Body Work Therapists
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For example for ‘hip pain’ click on 12, or enter hip pain in the search box or go to the Patient’s page ‘Low Back & Hip Pain’.
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For example for ‘hip pain’ click on 12, or enter hip pain in the search box or go to the Patient’s page ‘Low Back & Hip Pain’.
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THERAPISTS. On the Man…..
Hover your cursor over a coloured dot to see a picture & question, click, this will whisk you away to another page for the answer.
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To talk about a treatment in the Exeter, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Newton Abbot, Chudleigh & Bovey Tracey area of South Devon
Ring 01626 852575
For our charges see the ‘Welcome & Charges’ page
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Hi, I'm Mike Colquhoun. I've been working as a masseur since 1987 and I love the job. I first realised I was hooked when I found myself reading text books for recreation. I'm afraid I'm still that sad little geek! I just love how the body works and can't learn enough about it.
So after basic training I.T.E.C. Anatomy and Physiology, Massage, Sports Massage, Aromatherapy and Stress management, I went on to take the A.P.N.T course in Massage Therapy and Body-work which was the best and the most advanced at that time, but then ITEC. brought out their Holistic Clinical Honours Diploma so I took that and passed with Distinction.
I also taught I.T.E.C Anatomy and Physiology, Holistic Massage and Sports Massage within Adult Education to professional levels and in order to do so obtained a Certificate in Education through the University of Plymouth. The college also had me teaching Aromatherapy and Massage classes for family and friends. So from a start in the first year of twenty eight pupils, over four short years we built to over a hundred students per year.
As well as developing my skills within my Clinic and devouring research, I spent some years teaching post graduate classes in things like Neuro Muscular Technique, Lymphatic Drainage, Muscle Energy Technique and other advanced techniques.
Since then I have specialised in Mobilisation based on an Osteopathic understanding of how the muscles and joints work and how the fluids interact with the rest of the tissues. I regularly read research for fun and wake up each morning with the happy thought that I will be seeing more complex problems and nice new challenges to-day and I get to meet and help such a variety of wonderful people.
You see because I work slowly, thoroughly and methodically during each session I get excellent results but of course this means I have to charge for an hour rather than ten minutes. So my patients are self selecting for those who have tried others and, had any of those succeeded, I would not be seeing them. I get the difficult problems to solve. Lucky me. You see I'm usually successful within two or three sessions and I know of no other way of obtaining the sensation of walking on air for a couple of days other than having a patient's quality of life dramatically improve as a direct result of what you have done for them.
So after basic training I.T.E.C. Anatomy and Physiology, Massage, Sports Massage, Aromatherapy and Stress management, I went on to take the A.P.N.T course in Massage Therapy and Body-work which was the best and the most advanced at that time, but then ITEC. brought out their Holistic Clinical Honours Diploma so I took that and passed with Distinction.
I also taught I.T.E.C Anatomy and Physiology, Holistic Massage and Sports Massage within Adult Education to professional levels and in order to do so obtained a Certificate in Education through the University of Plymouth. The college also had me teaching Aromatherapy and Massage classes for family and friends. So from a start in the first year of twenty eight pupils, over four short years we built to over a hundred students per year.
As well as developing my skills within my Clinic and devouring research, I spent some years teaching post graduate classes in things like Neuro Muscular Technique, Lymphatic Drainage, Muscle Energy Technique and other advanced techniques.
Since then I have specialised in Mobilisation based on an Osteopathic understanding of how the muscles and joints work and how the fluids interact with the rest of the tissues. I regularly read research for fun and wake up each morning with the happy thought that I will be seeing more complex problems and nice new challenges to-day and I get to meet and help such a variety of wonderful people.
You see because I work slowly, thoroughly and methodically during each session I get excellent results but of course this means I have to charge for an hour rather than ten minutes. So my patients are self selecting for those who have tried others and, had any of those succeeded, I would not be seeing them. I get the difficult problems to solve. Lucky me. You see I'm usually successful within two or three sessions and I know of no other way of obtaining the sensation of walking on air for a couple of days other than having a patient's quality of life dramatically improve as a direct result of what you have done for them.
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Hi there.April
There is the most amazing stuff coming out of the third International Symposium on Fascia in Canada.
