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SMART Clinic have been established at LA Fitness in Muswell Hill since 2000. The Clinic Treatment Room is located opposite LA Fitness reception.
The Clinic originally offered Osteopathy and Sports Therapy treatments however has now expanded to provide members with a comprehensive range of products and services.
In June we were excited to announce the introduction of the following to our portfolio: Tui Na. In October we were happy to introduce two new therapies to the Clinic: Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine.
Our Clinic is open to both members of LA Fitness and the general public. Our practitioners and therapists are all qualified and experienced in their fields of expertise, being brought together because they share a similar philosophy: that is to provide a service that is founded on integrity and excellence at all levels.
As part of our drive to provide value to our patients, we shall be producing a monthly newsletter which shall include various articles of interest, the latest special offers and a therapy Q & A section.
We hope you enjoy our newsletters and look forward to meeting some of you at Muswell Hill soon.
OSTEOPATHY
Sonal Patel (BSc.(Hons.)Ost.)
What Is Osteopathy?
Osteopathy is a way of detecting and treating damaged parts of the body such as muscles, ligaments, nerves and joints.
When the body is balanced and efficient, just like a well tuned engine, it will function with the minimum of wear and tear,
leaving more energy for living.
How Can Osteopathy Help Me?
Osteopaths treat a variety of common conditions including:
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Back, neck, shoulder and joint pain
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Repetitive strain injuries
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Postural problems caused by pregnancy, driving or work strain
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Tension headaches
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Sciatica
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Sports injuries
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Muscular aches, pains and strains
What is Involved?
Treatment is aimed at addressing the underlying cause of the problem, alleviating pain and restoration of function leading to improved health. To do this osteopaths work with their hands using a variety of specialised techniques which are tailored to meet the patient’s specific needs ranging from soft tissue work to specific joint manipulation. Treatment is also reinforced by rehabilitation and general health advice.
Diagnosis: At your initial consultation you'll be asked questions about your medical history, lifestyle, symptoms and general health. You may be asked to remove outer garments so that your posture, gait, range of movement and spine can be examined.
Treatment: You'll be asked to sit or lie on a treatment couch. The session may start with some stretching and massage techniques to release tension and relax the tissues. This may then be followed with some spinal manipulation or other mobilisation techniques.
Techniques: Common techniques used include:
Safety: All registered osteopaths are rigorously trained in safety procedures for the different techniques used and there should be no risk of injury when techniques are applied correctly.
Side-effects: A common, mild side-effect is slight soreness around the affected joint(s) after treatment, but this usually improves rapidly as the tissues settle and heal.
Clinic Schedule: Tuesdays 9:00am - 7:30pm
Fridays 9:00am - 6:30pm
Pricing: £42 initial consultation (1 hour)
£34 follow up appointments (½ hour)
Contact/Booking Details:
LA Fitness: 020 8444 8212
(bookings can be made directly through LA Fitness reception)
Mobile: 07956 315 278
Email: sonal_osteopath@hotmail.com
Sonal Patel is recognised by most health care insurers, including PPP and Bupa.
Sonal is a member of the General Osteopathic Council, and the British Osteoapthic Association.
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SPORTS THERAPY
Andre Jacobs (Dip PT - IIST)
What’s on Offer?
- Sports Massage
- Deep Tissue Massage
- LaStone Massage
Why Should I See A Sports Therapist?
If you suffer from Back Pain, Sore Muscles, Sprains and Strains, a Sports Therapist can offer effective treatments to help recovery, enhance your performance and prevent further injury. A Sports Therapist also works with the client to rehabilitate the body post injury and uses corrective exercise techniques to assist the body’s return to full function.
How Does A Sports Massage & Deep Tissue Massage Help?
Deep Tissue Massage and Sports Massage are corrective, preventative and therapeutic disciplines focusing on the deeper layers of muscle tissue, releasing unremitting patterns of tension in the body via expert manipulation. This enables improved training and performance, better injury rehabilitation and fundamentally improves injury prevention.
Essential to all sports and all physical activity, these massages will loosen stressed muscle tissue that is restricting oxygen and nutrient circulation, and will release toxins from muscles enabling blood and oxygen to circulate efficiently.
Massage can help to:
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Break down adhesions in tissues which may be present as a result of past injuries - massage helps to relieve the tension and inflexibility caused by a build-up of scar tissue in soft tissues such as muscles, tendons and ligaments.
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Increase Tissue Permeability - a deep massage causes the pores in tissue membranes to open, facilitating the exchange of fluids. This improves the removal of waste products such as lactic acid, which builds up during and after vigorous exercise.
