An innovative massage therapy for medicine rehabilitation and wellness.
About Us
Lois Friedlander-Small LCSP (Phys), NIM dip hons, MSMM, AMRSPH
Australian born, Lois moved to the UK in 1985 and is now based in Worcestershire, where she established the Physiothermic Clinic in 1996.
She is an experienced remedial massage practitioner and holds advanced remedial and manipulative therapy qualifications. She is a member of the NHS Directory of Complementary and Alternative Practitioners and the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC).
Her special interests are the lymphatic system, peripheral vascular circulation and disease.
During eight years of extensive research into moist heat therapy and hyperthermia she has made a major contribution to the creation and development of La Therma™ equipment.
Lois is a co-founder of Heat Enhanced Lymphatic Therapy (HELTh) and is actively involved in lecturing and training new HELTh practitioners.
Remedial Massage
A corrective massage technique used to treat strains, sprains, accelerate the healing of broken bones, bruising, or any injury where the skin is intact.
Deep tissue massage removes congestion in the soft tissues, damaged cells, scar tissue and adhesions left after injury. It speeds up recovery and encourages more complete healing.
Remedial Massage has particular success with long-standing back and compound injuries that have resisted previous treatment attempts. Sportsmen and women and musicians attend regularly to ensure that minor injuries are treated before they reduce performance and become debilitating. Recurrent injuries are often injuries that have never been effectively treated.
Conditions that respond well to remedial massage include:
Remedial massage can also be used to treat muscle soreness from over-exertion.
It is effective for all ages.
Manipulative Therapy
Manipulative therapy is effective for all ages.
A clinical approach using skilled, specific hands-on techniques, including but not limited to manipulation, soft tissue and joint mobilisation, myofascial release, mobilisation of the neural tissues and abdominal viscera.
It is used to treat soft tissues and joint structures to relieve pain; increase range of motion (ROM); reduce or eliminate soft tissue inflammation; induce relaxation; improve contractile and non-contractile tissue repair, extensibility, and/or stability; facilitate movement and improve function.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture can help common musculo skeletal injuries like back pain, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, knee and ankle pain by providing pain relief - by stimulating nerves located in muscles and other tissues, acupuncture leads to release of endorphins and other neurohumoral factors and changes the processing of pain in the brain and spinal cord.
Reducing inflammation - by promoting release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors. Improving muscle stiffness and joint mobility - by increasing local microcirculation , which aids dispersal of swelling and bruising. Reducing the use of medication for back complaints and in combination with other treatment modalities provides a very powerful treatment.
HELTh - Heat Enhanced Lymphatic Therapy
HELTh combines massage and application of moist heat. It is a complementary and alternative medicine therapy (CAM) and is performed by a specially-trained therapist.
How does HELTh work?
Developed in Australia and the UK over the last five decades, HELTh is a deeply therapeutic treatment which can trigger significant health benefits by providing a strong stimulus to the vascular circulation. HELTh stimulates blood flow and lymphatic drainage, vital for good health. Healing mechanisms are accelerated by the application of Saturated Moist Heat technology. Many illnesses, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer, may be related to the failure of circulation and dysfunction of the vasculature. By providing physical stimulus beneficial change can be induced to both vascular structure and function.
HELTh also produces a sense of wellbeing and when used regularly, improves energy, cognitive function and mood.
HELTh can be used...
...as an adjunct in managing illnesses such as diabetes, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, cancer, arthritis and artherosclerosis. HELTh promotes healing of injuries by reducing pain and inflammation and assists in the management of stress that contributes to fatigue, anxiety and depression. HELTh can also be used by healthy people to enhance vitality.
HELTh is applicable for all ages but people who are acutely ill, pregnant or have thermoregulatory dysfunction may need medical clearance.
The HELTh treatment session
Sessions are 30 minutes to two hours. The massage is deep yet gentle, working along the major circulation pathways. A moist heat wrap follows, using La Therma™ hyperthermia equipment. After treatment, it is necessary to rehydrate and rest.