It really begins to look as though there will soon be a scientific explanation of Acupuncture. 5,000 thousand years of use and some very derogatory statements about its value at times, it will be great to see it vindicated in terms the 'Unbelievers' have to accept. Yes I dislike those who because they have no 'scientific' explanation at present use this to denegrate observed truths.
For a quick catch up to where they are 'You Tube' provides some very entertaining short videos. A few I would recommend include:- [sorry none of these are links, you will have to highlight and copy]
Science & Humor with Dr. Serge Gracovetsky - Part 1
Science & Humor with Dr. Serge Gracovetsky - Part 2
Serge Gracovetsky - Fascia Congress Part 1
Serge Gracovetsky - Fascia Congress Part 2
Serge Gracovetsky - Fascia Congress Part 3
Fascia Congress -- Thomas Findley's Interview
Fascia - architecture of connective tissue
Fascia - connective tissue and fibroblast mechanics
Fascia - in vivo ultrasound imaging
Dr. Tom Findley Presentation on Fascia
Fascia - Cell biology
Thoracolumbar fascia biomechanics
From the Fascia Research Congress 2009
the fascia, its structure and function - the pelvis
Gil Hedley: Fascia and stretching: The Fuzz Speech
Strolling Under The Skin.flv
Strolling under the skin
Strolling Under The Skin (part 2)
Strolling.mov
How to build a Tensegrity Cube
Tensegrity Demonstration
muscle attitudes
Skin Excursion
The Visible Human Project
Human Anatomy UPPER LIMB 1 of 8 etc:
March.
This month the most common truly difficult problems I have been struggling with seems to be an unusual muscle virus.
It particularly likes the muscles of the chest in all the patients who have contracted it, the intercostals, sticking them to the pleural walls and in to the lungs with a nasty adhesion that restricts the breathing in those who take more than the average amount of exercise. In one individual it was in the diaphragm as well restricting their breathing considerably. A swimmer, their performance was drastically cut.
In everyone it has caused a tightening of the mediastinum [the fascia between the lungs]. This can be found by applying a vibrator to an area of adhesion and then feeling how far that vibration is transmitted. Tight tissues transmit vibrations over great distances [like a guitar string] but soft tissues absorb the vibration very quickly. So if you can feel the vibration at distant points there are tight tissues between those points. Of course you must know the natural tight areas like that through the chest from front to back between the third and fourth ribs over the nipples.
to find the tension in the mediastinum have the patient say AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA as you vibrate a suspect area out on the ribs if you can hear the vibration in the voice you know there is a restriction between that point and the voice box.
Opening up the lymphatic system and teaching patients how to keep it open against the viruses attempts to block it while awating the patient's immune system's natural response and final victory the treatment of choice.
Just to complicate this mix there were two cases of shingles, one in the leg and one the chest, luckily both were spotted and sent to the Doctor.
January.
Crownhill Ward, Derriford
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Last month I had to go into Derriford Hospital in Plymouth to have a Gastro Intestinal Stromal Tumor removed. To save you time looking it up it is a tumor that grows on part of the intestine [mine was on my stomach wall] and though survival rates were very low ten years ago, now they are over 95%. I had the great good fortune to find myself on Crownhill ward and from the start they were all excellent. I was nurtured into the idea by some fine macmillan nurses, I don't remember anything of the operation except that my concerns were sympathetically delt with by everyone particularly the Surgeon Mr Rahamim and the Anethetist and all their Registrars. When I awoke in the high dependancy unit I only had to move to find a nurse at my elbow enquiring after my wellbeing, from there into a bay in the ward after only two nights and one day [lucky me] where to be honest the care was not much less intense. If I needed anything it was dealt with within minutes at any time day or night. It took five days for my bowel to move so no food till it did and with a dressing all down my belly, basin washing. Day five, Joy the bowel moved and the dressing came off so a shower was possible, and a lunch would follow.
Having had the shower I came out to a little blue tray with knife, fork, spoon and tissue all ready for my lunch, JOY unconfined and the Nurse took my blood pressure. Through the roof, such small things take on their true significance after five days. Two days after that I was home again.
