By Sebastian Urbanik

Do you fall into the catergory of people who either put off or put no effort into physical exercise because of the “All or Nothing” cognitive myth?

This myth encrypts your mind with the false belief that a little exercise or physical activity will not bring any benefits to you – usually based on your personal high standards-hence, the all or nothing approach!

How deep is deep?

By Colin Cassidy

When we receive a massage treatment we generally desire one or all of the following outcomes: pain relief, mobility and relaxation. In order to make a tangible change in the tension held within our muscles or how they function, a certain intensity of pressure must be reached relevant to the client’s tolerance.

But how deep is deep? How much ‘soreness’ should we feel to be sure that a positive and lasting impact is made on the muscle tissue?

 

By Sigita Beliunaite

From the first day of summer we look forward to our holidays and the opportunity to escape routine & our stressful lifestyles in London to enjoy sunshine, warm weather and nice beaches. Holidays are wonderful for recharging our bodies and minds – but what happens to our bodies when we expose them to all kinds of unaccustomed activities like long car/plane journeys, wrangling heavy luggage, cricket on the beach, swimming & surfing? Holidays can be an extreme sport if you have spent the rest of your year less active or at your desk!

Stress seems to have become synonymous with modern living. According to the Bupa Stress Survey 2013, 44% of British adults stated that they currently felt stressed, of which 27% said they regularly felt close to breaking point and 52% were worried about the effect that stress was having on their health. Definitely a cause for concern.

Stress is no different to many processes in the human body, where what starts out as a normal, and very necessary, response to a situation can turn into a problem. We need that performance-enhancing boost of adrenaline and cortisol – common stress hormones – when we have an important work interview or need to hit the brakes to avoid a car accident.  Short-term stress is not ain itself a bad thing; it forms part of our primitive fight-or-flight response and is an important survival mechanism.

By Fran Kehoe, Owner of the Massage Centre

                 

What is it that causes our body to feel pain every now and then? Most of us have felt some level of discomfort or pain in our bodies at one stage or another during our lives. We all know about muscles and how an unhappy muscle can be sore to touch or move. Apart from the overuse, under moved or poorly fed (nutrition) reasons for having sore muscles, what else can play a major factor in causing pain?

Therapist Spotlight: Peter Wikstroem

Peter, a medical massage therapist from Sweden, has devoted most of his life to sport, sparking a passion for understanding how the body works. He has worked extensively with disabled people, helping them to maximize their health potential and thinks studying massage and anatomy is an ongoing process.

Here he shares his experience of helping just one of his many clients who suffer from the common problem of chronic muscle tension in their shoulders and neck: