LT Massage

04/12/2025

11/02/2025

Sign Up Sunday!

Booked your place on our programme yet? If you want better physical health and mental wellness after treatment for breast cancer, why not give us a try?
Cancer and Exercise trained lead teachers, small, supportive groups, and it's completely free. Oh yes, and if that wasn't enough, there's always cake... ❤️

For more information - email info@recoverysupport.org.uk

Cancer Active Recovery Support University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust Burton Breast Care Support Group Derby Breast Cancer Support Group Bracrafts

22/12/2023

Cancer is traditionally viewed as a condition that proliferates and grows of its own accord in the body. However, more recent research suggests that we could consider cancer to be a metabolic disease.

After all, tumors change their metabolic programs in order to continuously grow, and the metabolic profile in cancer cells includes increased consumption of glutamine and glucose and changes in the use of metabolic enzymes.

Research has also found tumour suppressors and oncogenes (genes that have the potential to cause cancer) affect cancer-related metabolic changes.

These new discoveries have led to several exciting new proposals in treating cancer using metabolic-based therapies including:

Low carb diets to reduce extracellular glucose levels
Lonidamine to stop glucose from being converted to hexose

You can read more about these fascinating new breakthroughs by searching for “Is cancer a metabolic disease?” by Hillary Collier. Let me know what you think!

Ref: Dr Chi Van Dan, Dir. Abrahamson Cancer Center Pennsylvann

02/12/2023

This is true! A jaw that moves freely and comfortably can impact many conditions including your clients day to day activities, but it also has been shown to improve a runner's technique.

Develop the skills to deliver a more holistic treatment with my neck, jaw and chest massage training course. Whether you are working in the jaw or elsewhere, being observant and setting up a clear set of rules will increase the benefits to both you and your clients.

Read more about this in my blog: https://www.susanfindlay.co.uk/how-can-a-relaxed-jaw-improve-your-running-speed/

26/11/2023

Humans are meant to move, stretch, run, and play.

Although my clients come to me for a massage treatment I always incorporate movement into my sessions. It could be the actual remedial work I do to increase function, bounce, and glide into the tissue or it might also include home care that serves the same purpose.

When I think about oncology massage the research demonstrates that movement is the number one recommendation for both prevention and recovery. Either way, motion is lotion and should be incorporated throughout the session and into our clients' lifestyles.

By the way, I took this picture on one of my walks, it was at the top of a hill in an abandoned mine, and many pieces of equipment had been left to rust, its beautiful demise was worth a picture.

22/11/2023

Improving those nuggets of knowledge

08/11/2023

25/10/2023

This is totally true! Now, in the past, I’ve been known to have a slightly dismissive attitude to sleep. Coming from a medical background it was very common to work back-to-back shifts at highly irregular hours. I remember telling myself (and other people) that I’d “sleep enough when I’m dead.” This is quite a grim attitude - although I will say dark humour is one of the ways medical professionals cope with stress!

However, I have since renounced my old sleepless ways - we can’t burn the candle at both ends forever - and I appreciate now how important sleep is to our overall health. While science doesn't totally understand the precise reason we need to sleep, it is when our body heals itself. It’s far too busy keeping us out of danger when we’re awake to focus on running repairs.

Massage decreases blood pressure, relieves anxiety, and plays a vital role in our mental health. Research has also found massage can improve sleep quality in breast cancer patients as well. It is something I bring into my oncology massage classes, this paper supports the reasons behind the need for sleep.

Read the study by searching for “The effect of massage therapy on the quality of sleep in breast cancer patients” by Kashani and Kashani.

25/10/2023

A fantastic podcast for any woman, not just those going through menopause

‎Show Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee, Ep #392 Menopause: How To Burn Fat, Sleep Better & Live In Harmony With Your Hormones with Dr Mindy Pelz - 10 Oct 2023

11/09/2023

07/09/2023

This is certainly true in my experience. Being mindful allows you to respond to your client’s needs and their body. This requires a well-grounded therapist who is not distracted by the busyness of life, someone who can be present in what their hands are doing and feeling.

So much of our lives is spent on the to do list mentality, ticking off those boxes that it can translate into how we work. Engaging in your work as a mindful therapist requires you put that behind you, suppressing the tendency to be a performance led therapist. It can take some skill in the beginning to quieten your thoughts and to be an observer, it can be a challenge for those of us who have been trained to use reasoning as a method in which we move forward, to make decisions, to choose the next move.

To learn more see my blog The Mindful Touch: https://www.susanfindlay.co.uk/the-mindful-touch/