New therapy already has many fans A fresh approach to better HELTh
The legions of Aston Villa fans who signed in to chat on the website run by passionate supporter Jonathan Fear might not have noticed, but he was bravely hiding the fact that he was an extremely ill man. After years of operations and poor health due to a brain disease, Jonathan was in constant discomfort and faced a regime of NHS treatment that included expensive pain killers and other drugs.
But a new therapy has changed Jonathan’s life. Heat Enhanced Lymphatic Therapy (HELTh) has provided remarkable relief and replaced the prospect of a bleak future with firm hope. When Jonathan first arrived at therapist Lois Friedlander-Small’s Worcestershire clinic he was desperate for some way to alleviate the perpetual muscle pain, lack of energy and intermittent loss of cognitive function which was the result of a hind brain hernia. The success of HELTh in treating Jonathan’s condition is just one example among many that attest to the benefits of this rapidly emerging new therapy.
HELTh cofounder, Stephen Walters explains: “HELTh is a more complex application than simple lymphatic drainage. The complexity arises through the synergistic effect of deep massage stimulating blood flow, plus superficial massage to affect the drainage of lymph by opening the lymphatic valves. Also, the induction of hyperthermia [raising core body temperature] causes body-wide vasodilation [relaxation and expansion of the blood vessels]. The end result is a powerful whole body relaxation response.”
The treatment originated in South Australia, initially developed over 50 years by therapist Grace Halliday. “Grace was an insightful and talented massage therapist,” says Stephen. “She developed the technique and anatomical map for applying HELTh massage. Her apprentices include myself in Australia and Lois Friedlander-Small in the UK, and with the help of others we have evolved the treatment we now call HELTh.”
Susie Hand, who suffers from a chronic back condition, describes her experience of HELTh: “It begins with whole-body massage, but it’s different in that it seems to work in between and around muscles and deeply down onto the bone. It’s unexpectedly invigorating but calming at the same time. Then you are wrapped in hot, moist towels and covered by thin hot water-heated mats which very quickly raise your whole body temperature. It’s surprisingly hot at the beginning, but the enveloping warmth becomes incredibly comfortable and relaxing. After 20 minutes, when the heat pads are removed, it is really quite difficult to come back down to earth. The experience is hugely relaxing and I feel as if my mind is really clear. Since I’ve been having HELTh treatment I have a lot more energy and my back pain has significantly reduced.”
Stephen Walters says: “The benefits of HELTh arise from the physical, mental and emotional responses to treatment. Increasing blood circulation to any diseased or injured tissue invokes a healing response, resulting in pain reduction and contributing to rehabilitation. Furthermore, increased lymphatic drainage assists the immune system in its defensive and repair processes. Hyperthermia induces complex cellular responses such as production of heat shock proteins that assist the cells to adapt to stressors. Most importantly, the strong relaxation response produced by HELTh treatment counteracts emotional stress and tension that can lead to fatigue, depression and anxiety.”
As part of the HELTh development programme new therapists are actively being sought.
“Those who apply HELTh will move into a new genre of massage therapist – scientific evidence-based, ethical, mainstream healthcare,” says Stephen.
HELTh is poised to deliver training over a five-day residential program (June 17,18,19 and July 2,3) at the University of Worcester.
“Patients indicate to us that they perceive HELTh as a superior remedial massage therapy,” says Stephen. That has certainly been the case for Jonathan Fear, who relies on HELTh to bring balance to his life.
“I will without a doubt continue this therapy throughout my life,” he says. “Initial treatment cured a chronic lower back pain. I've stayed with the therapy for years now and I have found radical improvements in many aspects of my health. My scars are now no longer hard and rigid; before they were tight, sore and almost 'stuck' to my body; now they move freely. The large, hard lumps on my ribs, neck and arms are all but clear and my general health and weight have improved radically.
“The NHS offered me nothing but expensive pain killers and other drugs,” he adds. “This treatment gave me my life back drug free. HELTh has totally changed my life.”
Patients interested in HELTh can enquire via the www.helth.org.au website for practising therapists in the UK and Australia.
Prospective trainees visit www.helth.org.au or email [email protected] or call Lois on 7879633447
Jonathan Fear runs the popular Aston Villa Supporters Club website vitalfootball.co.uk