The general standard of nursing care was excellent despite the large number of patients and the staff having to put in twelve hour shifts.
Beyond this high base standard there was at least one nurse [sometimes two] in every shift who's skills and care were above outstanding. To meet such dedication and skill in a workforce is rare in any industry and it is always a joy and a privilage just to observe their concentration, ability, dexterity and skill as they work. To meet so many in so brief a period at such a vital time when I was particularly vulnerable was more than a privilage it was a huge comfort and incredibly reassuring especially since their skill was being practised on myself.
The services provided by outside agencies was also excellent, the food was good [remembering that I'm ex-navy and 40 years ago though the food was not always even edible, the cleaning and polishing was second to none in the world, so I know what I'm talking about], and the cleaners, without whom everyone else's efforts would be for nothing, was thorough. The N.H.S. may have many problems but the workforce are incredible.
I should also mention my local Doctor's practice who initially picked up that there was a problem the symptoms of which I was putting down to age and infirmity and who's care since I came home has picked up an infection in the wound and dealt with it so promptly that it is now clearing fast. My thanks particularly to Dr's Brown and Soffe.
Having had the shower I came out to a little blue tray with knife, fork, spoon and tissue all ready for my lunch, JOY unconfined and the Nurse took my blood pressure. Through the roof, such small things take on their true significance after five days. Two days after that I was home again.
The general standard of nursing care was excellent despite the large number of patients and the staff having to put in twelve hour shifts.
Beyond this high base standard there was at least one nurse [sometimes two] in every shift who's skills and care were above outstanding. To meet such dedication and skill in a workforce is rare in any industry and it is always a joy and a privilage just to observe their concentration, ability, dexterity and skill as they work. To meet so many in so brief a period at such a vital time when I was particularly vulnerable was more than a privilage it was a huge comfort and incredibly reassuring especially since their skill was being practised on myself.
The services provided by outside agencies was also excellent, the food was good [remembering that I'm ex-navy and 40 years ago though the food was not always even edible, the cleaning and polishing was second to none in the world, so I know what I'm talking about], and the cleaners, without whom everyone else's efforts would be for nothing, was thorough. The N.H.S. may have many problems but the workforce are incredible.
I should also mention my local Doctor's practice who initially picked up that there was a problem the symptoms of which I was putting down to age and infirmity and who's care since I came home has picked up an infection in the wound and dealt with it so promptly that it is now clearing fast. My thanks particularly to Dr's Brown and Soffe.
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November.
Leg ulcers are usually perpetuated by poor lymphatic flow out of the leg, this is often down to the deep lymph vessel in the calf blocking. It can also block slowing the flow to a trickle in the inner thigh and at the groin where a tipped pelvis is often interfering with the vessels squashing them and making them less effective as drains.
As soon as the fluids start flowing through the leg again the patient can expect feverish symptoms as the body deals with the toxins coming away from the area.
In this picture the top left is taken after 2weeks, some skin has grown in at 4 weeks bottom left, nearly covered at 6 weeks top right, then at 8 weeks bottom right totally covered but a nasty little weepy spot top centre which broke out again, back on antibiotics and at 10 weeks the bottom photo shows a nicely healed and improving site no longer requiring treatment.
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October.
Previously I had a couple of my regulars come in who had been on a holiday the other end of the country and they were driven there in a people carrier. He was In the front passenger seat and she was in the rear seat at the back with her head leaning on the window.
Their vehicle was badly cut up by another car and their driver had to jump on the brakes to avoid hitting it. The consequence was that they both had their pelvis’s tipped by the violence of the deceleration; a modern car’s brakes being so efficient. As they were on the left of the vehicle their right pelvic ilium was held still by the anchoring point being located just beside it, but the left ilium was in a limited way, free to move and did forward and down. This is normal in such an incident. Their upper bodies were thrown into the seat belt which then tightened and stopped them causing mild lymphatic bruising just behind the ribs diagonally across their chests and popped one of his high on the left and four of hers, two high on the left and two low on the right. All as normal for this sort of incident but what was unusual was that her neck was fine while his had the expected whiplash.
The support of the window and the headrest behind and beside her head had saved her neck from this injury.
