Common Questions
In order to get the very best out of your massage experience please consider the following points -
What should I wear?
I never ask anyone to remove clothing, you will only ever be invited to undress within the limits of your own comfort and dignity. I can treat clients who are fully clothed but I do have to add that I cannot guarantee that their treatment will be as effective or enjoyable as it should be. I will always turn away when you undress and will only turn around again once you are comfortable for me to do so (i.e. when you are under your towel). Ideally, clients would undress down to their underwear, therefore I try to advise clients to wear under-garments that they don’t mind me seeing them in. Remember, one of the benefits of receiving treatment within your own home is that you are free to change what you are wearing if you wish. There is a chance that under-clothing may come into contact with massage lotion or oil so it is advised that you don’t wear your Sunday best. Some of my female clients prefer to wear two piece bikinis rather than underwear, anything is acceptable so long as you are comfortable, the only thing that I do ask is that female clients do not wear sports bra’s as they can affect postural assessments and cannot be undone during the treatment. Bra’s can be kept on or removed, dependent upon how comfortable you feel. If a bra is worn and I need to access the upper back, I will need to undo the bra but I will always ask permission before I do so. At all times your dignity and privacy is protected. Only the area of the body being treated will be exposed at any one time whilst the rest will be covered by your towel. All treatments and their ‘access’ requirements will be discussed beforehand. Every assessment and treatment is carried out with fully informed consent.
What is Informed Consent?
The NHS states that “For consent to be valid, it must be voluntary, and informed and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision”. Prior to any treatment or assessment, I will discuss the process with you in order that you fully understand what I will be doing, how I will be doing it and why I will be doing it. I will also explain what you may experience during and after the treatment and what, if any, participation is required on you part. You will be given the opportunity to ask questions. Only once this process is concluded will permission be sought to continue with the proposed treatment or assessment. Be assured that you are free to stop any treatment at any time if you are uncomfortable with it.
How much does it cost?
As a Sports Massage Therapist I do not offer a menu of treatments. Each treatment will be tailored towards the requirements of the individual on that day. Therefore, I charge according to time rather than the treatment given. As a mobile therapist I do not offer treatment durations of less than an hour as travelling times and ‘set up’ and ‘packing away’ times, durations of less than an hour would not be viable. The treatment duration does not include setting up and packing away so you only pay for your actual treatment period. For your first treatment I will have to do some paperwork and I will also need to perform a postural assessment and possibly some other functional tests in order to build up a picture of what needs to be treated. This will require and additional time of approximately half an hour for which I charge a nominal additional fee of £5.
Initial Consultation (1 ½ Hours) £45
1 Hour Treatment £40
1 ½ Hour Treatment £55
What happens in the initial consultation?
During the first consultation I will need to establish what issues you are presenting with and how best to treat you given your fitness and activity levels, age and any other possible contributory factors which may be present. Initially I will need to take a brief medical history in order to build up a picture of your overall health and ensure that you are eligible for massage therapy. Once I have a good understanding of your background, I will perform a postural assessment. I will then go on to perform a range of physical tests in order to fully understand your functions and disfunctions. It is important to note that I DO NOT make a diagnosis, I only treat the disfunctions that I find.
What is a postural assessment?
A postural assessment involves observing you standing naturally and taking note of your symmetry, alignment and other general observations which can give me clues about where potential issues and disfunctions may be arising. Remember, as with everything I do, this will be explained in more detail at the time and informed consent will be sought prior to carrying out any assessments.
Do you supply towels?
No. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, using a therapists own towels is considered to be a potential infection risk. Therefore, I now ask all clients that they provide their own towels for use during a treatment. You will need at least two towels. One to lie on and another to cover you up. Additionally, a pillow or a cushion (with an old or washable cover if possible) might also come in handy but it is not a problem if you don’t have one spare.
My aim, is to help you to
REPAIRin order that you may...
RESUMEactivities with comfort.
