It’s not unusual for massage to be thought of as a luxury once in a blue moon treatment. However, in this modern world of health and well-being, we’re seeing a rise in chronic pain issues, the popularity of complex athletic styles of training and exotic trends such as pole dancing (that are resulting in injury and muscle imbalance). As a result, the demand for massage, very specific massage, has also seen a fabulous increase in demand. Massage is no longer restricted to the notion of luxury and pampering.
So what exactly is advanced clinical massage therapy and why do I call myself a Jing therapist?
Jing advanced school of massage training was founded by Megan Mari and Rachael Fairweather about 16 years ago. Their school offers a B-Tec Level 6 Diploma in Advanced Clinical and Sports Massage (that’s the highest level of massage qualification currently available in the UK) and it seeks to bridge the gap between massage and physiotherapy.
The type of treatment you might experience, ultimately, will depend on your goals. It does not discount the importance of said relaxation within a treatment, because the Jing method embraces the biopsychosocial model: that’s the idea that healing must embrace the biological, the psychological and the social factors of you, the client, to have a successful outcome. Advanced clinical massage combines several valuable modalities from the massage toolkit such as sports techniques, myofascial release, trigger point therapy, orthopedic assessment and special tests, rehab work and aftercare.
So how is it different? What is special about it?
That mostly has to do with the wealth of knowledge that Jing imparts upon its students, the in-depth understanding of specific pain conditions and pathologies such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, thoracic outlet, herniated discs, carpal tunnel, to name a few. It’s also partly to do with the way in which we are trained to assess sports injuries or non-descript back pain and provide rehabilitative after care work.
Advanced clinical massage is more than just a spreading of oil. It’s more than just a sheet of paper with a few exercises on it and off you go. It is so much more.
It’s consultation, listening and caring, creating a safe environment for you the client. It’s assessment and clinical reasoning towards your desired outcome. It’s the most in-depth hands on treatment you’ll ever experience. It’s depth without the intensity or pain. It’s after care, homework and learning for you the client. It’s an outcome-based treatment designed to return your body to a position of ease, thereby reducing pain and promoting soft tissue repair.
I live for my work and there is nothing else I would rather be doing than using my hands to improve your quality of life in whatever context that might be.
