Bristol Deep Tissue Massage / Anatomy Trains assessment

Deep tissue massage in Clifton, Bristol

Anatomy Trains assessment

The Anatomy Trains assessment is how James decides where your deep tissue massage will help most.

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Deep tissue specialistPremier League since 2013Whiteladies Road, Bristol

25Years of hands on work

BS8Whiteladies Road, Clifton

1Specialist for every session

13Years at Premier League level

Deep tissue massage in Clifton, Bristol

What is an Anatomy Trains assessment?

An Anatomy Trains assessment looks at your body as a set of long, connected lines rather than separate muscles.

It is based on the Anatomy Trains map created by Thomas Myers, a bodyworker and educator who spent years tracing how muscles join end to end through Fascia. He developed it in the 1990s, published it as a book in 2001, and the book is now in its fourth edition.

The map describes twelve lines running through the body. Each line behaves like one continuous band, so tension in one part can be felt somewhere else along it.

Deep tissue massage in Clifton, Bristol

Where your knots really come from

Knots often form where a line is being pulled from both ends.

A knot between the shoulder blades may be held there by a tight chest at the front and a forward head above it. A tight band across the lower back is often linked to the hips and hamstrings. Seeing the whole line is what lets the deep work go to the places that help the knot let go.

It is a modern, whole body approach, and it suits anyone who has tried more traditional massage and wants something more up to date.

Deep tissue massage in Clifton, Bristol

The lines most linked to deep tension

Five of the twelve lines are most often involved in the tension people bring to a deep tissue massage:

The Superficial Back Line, through the calves, hamstrings and the muscles along the spine
The Superficial Front Line, through the front of the thighs, abdomen, chest and neck
The Spiral Line, linking each shoulder to the opposite hip
The Arm Lines, four lines from the fingers to the chest and upper back
The Deep Front Line, the deepest line, from the inner foot to the base of the skull

James shows you which of them your body is leaning on, so the reason for each knot is clear.

Deep tissue massage in Clifton, Bristol

The research behind it

The Anatomy Trains lines have been studied in the dissection room as well as the treatment room.

A 2016 systematic review of 62 dissection studies found strong evidence for the Superficial Back Line and both Functional Lines, and moderate evidence for parts of the Spiral and Lateral Lines. It was the first review to give solid support to the idea that muscles link into continuous chains.

Deep tissue massage in Clifton, Bristol

How it guides your deep tissue massage

The assessment guides the pressure, the pace and the order of your deep tissue massage.

Slow, firm work then follows the lines that are holding the most, and James explains what he is finding as he goes. You leave knowing why your tension builds where it does.

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