I am sure this set of injuries also occur to drivers which came as a bit of a surprise at first, of course they are reversed but the surprise was that the driver being braced ready for it does not save them.
Of course most patients have to be told that they have been in such an incident because, as they did not have an accident and they were not in any sort of pain afterward, why would they remember to tell their therapist? Both these patients had to be told about it before they remembered.
The truly worrying part of all this is that these incidents must occur in their thousands every week. There is no pain for a couple of months at least and when it does occur may be in the neck or the low back but most therapists working with focus on the pain will not even suspect the other injuries. This means that millions of people in this country are walking about with these problems.
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August.
A new finding that I have been looking for for a couple of years now. I have been aware for several years that there is a connection between problems in the left vastus intermedialis and the lateral pericardium and from there to the voice box. I first came across this in a Lady who had fallen off the step of a coach and damaged the vastus medialis and intermedialis quite badly. After a while I noticed an adhesion on the lateral left ribs over the heart. In due course this Lady developed a croak in her voice that eventually took her to a voice coach who taught her to keen.
Almost immediately there was a noticeable improvement in both the adhesion over her heart and the damaged left thigh.
For years I thought this was a lone case but gradually it dawned that there were quite a few of my patients with this connection and as I got better at solving other problems this one which I could not clear became a larger and larger proportion of my work and occupied more and more of my thoughts. Finally it came to me as I was lying in my bath on a Monday morning. So if that was how the connection worked what would relieve it? Well that was soon worked out, next to try it on patients.
It works, it clears the problem completely but will they stay clear? If the thinking is right they should so now we wait and see. Six months later I can now say with confidence it may occasionally need to be repeated to maintain the release but normally a single release is all that is needed.
Of course if this is true on the left what happens on the right? Well without an equivalent to the pericardium there is a substantial difference; but it is there, and that connection on to the voice box? I'm still cogitating that one.
I am now finding this central lung adhesion in other patients once the leg to mid back release has been done. Noteably in a lady with severe neck and shoulder problems which initially we put down to a car accident seven years ago. The problems found did not quite fit this cause so I pushed for an earlier trauma and fourteen years ago she had had her wisdom teeth taken out under full anasthaetic and on recovering she was a mass of bruises on her arms and face. I am now thinking that in the struggle with the teeth the dentist probably pushed on the chest while pulling on the teeth with the other hand. Add the traffic accident seven years later and the only surprise is that for fourteen years the body is able to function normally for the most part and pain free until recently.
After releasing a series of these [new to me] muscle trains in a long term patient who had not attended for a couple of years and had in the mean time lost the sight in her right eye, due apparently to a poor blood supply to the optic nerve on that side, she had walked into a low branch and wanted her neck checked to ensure there was no further interruption to the blood supply to the head from misaligned cervical vertebra. Being a plodding pedant I of course did everything I could find from top to toe and late in our second session after clearing this line from left thigh to left lateral ribs a lump appeared on the fourth rib's cartilage over what would be the top of the heart. Feeling it, it was clearly broken and healed with a lump on each end of the cartilage. I tried some gentle vibration on the underlying adhesion and the patient wilted, so I gave her the vibrator to apply herself so she could keep the effects to a tolerable level. She soon pointed out that the vibrations were going through to her back where I applied a second vibrator. In due course the adhesion cleared and we finished the session checking her neck.
As her husband drove her home she rang to say she was reading the road signs with her right eye.
For years I thought this was a lone case but gradually it dawned that there were quite a few of my patients with this connection and as I got better at solving other problems this one which I could not clear became a larger and larger proportion of my work and occupied more and more of my thoughts. Finally it came to me as I was lying in my bath on a Monday morning. So if that was how the connection worked what would relieve it? Well that was soon worked out, next to try it on patients.
It works, it clears the problem completely but will they stay clear? If the thinking is right they should so now we wait and see. Six months later I can now say with confidence it may occasionally need to be repeated to maintain the release but normally a single release is all that is needed.
Of course if this is true on the left what happens on the right? Well without an equivalent to the pericardium there is a substantial difference; but it is there, and that connection on to the voice box? I'm still cogitating that one.