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Stretch muscles, tendons and fascia - massage can stretch those tissues that cannot be reached by other means, and also stretch the fascia that surrounds muscle, thus releasing any tension.
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Release muscle spasms - massage induces a relaxation and desensitisation of the muscle spindles that will lead to improved joint mobility, as well as lowering stress levels placed upon the body.
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Improve sports performance and endurance by removing the build up of general aches and pains, allowing for an improved sports performance.
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Prevent injuries and loss of joint mobility and enable a faster return to activity after injury - manipulation of the injured tissues will help to prevent adhesions forming, by realigning scar tissue.
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Extend the overall life of an athletic career - sports massage helps to maintain the entire body in a better physical condition. Massage can also relieve anxiety before and after an event.
What is LaStone Massage?
La Stone Therapy, the original hot stone massage, is a Native American healing art using smooth dense lava stones found in Arizona riverbeds. LaStone Therapy is the complementary approach to thermotherapy.
When heated, the stones are oiled and used along with Swedish massage to generate more heat and penetrate deeper in the muscles. Chilled marble stones are used later in the treatment for balance. The use of hand-crafted, polished, white marble stones to deliver cooling temperatures is a natural balance to the dark, ocean tumbled basalt stones used to warm the body.
The alternating temperatures between 32 and 140 degrees help create a faster healing reaction.
Alternating hot basalt & chilled marble stones this unique technique ‘exercises’ the circulatory systems to assist the body in self healing. In addition, this massage assists in strengthening the immune system. LaStone Therapy produces deep relaxation and energizing responses whilst balancing the body & the mind.
Clinic Schedule: Wednesdays 8:00am - 8:00pm
Thursdays 8:00am - 2:00pm
Pricing: £35 per ½ hour treatment or £50 per 1 hour treatment
Contact Details:
LA Fitness: 020 8444 8212
(bookings can be made directly through LA Fitness Reception)
Mobile: 07799 412 047
Email: andrejacobs@btinternet.com
Andre is a member of the International Institute of Sports Therapy
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TUI NA
Lin Mirams (Lic Dip of Tui Na)
What Is Tui Na?
Tui Na is one of the first documented massage techniques of more than 2,000 years. Diagnosis and treatment are based on Traditional Chinese Medicine theory using acupressure points and meridians. It treats illness through working on deep tissues, muscles and tendons. Tui Na uses rhythmic compression along energy channels of the body, as well as a variety of techniques that manipulate and lubricate the joints. Like acupressure, Tui Na directly affects the flow of energy by holding and pressing the body at acupressure points. Tui Na also uses cupping and ancillary herbs according to the diagnosis.
Tui Na does not simply work on the muscles, bones, and joints. It works with the energy of the body at a deeper level. As the practitioner senses the client's body with her hands, she is able to assess the distribution of energy and affect its flow.
As with other styles of Asian bodywork, Tui Na is designed to prevent problems, not just correct them. By keeping the body's energy in balance, health is maintained. This is true not just for physical health, but for mental and emotional well-being as well.
What Can We Treat?
Tui Na can treat many conditions including:
- Musculoskeletal Conditions e.g. Back Pain; Sciatica, Frozen Shoulder
- Arthritic Conditions
- Female Problems
- Headaches, Migraines
- Digestive Disorders
- Respiratory Conditions
- Circulatory Problems
- Depression
- Stress
- Insomnia
What To Expect
A session will include a consultation, diagnosis and treatment. Treatment is generally given through loose clothing. The course of treatment you receive will be specific to your particular condition and help you to take care and control of your own health.
Clinic Schedule: Thursdays: 3:00pm – 9:00pm
Pricing: Special Discount Pricing for July
First Consultation £45 (1½ hours)
Follow Up Treatments £35 (1 hour)
Look out for Lin's Special Offers on our latest Newsletter
Contact Details:
LA Fitness: 020 8444 8212
(bookings can be made directly through LA Fitness Reception)
Mobile: 07958 195341
Lin is a member of National Midwifery Board and is in the process of becoming a member of Tui Na Council.
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ACUPUNCTURE & CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE
Suzanne Turner (Bsc Hons Traditional Chinese Medicine)
ACUPUNCTURE
What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture has been used in the Far East to restore, promote and maintain good health for over 2,500 years. The first needles were made from stone, and then later from bronze, gold and silver. The first medical account of acupuncture was The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine which dates from about 300 BC.
