Online self care to increase ROM (range of motion)

AO is 20 year old active female, who booked an online self care package to improve her range of movement to get to the next level in horseriding.

“Whilst not suffering from any pain, I have never been particularly flexible and have naturally tight legs and hips. This doesn’t affect me in day to day life, but it was beginning to get more noticeable when horse riding, and I was really struggling to get the range of mobility that I’d ideally need/like to have to progress further.

I decided to book in with Fran to see if she could work out the source of my tightness and improve the mobility in my legs and hips. Because of the covid-19 pandemic, all our sessions were conducted over video call, yet I still feel that we were able to have a thorough consultation and as a result the sessions were specifically tailored to my body. Each week we worked through a few things together and then I continued with them during the week – I had the emails from Fran with instructions to follow, so everything was very clear and not at all overwhelming. At each weekly session we would look at my progress before adding more things to be working on over the coming week. Progress seemed slow for me at first, but I knew that things like this take time – I was making steady progress and starting to not feel as tight in my legs and hips during my exercises. The major noticeable difference for me however was when I got back to riding after a couple of weeks off – my legs and hips were instantly in a much better position and I didn’t feel like I was putting any effort in at all to keep them there. Because my legs weren’t as tight, they became instantly much more effective and my increased mobility in my hips also meant that my seat was also much better and more connected to the saddle.

Through just 4 video sessions, Fran had pinpointed where the problem lay and shown me how to improve it – with perfect accuracy. I still do all the exercises to continue with the progress and my riding technique continues to improve greatly – which both myself and my coach are absolutely delighted with! Fran has enabled me to improve my riding without being anywhere near a horse and I would not hesitate for a moment in getting back in touch with her for further sessions if / when I need them.

I would 100% recommend Fran to anyone whether it be to relieve pain or to improve flexibility / technique for your chosen sport, as I know that she will help you achieve your goals and support you whilst getting there.”

Online self care to relieve neck / shoulder pain and headaches

SW is a 50 year old female balancing a sedentary desk job, busy family and large home. Years of headaches, stiff neck and shoulders got even worse during the Covid-19 pandemic.

One of the best things to come out of Lockdown: Frances’s online massage sessions!

Having suffered with stiff and sore shoulders & neck, resulting in headaches over many years, Frances’s hands on massages provided temporary relief, but because I could only manage irregular sessions, she was always working on really tight muscles. In the time available there was only so much that she could do.

I was keen to find out what ‘online massage’ would entail and was delighted with the package offered. Over a period of four weeks, I was taught how to stretch and massage the problem muscles and there was opportunity to review, discuss and amend my programme each week. The duration and regularity of the course meant that I had time to incorporate these self-massages into a daily routine.

In my final week, I was set an objective of taking daily notes of what I was experiencing – something I suspected may be a chore, but which was quite the reverse. It required me to make a conscience effort to notice what was happening as I stretched and manipulated, raising awareness to my problems, and enabling an in-depth final session about ‘where to go from here’.

Four sessions were a perfect number for me; it gave me time to amend my daily morning routine, and experience the loosening of the muscles, layer by layer, thus giving me a sense of achievement. I know that Frances would willingly do more sessions if and when I feel the need.

I view this ‘online massage course’ as a supplement to Frances’s ‘hands on’ massages, not an alternative. I am looking forward to having my first ‘hands-on’ massage post Lockdown, and I am convinced that I will benefit more from it, as Frances will have time to work at ‘deeper muscles’ because the surface ones are more supple.

Frances is a good listener, understands her subject and is very approachable. She was able to offer explanations and advice for any ‘crunches’ and ‘clicks’ that I was experiencing and happily revised my programme to suit my needs.

I would totally recommend Frances for both her online and hands-on massage therapies; I would suggest that if you are aware of a specific issue, that you try the online sessions first, so that you can complete the initial loosening of muscles yourself, thus benefitting more from the actual hands-on massage experience.

Thank you Frances.

Single (emergency) hands on treatment for seized back

RW is a 50 year old male who has a sedentary job, but is very physically active working on house restoration and large allotment - which can cause a lot of pain in his back.

My back had seized up and I was in excruciating pain. One session with Frances allowed movement to be restored and I could come off painkillers.

Very restorative massage. I could not recommend more highly.