TENSION - Where we hold it and why.

Do you spend time hunched over a desk all day? Do you find yourself commuting in a packed and stressful train/metro/tube environment? Or maybe you spend all day picking up your kids or constantly lifting heavy loads without consciously bending your knees. Maybe you suffer from a lack of sleep or have exercise injuries and the biggest of all…stress. Do any of these sound familiar?

These are just a few of the problems that some of my clients experience on a regular basis, and the reasons why they come to me for massage.

Each and every one of my clients are wonderfully unique, so I’m not pretending we all have the same bodies and that we all suffer from the same ailment or even that I’ve ‘seen it all before’.

However, some similarities do crop up every now and again, especially among those of you with desk jobs and more so since a lot of people have started working from home over the last 18 months or so. Sometimes it's simply down to the way we are sitting, hunched over our laptops, or any additional stress that we find ourselves in that weren't there before. Home working along with home schooling can be stressful at times and this is when we start to see a build up of tension within our bodies.

Above is a list of a few of the things that can cause stress and therefore some of the places that stress builds up to form tension within our bodies.

The reason this happens is because when we experience anything stressful, whether it's an instant moment in time or a build up of stress over a longer period, the muscles 'hike up' if you like and causes a tightness in the muscles, which puts them into a state of partial contraction, for a period of time. This at first causes them to feel stiff and achy. Over time, however, this can eventually lead to chronic pain. Muscle tension can be caused by stress, physical activity, or repetitive motion in daily life. which can ultimately lead to unwanted tension.

As with all of the areas of tension mentioned above, I can always help you with a massage, to break down the tension and restore as much balance as possible. Deep Tissue Massage techniques can be highly effective in unlocking tension from deeper layers of fascia.

I can work with you to look at why you might be carrying this tension, and, if you ask, I could possibly suggest ways in which you can make some small changes for the future, whether this be some self-massage tips you can do at home or suggesting how often you come to me for treatments, or, simply identifying some simple changes you can make to your desk station. As mentioned though, I will only do this if you ask! I am not a fan of unwanted preaching!

Understanding our bodies and why we carry tension where we do is a great first step.

I hope this gives you a little insight to tension build up within our bodies.

#olettesa #muscletension #massage