According to traditional Chinese philosophy, our health is dependent on the body's motivating energy - known as qi - moving in a smooth and balanced way through a series of meridians (channels) beneath the skin. The flow of qi can be disturbed by many factors, physical, mental and emotional: anxiety, stress, anger, fear or grief, poor nutrition, weather conditions, hereditary factors, infections, poisons and trauma. By inserting fine needles into the channels of energy, acupuncture can stimulate the body's own healing response and help to restore its natural balance.
What are the Benefits of Acupuncture?
Acupuncture can help in a variety of conditions:
- Pain relief for a wide range of painful conditions
- Nausea, especially postoperative nausea and vomiting
- Women's problems such as menstrual and menopausal problems
- Allergies such as hay fever and some types of allergic rashes
- Some other skin problems such as ulcers, itching and localised rashes
- Musculoskeletal pain; eg back, shoulder, neck and leg pain.
- Headaches, migraines
- Trapped nerves
- Chronic muscle strains and various kinds of rheumatic and arthritic pain
- Functional bowel or bladder problems such as IBS or irritable bladder, and even mild forms of urinary incontinence
- Sinus problems and chronic catarrh.
- Dry mouth and eyes
- Stopping smoking
What Does It Feel like?
Acupuncture needles bear little resemblance to the needles used in injections and blood tests. They are much finer and solid, not hollow. When a needle is inserted, the sensation is often described as a tingling or dull ache. Needles may be inserted and immediately removed, or may be left in place for thirty minutes or more, depending on the effect required.
During treatment, patients commonly experience a heaviness in the limbs or a pleasant feeling of relaxation. The benefits of acupuncture frequently include more than just relief from a particular condition. Many people find that it can also lead to increased energy levels, as well as better appetite and sleep, and an enhanced sense of overall wellbeing.
What To Expect
Your first consultation will be longer than subsequent sessions. Your general state of health needs to be assessed in order to identify the underlying patterns of disharmony and give you the most effective treatment.
You will be asked about your current symptoms and what treatment you have received so far, your medical history and that of your close family, your diet, digestive system, sleeping patterns and emotional state. Once enough information has been gathered to determine the likely causes of your problems, the most appropriate treatment can be selected.
You should try not to have a large meal within an hour of your appointment as the process of digestion will alter the pattern of your pulse. You should also avoid alcohol, and food or drinks which colour your tongue, such as coffee, immediately prior to treatment.
It is also helpful to wear loose, comfortable clothing for your treatment.
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CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE
Herbal medicine has been in use since 3BC and is still widely used in China as people's main form of healthcare. It is far less likely to cause side-effects than pharmaceutical drugs as herbs are prescribed specifically for each individual and the whole herb is used instead of separating specific "active" ingredients. Herbal medicine also treats imbalances in the body, rather than just symptoms alone, and therefore is more effective in preventing disease.
What Herbal Medicine Treats
Chinese herbal therapy treats a very wide range of conditions, from high blood pressure to arthritis, skin conditions, digestive disorders, gynaecological problems and many more.
What Kind Of Herbs Are Used?
Suzanne uses high-quality unsulphured Chinese herbs from a supplier that performs regular quality and safety tests. The herbs come in various forms, one of the most convenient being herbal pills, which people take twice a day. Dried herbs are also available; they have a stronger effect but need to boiled up every day.
What Are The Benefits?
Chinese herbal medicine is a very effective way of dealing with chronic health problems and preventing health issues from becoming full-blown illnesses. In addition to chronic problems, Chinese medicine can help to relieve coughs and colds and many other acute conditions.
What A First Consultation Involves
Suzanne will ask a wide range of health questions, look at the tongue and take the pulse to form a picture of the individual's health "pattern". In the case of a skin condition, for example, Suzanne would also observe the affected area. After this intial interview, Suzanne can explain the health "pattern" to the patient and suggest the most appropriate Chinese herbal treatment and dosage.
Clinic Schedule: Sundays: 9:00am – 2:00pm
Pricing:
Acupuncture: 1st Consultation: £40 (1 hour 30 mins)
Follow Up Treatments: £40 (1 hour)
Herbal Medicine: 1st Consultation (30 mins) £20
Follow Ups (30 mins) £20
Price of herbs at an additional cost
Look out for Suzanne's Special Offers for November on the LA Fitness Notice Board
Contact Details:
LA Fitness: 020 8444 8212
(bookings can be made directly through LA Fitness Reception)
Mobile: 07886308715
Suzanne is a member of the Association of Chinese Medicine.
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