WHAT IS TMJ MASSAGE AND HOW CAN IT HELP YOU?

Are you suffering from any of the following symptoms?

·      Toothache

·      Jaw pain

·      Face pain

·      Headaches/migraines

·      Ear pain

·      Clicking or popping in your jaw

·      Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)

·      Jaw clenching & grinding

·      Trismus (difficulty opening the mouth)

·      Tight and tender neck, face, jaw & upper back muscles

·      ‘Locked’ jaw.

If you’re struggling with any of the above, it may be because of your TMJ.

What is TMJ?

Many people suffer from TMJ (Temporomandibular joint) pain and corresponding symptoms but don’t always realise they can be treated.

The TMJ is a hinge joint connecting the jawbone (mandible) to the temporal bones and sits in front of the ear.  It is involved in talking and chewing as it allows the jaw to move from side to side as well as up and down.  Problems with the jaw muscles, a whiplash injury, blow to the jaw, grinding or clenching the teeth (as well as being a symptom), stress and poor posture can all be contributing factors for problems with the joint

Muscles of the Jaw

How can massage help TMJ?

Massage is a gentle and effective treatment for TMJ as it can help release the muscles around your upper back, neck, head and face, as well as inside your mouth, often with long term results.

Using trigger point work and soft tissue techniques, the muscles around the TMJ can be released to help relieve the pain and reduce symptoms and, if appropriate, I will give you self-help techniques that you can use on yourself to manage further pain.

What happens in a treatment?

After our initial consultation, I assess the jaw, standing behind you and checking points on your shoulders and face for tension and trigger points as well as symptoms like clicking and popping. I’ll ask you to open and close your jaw several times and feel specific points around the jaw and face as well as look at your jaw from the front to see your jaw movement and whether there is any obvious misalignment.

Although the symptoms are in your jaw, your posture may be relevant, and I will also look at your posture for any obvious issues that might be affecting your jaw. The massage includes the upper back, neck and shoulders – and sometimes the lower back if it appears relevant – so you will need to undress as for other types of massage and lay on the massage table in order for me to work on all these areas.

Where this massage differs from others is that when you lie supine (face up), after I have worked on your face and neck, I will put latex-free gloves on and work inside your mouth (intra-orally), to release tension in the internal muscles. This can sometimes be a little uncomfortable, but I never work outside your comfort zone, and I’ll work with you constantly to check we stay within that range.

After the massage

Most people notice a difference in their symptoms after the first massage, but because TMJ is often a chronic (long term) condition, you may need several appointments to make a real change and some clients need ongoing massage to ‘manage’ TMJ, depending on the cause and the symptoms. However, I have also had clients who have only needed one treatment!

If you’d like to book an appointment or to chat to me about TMJ, email me on: ali@pureblissmassage.co.uk or call and leave a message: 07791898650. I will get back to you within 24 hours.

MASSAGING POST LOCKDOWN!

The last week has been a roller-coaster of emotions! Joy and relief at hearing therapists can massage again and then anxiety and confusion about what steps we should be taking to keep our clients (and ourselves) as safe as possible!

Although the internet is a fabulous source of information, it can also be a mine of misinformation and incredibly stress-inducing, particularly when therapists are asking questions and lots of different answers are being given. For this (and many other) reasons, I consider myself blessed to belong to the ‘Jing family’!

I discovered Jing about four years into my career and they were a turning point in my training. Set up and run by Rachel & Megan, two of the most informed, experienced and generous therapists I’ve met, their remit has always been to ensure that massage in the UK is taught to the highest standard. Teaching with their heads, hands and hearts the Jing team make learning SO fascinating and always fun. Their thirst for knowledge continually blows me away and they’ve taught me to be a better therapist in so many ways.

