Rachel McDowell Massage Therapy

19/11/2025

Did you hear the one about the Sports Massage Therapist who sprained her ankle while out running the mountains….?

Nope! It’s not a joke! It really happened! 🙄🙈

But you know what? It could have happened on a flat, straight road with no mud or obstacles and here’s the thing: we were all having so much fun beforehand and you just can’t wrap yourself up in cotton wool and hide away when the going gets a little rough and tough💪🏻

Rehab begins as soon as the swelling eases up, which will mean a shed load of mobility, stability and proprioception work then on to gradually increasing the load on the ligaments until I can even begin to think about running again🤞🏻

These ankles are going to be the strongest they’ve ever been and hey mountains, I’m coming to get ya! ⛰️🏃🏻‍♀️

03/11/2025

Did you know that anyone, and I mean ANYONE, can call themselves a Sports Massage Therapist after completing a weeks’ ONLINE course?!!!

Scary stuff!😱😱

It’s crazy to think that these people are let loose on the unsuspecting general public who, to all intents and purposes, assume they’re fully qualified and insured, when they’ve probably never even practised on a real live human during their ‘course’!

This industry needs to be more scrupulously regulated so, if you are looking for a SMT then I would suggest contacting the FHT or SMA for a full list of registered therapists in your area so you know you’re in safe (and fully qualified!) hands.

You should be able to see their credentials on display in their place of work and if you can’t, then ask to see them!

Better to be safe than sorry✅

29/10/2025

🎉🎉HUGE congratulations to my client Aaron McDowell, who completed his first ever marathon in Dublin at the weekend! 👏🏻👏🏻

Aaron diligently trained for months, all in aid of a cause very close to his heart and all those early morning runs, his dedication and perseverance paid off! 👍

He had regular sports massages to ensure the legs were recovering well over the course of his training and I think that it’s fair to say he was pretty happy, judging by the massive smile on his face when he came in for a flush through of the legs today, showing off his hard earned medal with pride! 🏅

Onwards and upwards for you now Aaron! 💪🏻😌🏃

21/10/2025

Banded shoulder dislocates are gold for your shoulder stability and keeping all of the little muscles happy! I would do these every day I am at the gym: it's...

21/10/2025

I’m not just passionate about the many benefits of sports/deep tissue massage, I’m equally as passionate about getting the body moving and ensuring the joints are moving through their full range of motion with ease and strength!

Your joints are DESIGNED to MOVE, and move in different planes and angles! Take the shoulder and the hip joints, for example. They’re a ball and socket joint, which means they WANT to move in lots of different directions! No use just ‘going through the motions’ by doing endless overhead movements for the shoulders and a million and one forward/reverse lunges because you’re not going to target all the other tiny accessory muscles which make these joints go in ALL directions so the only way to get more mobility and strength is to TRAIN them in all directions!! And guess what? Over time you’ll feel a lot less pain and you’ll be able to function much better with everyday stuff!

For anyone who wants to know how to do these simple drills, I suggest you watch Tom Morrison Simplistic Mobility Method on YouTube. This guy is my go-to and I encourage all my clients to do his drills! Jeez, you can do it while you’re watching TV or waiting for the kettle to boil!

Banded shoulder dislocates are gold for your shoulder stability and keeping all of the little muscles happy! I would do these every day I am at the gym: it's...

19/09/2025

13/09/2025

The Mourne mountains were calling again today!

This morning at 7.30am, we all set off from Carrick Little car Park to run the 7 7’s (seven highest peaks of the mournes above 700m) to support our friend Johnny in his fundraising efforts for a charity close to his heart, Harriet’s Well.

The weather was kind to us as we traversed the hills and counted down the peaks until we reached the end, 7 hrs 24 mins later. What a day!

04/08/2025

Such a beautiful bouquet of flowers given to me today by my very thoughtful clients, Sonia Wilson and Marty McCullough❤️❤️

02/08/2025

I’d just like to say a massive thank you to every single one of my awesome clients who sponsored me and my husband Lee to run the 104 mile National Famine Way last weekend, in aid of Prostate Cancer Research.

Unfortunately, we had to pull the plug at the 67 mile mark due to Lee’s recent foot injury and the fact that I was vomiting blood after not being able to eat enough to sustain the miles.

We are both super happy to have reached a new pb in the distance and of course, reaching our target of over £5,000 for the charity 🎉 but, we still had that 100 mile itch to scratch so, after some VERY deep discussions we promptly entered the NI100 ultra next year🙈🤣

Prostate Cancer Research informed me that the money raised will go straight to campaigning for a National Screening Programme which is in its final stages of being lobbied for in Government. This is incredible news and, although it was too late for my amazing dad, if implemented, this will mean potentially thousands of lives saved.
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