I am now finding this central lung adhesion in other patients once the leg to mid back release has been done. Noteably in a lady with severe neck and shoulder problems which initially we put down to a car accident seven years ago. The problems found did not quite fit this cause so I pushed for an earlier trauma and fourteen years ago she had had her wisdom teeth taken out under full anasthaetic and on recovering she was a mass of bruises on her arms and face. I am now thinking that in the struggle with the teeth the dentist probably pushed on the chest while pulling on the teeth with the other hand. Add the traffic accident seven years later and the only surprise is that for fourteen years the body is able to function normally for the most part and pain free until recently.
After releasing a series of these [new to me] muscle trains in a long term patient who had not attended for a couple of years and had in the mean time lost the sight in her right eye, due apparently to a poor blood supply to the optic nerve on that side, she had walked into a low branch and wanted her neck checked to ensure there was no further interruption to the blood supply to the head from misaligned cervical vertebra. Being a plodding pedant I of course did everything I could find from top to toe and late in our second session after clearing this line from left thigh to left lateral ribs a lump appeared on the fourth rib's cartilage over what would be the top of the heart. Feeling it, it was clearly broken and healed with a lump on each end of the cartilage. I tried some gentle vibration on the underlying adhesion and the patient wilted, so I gave her the vibrator to apply herself so she could keep the effects to a tolerable level. She soon pointed out that the vibrations were going through to her back where I applied a second vibrator. In due course the adhesion cleared and we finished the session checking her neck.
As her husband drove her home she rang to say she was reading the road signs with her right eye.
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I am now wondering about Myasthenia Gravis having a link with deep chest adhesions from heavy blows.
Maybe a masterclass day in Solihull would go down well?
Masterclasses can be run for any group of therapists with a suitable venue, If you would like to organise a day all you need to do is arrange a venue, at least six therapists and two patients. You might make a small profit on the day.
Somewhere in London early in 2010 would be particularly good.
I would love to have a day in Birmingham sometime soon too as there are lots and lots of therapists there looking at the site .
Should you come on a day you will see and be able to assess for yourself the power of this therapy to relieve many painful conditions and it will show you a way in which you could help relieve much suffering.
For a Patient's eye view go to Rick's Blog-Guinnea-Pig.
Milton KeynesI have now worked out that the analytics prog. is not as accurate as it seems. Enough people from the Ipswich area to make up a class have looked at the site but none appear on the map, I think they are being registered as London or maybe Milton Keynes!
My most visited pages are the Question and Answer pages so clearly people are wanting questions answered, let's expand those pages, send me loads of questions, even simple ones as they are probably of the most general interest.
Yours aye Mike
Ipswich:
This day’s masterclass was enormous fun to teach.
Wewere a very mixed bunch of therapists, predominately Massage Therapists and Sports Massage Therapists from a variety of training schools, a Physiotherapist, an Osteopath, Shiatsu, Kinesiology, Cranio Sacral Therapists, Spinal Touch therapist, Bowen, Deep Oscillation, and an Equine Massage therapists, two were trained in Vodder Technique Manual Lymphatic Drainage and I agreed with them that the BLySS breathing pump is best used as an addition to Manual Lymphatic Drainage.
We had two really lovely Patients and after a brief introduction to the subject went straight to work on them.
The first, a chap called Ric had a pain behind the left scapula, the second a lovely lady called Margaret also had a pain behind the left shoulder blade. So apparently the same problem at first glance.
Of course, not so, they turned out to have completely different causes and effects on the patient’s general health.
Both were old in origin and had had very different effects over the years and unravelling the clues and sorting out the problems that these gave rise to was stimulating. We found connections between old physical injuries and present pain on the other side of the body; or right through the body causing adhesions and lymphatic blockages, these adhesions had been brought on by the prolonged muscle spasms and we speculated on the effects this might have on the digestive system and the endocrine system.
We went on to deal with whiplash in necks and reduced a couple of these in the class among whom we also found psoas/iliacus/diaphragm spasm; R.S.I.; Gluteus Minimus / adductor magnus spasm; and lost curvature of the upper spine and discussed the problems this would give rise to.
On a real ‘High’ but exhausted we staggered off to our homes.
Bristol was not well attended but we had a brilliant day and everyone went home excited with what they had learned