During the last quite stressful week, Rachel, Meg and their team held daily webinars on how to proceed as a massage therapist post lockdown, culminating in a Webinar on Thursday which included advice from members of the GCMT (General Council of Massage Therapists) and Balens insurance. Not only that, but I’ve joined their new on-line course for on-line consultation, assessment and self-care - basically a new model for us to help people in pain during these strange times. Because of all their hard work I now feel ready to work and have prepared my home and therapy room ready for my clients’ return.

Although I’m really excited to be seeing clients again, we’ll be working in quite a different way going forward. Following the Government regulations to keep face to face time to a minimum, I’ll be doing consultations (with a Covid-19 questionnaire) and aftercare on-line via Zoom. I’d never heard of Zoom before the lockdown but, having used it for my bi-weekly workouts with Empowered Fitness as well as talking to friends and family, it just makes it so easy, not only to chat to people but also to ask clients to show me their range of movements (ROM) and for me to demonstrate exercises to them. I’d also been putting off getting a card payment terminal but I’m now the proud owner of a Square terminal, which I’m ridiculously thrilled with! So, I’ve been dragged kicking and screaming into the tech age … and I think it’s a good thing.

As for the massage itself - well, initially, we’ll be wearing a visor and a mask and limiting time for the client lying supine (on their back). We’ll also start wearing gloves but please don’t be put off. Feedback from all trials have been that you really can’t tell the difference. I think all therapists have been buying linen in by the bucket load so that we can change every piece of linen between massages as well as having a wipe down under-sheet and plastic flooring for clients to stand on.

The biggest difference for us is the post massage cleaning. Straight after the massage we’ll be cleaning all common areas (halls, stairways, banisters) as well as the massage room itself to limit any risk of the virus being spread. We’ll be washing our hands up to our elbows throughout the day as well as before and after every massage.

This obviously all takes extra time so, to allow for on-line consultations, cleaning and the massage itself, I’m limiting massages to two a day for now. I think it’s important that therapists don’t rush in but are really confident in the steps we’re taking to keep our clients and ourselves safe.

So a big welcome back to all my clients and to new clients going forward. If there’s anything you want to know about either the massages or my health and safety procedures, please don’t hesitate to contact me by phone (07791898650) or email (ali@pureblissmassage.co.uk). I’ll be very happy to help!

It’s the end of my first day back to work and I’m feeling exhausted, elated, excited and curious about finding the best ways of making this new model work!

WHAT IS A CLINICAL MASSAGE THERAPIST?

After 16 years as a massage therapist, I became an advanced clinical massage therapist. My massage work felt effective and clients gave great feedback, but I wondered if it was possible to increase the effectiveness of my treatments. During the year’s advanced training I felt my skills changing and evolving as I learnt new techniques that really helped ease my clients’ pain and, a year on, I’m learning more from every massage and loving the results.

So what IS a clinical massage therapist? Well, putting it simply, I’m an outcome-based therapist and my aim is to decrease my clients’ pain, increase their range of movement by improving the functioning of joints and muscles and, at the same time, give them a wonderful massage experience.

I often work with clients who have long-term chronic pain. That can be anything from neck and back problems, headaches, sciatica, RSI, fibromyalgia and other ongoing musculoskeletal problems. During each first session I complete a detailed consultation form looking at each individual holistically and taking into account any biopsychosocial factors - psychological and social - as well as physical issues. This helps me to get a picture of what’s going on in their life that might be impacting on their body. I then take clients through some relevant range of movement exercises to try and pinpoint the affected muscles and where I should start the work. Finally, I’ll do a postural assessment to look for misalignments in the body, which might help guide me towards what needs the most work.

A clinical massage differs from others in that the therapist tends to communicate more with the client throughout the massage. I work a lot with trigger points - those tight points within a band of muscle that feel ‘ouch’ when touched. These often cause referred pain in other areas away from the original trigger point itself. So, for instance, you might be getting pain down your arm or in your hand, but the trigger point might be in the muscles in your neck. Although I can feel some of these painful points, the more feedback I get on quality and intensity of the pain, the more effectively I can work. Focussing on these specific areas can relieve both the immediate and referred pain.

