ABOUT ME
Advanced Clinical Massage Therapist and Online Self Care
My name is Frances and I use a combination of massage, stretching and breathing exercises to help you feel better - to get out of pain, to improve your mobility, to help manage your stress.
You can read more about my qualifications below, but first let’s look at why I think massage is important and how it can help you.
I’ve enjoyed receiving massage for many years - in many ways I have depended on it. As a professional musician, and after sitting at computer keyboards for hours on end, I am fully aware of the impact that poor posture, infrequent movement and prolonged keyboard work can have on my body - not to mention stress and every day life! Massage has been an essential part of my life whether to release tension and help me relax, or to boost my energy levels and help prepare me for performance.
My lifelong enjoyment led me to make the switch from patient to practitioner, and courses at St Mary’s Twickenham, The Christie and Jing Advanced Massage Training have provided me with a broad range of skills and experience that mean we can work together to adapt each therapy session according to your needs, from general relaxation to rejuvenation, working within your level of comfort, mobility and fitness.
My main purpose is to use massage treatments to relax, refresh, connect and support.
Although my clients come from a broad range of backgrounds, part of my plan is to work specifically with older people, and those suffering and recovering from illness:
Using complementary therapies to improve mental health and wellbeing.
Working with the elderly, carers and the people they care for, and those recovering from illness.
Using massage to assist gentle physical movement, regain/maintain mobility.
Promoting regular respite support for home carers.
Working to connect with those suffering from loneliness and/or social isolation.
The technical bit
I initially studied at St Mary’s University Twickenham, gaining ITEC Level 3 diplomas in both holistic body massage and sports massage. If you are interested in learning, see their short courses page.
In 2019 I took the Adapting Massage for Cancer Care course at The Christie in Manchester. The Complementary Therapies & Wellbeing team at The Christie have been at the forefront of massage and cancer care for decades, and their Integrative Therapies Training Unit is a fantastic place to learn.
There is always more to learn, of course, and during 2020 I began studying remotely with the amazing team at The Jing Institute. Jing are revolutionary in their use of blended techniques to reduce pain and increase mobility, and are absolutely at the cutting edge of online self care - adapting all of their consultation, massage and after care skills to get real results via remote methods (zoom, facetime, etc). I completed their ACMT (Advanced Clinical Massage Therapist) qualification in December 2021, and in September 2024 graduated with a BTEC Level 6 in Advanced Clinical and Sports Massage.
Advanced Clinical Massage Therapy
That’s a very grand title, and may sound a little intimidating, or cold and medical, but trust me it isn’t.
To put it simply, ‘clinical massage’ really means that I know my stuff. Study for the BTEC Level 6 included in-depth anatomy, orthopedic assessment, advanced massage techniques, rehabilitation, sports training, pathologies, systemic diseases and disorders, as well as running a small research project.
With all that knowledge in my toolkit, I can use the best blend of techniques from consultation and assessment to hands-on and homework to make sure you achieve the best results. The aim is to get you out of pain, moving better, and feeling better. Clinical massage therapy can help.
Get Moving, Get Stronger
Ever feel like you haven’t moved properly in a while? You’d like to move your arms or legs more easily, or without pain and discomfort. Maybe it feels like your shoulders and neck are rounded forward and too stiff to get back to where they once were. But more than that, you haven’t the strength, or energy, to do anything about it.
The idea of ‘Get Moving, Get Stronger’ is to work at the level you are at. No energy? No problem, we’ll go super slow and easy. No balance, or a tendency to fall? We’ll find some easy exercises to do sitting down, so there is no risk of falling, or getting dizzy.
I started this programme with a very special client who kept falling - you can read about how we worked together in this case study. After only a few weeks of simple exercises, he had not only gained enough leg strength to stop falling, but also improved his balance so much that he wasn’t wobbling as we did the exercises.
Whether you are 23 or 93, recovering from injury or illness, living a sedentary lifestyle, suffering from stress, or simply frustrated that you aren’t moving as comfortably as you would like to: this is a simple programme, designed specifically to achieve your personal goal(s), in a series of short (20-25 minute) weekly sessions. Check out the ‘Get Moving, Get Stronger’ section on the Pricing page.
Care homes: Senior rehab and adapted massage
I am now offering an adaptation of Get Moving, Get Stronger for care homes.
As you would expect, with ‘senior rehab and adapted massage’ each 20-25 minute session is tailored to the specific resident, bearing in mind their state of health, mobility, and most importantly, the goal(s) that the individual would like to achieve.
For those who would like some gentle massage to ease pain or discomfort, we will work in their chair (or bed if bed-bound), working around oedema, delicate skin, and more, working on feet, legs, hands, neck and shoulders.
For those who would benefit from movement, we will find some simple exercises that can be done each day - or simply once a week with me, if preferred. As progress is made, we adapt the exercises to help even more. My favourite exercises are simple, easy and (usually!) fun to do.
If you work in a care home and feel that your residents may benefit, please do get in touch. I offer 3-hour blocks, which means I can see 6 residents. More info on the senior rehab section of the Pricing page.
Client benefits:
ease of movement
reduction of pain
improved mobility of joints
improved balance / increased leg strength (reduced fall risk)
improved circulation
reduce oedema
regular social contact
boost wellbeing
Styles of massage
Holistic massage, sometimes called Swedish massage, uses a variety of hands-on techniques (stroking, kneading and percussion) to manipulate the soft tissues and muscles to promote healing, encourage circulation, aid relaxation - generally to boost your sense of wellbeing and help you to feel better.
Sports massage takes the techniques of holistic massage one step further, working with deeper tissues and targeting specific pressure points to release tension, stimulate cell regeneration and aid recovery from injury. A sports massage will often focus on one specific part of your body, but the techniques can also be adopted into a full body massage, e.g. working to release specific knots of tension within a more general treatment.
Gentle touch is often thought of as a new technique, and yet it is probably the oldest form of touch therapy. Illness and medication can have significant impacts on our bodies - making skin sensitive or fragile, causing hair loss, fatigue, lack of agility or mobility, as well as emotional changes. Touch therapy can be really beneficial in helping you to relax, de-stress, and feel a little more human. The ‘normal’ massage techniques of kneading the skin and muscles may be too abrasive and even risk damaging your cells. By working incredibly slowly, with gently resting hands and light stroking movements, your skin is protected, and time expands as you focus on your breathing and relaxation.