Remedial Therapy Testimonials

Rowing in the Boat Race for Oxford University requires quality recovery, not just effort in the gym. I tend to develop tightness in my legs, shoulders and back, which effects my performance and increases the chance of injury. After 13 years of rowing, I have seen dozens of massage therapists.

Denise is by far the best. During each visit, she was able to identify and fix my concern. I was amazed at her level of knowledge and ability to identify ailments by touch alone. She understands the body holistically – how the body’s movements are linked together – and fixes muscles in the body, which at first seemed unrelated.

Denise is incredibly professional and a lot of fun. Since working with her my rowing performance is better than ever

Denise’s sports massage treatments helped my training for a rowing marathon. Because Denise was able to release knots and tension in my muscles and give me exercises to strengthen my core, I was able to train much harder without suffering an injury. In my rowing marathon I attained a personal best time and finished as second fastest female sculler.  A few weeks later I completed a hat trick of wins at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls, Weybridge Silver Sculls and Marlow Long Distance Sculls, establishing a new course record for the women’s veteran B event at Wallingford.

The pinnacle of my racing season came at the international endurance regatta in Turin, where I achieved a bronze medal in the women’s masters B event at the Trofeo Silver Skiff.

Beth – No 848

After a large block of training, there is inevitably going to be some fatigue in the body. Therefore, when I come to Denise she aids recovery by flushing out areas of tightness and stress. Alongside this, doing MET work also improves flexibility allowing me to have a lengthened and more relaxed stride and style. This then allows me to be able to perform at my best at competitions where the good work of training has been able to settle in.

Sports Massage Therapy with Denise has been an integral part of my training programme for more than 12 months. Training for Ironman distance triathlon is a demanding regime and sports massage with Denise has been essential component in my programme. It helps me recover from long and demanding training sessions, helps keep injury at bay and keeps me loose and supple. I recommend Denise to anyone pushing their body to the limit!

My training consists of a lot of power and sprint work, and it is essential that I recover as best I can between sessions, whilst remaining supple and flexible. This year, when I pulled a hamstring in the middle of the season, I started regular sports massage sessions with Denise.

I am convinced that her expert approach and knowledge sped my recovery and significantly benefited me during my subsequent escalation in training intensity, allowing me to reach peak condition for the World Ultimate Club Championships in Prague. As a result I intend to build regular sports massage sessions into my training regime this coming season.

Ms Denise Thomas, in the capacity of a sports/remedial massage therapist had already helped me recover successfully from injuries sustained from a motorbike accident when I went to see her to help me with work related stress. At the time of this particular treatment I was suffering from very bad IBS, insomnia, joint pain, muscular spasm, and stress. Due to my condition being chronic, following the first treatment I experienced a massive healing crisis that made me really sick and emotional, so I stayed home for a couple of days, as Denise had already advised this may happen.

Denise was available on the phone for further advice about how to help my symptoms the day after therapy, and give emotional support. It took only a couple of days for me to feel a real difference, and after just a few treatments I was feeling so much better. My joint and muscle pain subsided, my stress reduced, I started sleeping better, and amazingly my IBS started giving me a break. It has been a great relief for me, and in the event of need I would not hesitate to ask Denise for likewise help again.

As a multisport/endurance athlete your body is placed under a huge amount of different stresses and demands, and so injury prevention and treatment is a major aspect of day to day management. It is a running joke amongst my friends how injury prone I am, and Denise has been an absolute life saver in keeping me fit and competition ready. I’ve been competing in a variety of disciplines for over ten years and have seen more sports injury therapists than I can remember, and Denise is in a different league to all others! Through regular massage, new core and stabilisation exercises that she has added to my training and specific injury treatment and rehabilitation, I’ve been able to train harder and been more successful than ever.

Denise’s holistic and in depth understanding of the body is incredible and she has often identified issues which I wasn’t even aware of just by touch, enabling us to adapt my training before they became full blown injuries. Her experience in a wide range of sports is unparalleled – she has kept me on the road for marathons, helped ease recurring rib fractures and disc problems sustained through rowing, helped me take seconds off my swim times and got me back into the gym after bike crashes and riding accidents, to mention just a few.

Her personal experience as a rider has also been an incredible asset – she has come to watch me ride and seen things my instructor hasn’t which have enabled me to make great improvements, both in terms of enhancing my riding and my horses way of going. Denise is a great listener, as well as an incredibly approachable and professional therapist who is deeply committed to all the athletes she treats. I could not achieve half of what I do without her!

Denise has been my remedial massage therapist for nearly a year now. Having had several operations across both shoulders, my rugby career should have been over. I suffered from aching joints, impingement pain, a lack of mobility and a lack of strength, due to stiffness and tightness as a result of the operations. I thought my playing days were limited, if not over, and was on the lookout for some help to enable me to train at a level suitable for the Varsity match. After a few sessions with Denise, I felt vast improvements in the range of motion and as a consequence, an increase in strength and power, not to mention a huge reduction in the amount of impingement pain and aches across my shoulders and back. Denise’s magic hands enabled me to train and perform once again at a high level in sport, and contributed to my ability and confidence on the pitch.

As I look forward to preparing for another Varsity season, one thing is for sure: that Denise is fundamental in my personal training plan to be ready to play rugby at a high level again. I cannot recommend her highly enough – her knowledge of the body and application of the practice is outstanding!

Thanks for all your help, I look forward to working with you through 2012

Denise treated me using deep tissue and sports massage while i played rugby. She was able to work at depths previously unknown to me, which was matched by her acute understanding of physiology and the specific needs of me her client. If i still lived in the area i would seek her services on a regular basis for bodily health. I highly recommend her for anyone, but especially for sports people.

Tara Miller (centre)

I went to Dee after she was recommended by someone from the CLEAR Unit (mainly for brain injury) at Oxford Brookes University. i had a brain hemorrhage in 06, I’ve been left with so many problems, including walking and some joint stiffness. I did Race for Life this year with help of many and the help of Dee. Thank you very much for your help xxxx