Clinical massage integrates different modalities, Eastern and Western techniques that I’ve learnt throughout my career as a therapist. These can include trigger point therapy, myofascial release and stretching techniques, as well as hot stone work and Chinese meridians, all of which form a multi-modal toolbox to help get clients out of pain.

What I do think is important is that massage should be a pleasurable experience, and working in this way means it doesn’t have to hurt to get results but can be effective within a reasonably comfortable pain level as well as using broad, relaxing massage strokes, and stretches with the aim of you leaving in less pain AND feeling relaxed.

Bristol Massage Clinic

I've been very quiet since I started this blog as I've been building up my client base and spending a lot of time in Brighton at the incredible Jing Massage Clinic learning new skills including some incredible clinical massage techniques.  

The tutors at Jing are really special - they've all got amazing massage careers but, even more importantly, they're passionate about what they do and about passing their knowledge on to other therapists.  The exciting news is that one of my tutors, Minia Alonso, lives close by in Bristol and I'm SO excited to be joining her as part of her team at Bristol Massage Clinic!

I had a knee injury early last year and, looking for a Jing therapist in the area, I was thrilled to learn Minia was in Bristol and her massage made all the difference to my speedy recovery. She's such a wonderful therapist and has a really sound massage background with loads of experience and I'm always thrilled when I know she's going to teach on the course as she has such a passion for teaching. She's such an intuitive masseuse, with a gentle touch that has an incredibly powerful effect on the body and so I'm blown away that she's chosen me to be part of her team at the new Bristol Massage Clinic.

Based in Clifton, the clinic is a beautiful oasis of calm, in the basement of Clifton Dental Studio
on Queens Rd. If you think this is an odd mixture, it's actually the perfect fit because, as well as all the amazing massage techniques offered by the team, Minia is a specialist in TMJ, the temporomandibular joint, massage of which can help with jaw pain, ringing ears, teeth grinding, chronic headaches and, in fact all sorts of problems throughout the body, not just the jaw.

I'll be undertaking the TMJ course in the autumn and I cannot wait as it's so fascinating. Under Minia's expert supervision I intend to follow her lead and become a specialist in this really important area.

In the meantime, I can be found at Bristol Massage Clinic, Clifton Dental Studio, 92 Queens Road every Tuesday from 4th September offering a wide range of massages. I can't wait to start working as part of Minia's team!

To find out more please check out the Bristol Massage Clinic website: www.bristolmassageclinic.co.uk
 

PURE BLISS MASSAGE

Welcome to Pure Bliss Massage!  Whether you've come to this page looking for a therapist or just out of curiosity, I hope you'll take something of use away with you.

I have been a practising massage therapist for 16 years, during which time I've learnt many different massage techniques and added numerous skills to my massage toolbox so that I can help my clients with pain relief, relaxation and general wellbeing.

In the past all my massage clients have been word of mouth but I really want to spread the word about what I do as I know a lot of people think they have to live with pain when, in fact, lots of complementary therapies can help.  In my opinion, massage is a really powerful tool for helping free people from pain but also a place where you can learn self-help techniques putting you in control and a space to take some time for yourself - something many people almost never do in our increasingly demanding world.

I like to get to know my clients and to find out what works for them.  My massages aren't generic - I work with you, the client, and want to help with your needs.  So if you come to me with specific pain I will work to ease that pain, but if you're finding it hard to sleep I'll work on relaxation.   As I'm interested in health in general and constantly read and research about health and wellbeing, for those clients who want to help themselves, I can also give you tips and further reading.  Whatever you need from the treatment time, I will try to help.

Like most therapists, my massage training is on-going.  It never stops and I'm constantly learning new ways of working to help you get the most from my massage whilst, at the same time, ensuring my way of working is safe for my own body as I want to have a long and pain free massage career.

If you'd like to know more, take a look at my website and feel free to call for a chat or email me for more information.

Remember "Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes ... including you" Anne Lamott.