Massage Therapist
Sophie K Davis
Method in the Massage…
ABOUT SOPHIE
Sophie has been practising massage for over 15 years. She operates her own private practice and travels between Spain’s Costa Del Sol and London for home visits to private clients.
As well as providing relief and healing for her clients, she spent one year travelling with the Women’s Tennis Association as their official massage therapist for their professional players.
Sophie began developing her unique method of massage after attaining her degree in psychology from Manchester University. Following her studies in psychology, she felt no closer to solving the mind-body connection so essential for optimum health, and concerned with the physical aspects of psychological and emotional trauma, decided to continue her studies in America.
It was in New York that Sophie completed a four year, two Degree programme which encompassed massage therapy, herbal medicine and Oriental medicine and where she attended a seminar with John Barnes who taught myofascial release. It was on that fateful day that Sophie instinctively felt and realised that she had now found the direct link between the physical and emotional and indeed, the possible solution to deep rooted trauma.
Sophie is now a John Barnes Myofascial Release Advanced Practitioner and continuously works towards spreading the use of this incredible technique throughout the UK and Europe.
She practices her massage therapy in London and Spain, and can visit clients at their homes. Through her extensive experience and training, Sophie has built up a loyal client base, helping people overcome health and body image issues effectively and on a long term basis.
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I often suffer from a stiff neck, and Sophie Davis is the best massage therapist in the world. She uses a technique called Myofascial that releases pain and lengthens muscles. It totally de-stresses me after a busy day.
Read Savannah’s article in the Daily Mail here
Sports Massage
Pregnancy Massage
Amma Therapy
Trigger Point Release & Myofascial Pain
Sports Massage
Sophie has worked with sports professionals from the worlds of polo, golf, cricket and tennis. The WTA (women’s tennis association) hired her as their principal massage therapist for the women players where she worked with Lindsay Davenport, Kim Clijsters and Henin Hardenne to name a few, travelling with the WTA to tournaments around the world.
Sports massage benefits an active life in many ways and can be used to prepare the muscles for action, or for recuperation after exercise. Massage increases circulation to the tissues, warming them and speeding recovery time.
Pregnancy Massage
Massage with a specially trained therapist can provide unparalleled benefits throughout the pre and post natal period. The process can decrease the mother’s stress, physically, emotionally and mentally, including the alleviation of pain and discomfort.
Sophie’s Way
Sophie has been specialising in pre and post natal massage for over 10 years.
She uses a specially designed pre-natal table which has removable compartments, enabling you to lie on your stomach even as your breasts and belly are growing on a monthly basis. This allows for a more thorough, in-depth treatment for sore and tired back and hips. Sophie practises a unique combination of massage therapy with myofascial release which increases space and comfort for the baby in utero. On occasion, Sophie’s treatment has allowed for the right conditions for breached babies to turn and facilitate a comfortable birth.
Sophie listens, educates, supports and reassures, guiding you through the journey of care and comfort for you and your baby.
Factors Addressed
BACK ACHE
Back ache is a result of increasing lordosis in the lumber spine. The lower back muscles are constantly contracted to balance against the weight in the front of the body. The abdominal muscles usually support the lower back but these become weakened with extra stretching and enlarging as the uterus grows up and out. Massage helps alleviate aches and pain in the back and promotes a feeling of wellbeing and relaxation – good for you and great for your baby.
EDEMA
Massage assists with dissipating normal swelling of the hands, face and lower limbs, promoting the sense that you are still you and helping with the harmonious transition of being pregnant to giving birth.
NUTRITION
Massage increases the processing of nutrients, ensuring that throughout your pregnancy, you can adjust to and cope with the intense and numerous changes in energy that pregnancy demands.
EMOTIONS
Pregnancy is a time of incredible change and transformation which can be a truly positive experience for many mothers-to-be. Stress and anxiety however, can also accompany some of the changes your body goes through during pregnancy. Having regular massage sessions will relieve some of these symptoms gently and effectively. It can also be comforting to continue having massage treatments after your baby is born, helping you come to terms with your post-natal body once again.
Amma Therapy
Amma is the traditional Japanese term for ‘massage’ and brings to Western culture, the ancient art and wisdom of traditional Japanese massage. It is a practice which is more than 5,000 years old, encompassing a myriad of forms of touch including pressing, stroking, stretching and percussive manipulations with the thumbs, fingers, elbows, knees and feet upon acupressure points along the body’s 14 major meridians
This form of therapy is used to promote and maintain the body through treatment of the physical body, Qi (or vital energy) and the emotions, which are all integrated into the neuromuscular system. It is used to treat a wide variety of conditions.
Amma does not involve the use of oils and can be practised through clothing with the client either sitting up or lying down, making it an extremely flexible and convenient massage technique suitable for a wide variety of client needs and environments.
Sophie spent over one year studying this ancient form of bodywork which is open only to experienced massage therapists and is one of the most effective methods of rebalancing mind, body and spirit quickly and on a deep level.
Trigger Point & Myofascial Pain
Sophie is inspired by the work of Ida Rolf. She created the therapy called Rolfing/Structural Integration which aims to treat the biomechanical function of the body and resolve pain this way rather than focusing on the symptoms.
Sophie uses manual trigger point therapy to ease pain and treat trigger points. The manual pressure is strong and can be somewhat painful but it is usually described as good, releasing pain.
A trigger point is a sensitive area in the muscle or connective tissue (fascia) that becomes painful when compressed. Pressing on a trigger point can cause referred pain and can help identify the external area in the body generating the pain. Images show different referral patterns for trigger points throughout the body. In this way ear pain can come from the neck muscles and back pain from the abdominals for example.
What is Myofascial Release?
Myo = muscle
Fascial = fascial…
…a web of connective tissue which spreads throughout the body and ties together muscles, organs, bones and nerves.
A restriction in the fascia can cause discomfort and limited movement in areas that are significantly removed from the root cause. Often, for example, Sophie will work from the neck to the tips of the fingers to treat pain in the wrist.
When blocks in the fascia are released, not only is temporary tightness removed but long held patterns of tension can be reversed, improving posture and promoting long lasting pain relief and increase of movement.
When there has been physical trauma or long held stress and strain on the body, there can be an emotional element which results in additional tightness and pain – a ‘holding on’ to restrictions and blocks. As these are released through massage, you may experience emotional and physical release in the form of crying, shouting or expelling air on a deep level. Sophie understands this and creates a safe and nurturing environment where you will feel at ease in expressing emotions which may arise.