockTape can be used in a variety of ways to achieve different benefits:
When RockTape is applied with little or no stretch on the tape but lots of stretch on the tissue it causes the skin to form convolutions and wrinkle. This creates a bio-mechanical lifting mechanism that decompresses the tissue just under the skin. It is believed that this decompression and having tape on our skin creates 3 main effects:

• Mechanical Effect: As pressure on the vertical layer cake of tissue between skin and bone is reduced more normal slide and glide mechanics between the layers of tissue is restored. It is likely that this is the mechanism that can make someone who can only bend as far as their knees touch their toes in an instant!

• Neurological Effect: A lot of pain generated by movement or muscle contraction is generated by nerve endings in the space between the skin and muscle. As tape decompresses this space there is less pressure on these nerve endings so is reduced or stopped completely at its source. Having elastic tape stuck to your skin is also believed to stimulate receptors within the skin called Mechanoreceptors. These receptors play a part in our movement awareness, or what therapists call Proprioception. Many therapists believe that one of the main effects of applying RockTape is to improve our Proprioception, which can both decrease pain and improve the way we move.

When RockTape is applied with more stretch it can be used to support areas where tissue has been strained, torn, weakened or lengthened. By adding more elastic recoil to the taped area, functional stability and tissue ‘snapback’ are enhanced.

For more information please see buttons at the bottom of the page:

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