Cathryn Bishop Soft Tissue & Scar Therapy

Yes I do treat children…

I have been asked a couple of times this week if I treat children with scars, and the answer is yes!

I find my Deep Oscillation®️ machine is so beneficial for scarring and swelling. This is an ideal tool to use with children due to its gentle and non invasive qualities.

Children don’t always want to lay on the massage couch so sometimes we sit on the floor and play with cars while we work! ☺️

Poor sleep is a common theme with my clients, especially for those on hormone blocking medication or during menopause.

It occurred to me last week when talking to a client that maybe we could be doing more for ourselves to help get a good night’s sleep.

I’ve put together some tips, you don’t need to try them all but let me know if there’s anything you could easily add to your bedtime routine to help you…

Clear your head - firstly write down tomorrow’s tasks or anything you’re worried about before you start your bedtime wind down so you don’t have to keep thinking about it in bed. Maybe consider starting a journal for this purpose.

Keep a consistent bedtime and wake-up time - even on weekends when possible. Do this by working out what time you want to wake up and how much sleep you need. Most adults need 7-9 hours.

Try doing something relaxing - a warm bath, gentle stretching, breathing exercises, meditation, calming sounds, music or simply sitting quietly.

Reduce screen time before bed - ideally put phones/tablets away 30-60 minutes beforehand.

Read something relaxing - preferably a physical book rather than something stimulating on your phone.

Make your bedroom comfortable - clear from clutter, cool, dark, quiet, and comfortable.

Keep the room relatively cool - many people sleep better in a cooler environment.

Things to avoid late in the day - caffeine, sugar, heavy meals and alcohol. Instead opt for a herbal tea, an easily digestible meal and limit / avoid alcohol. Don’t drink too much liquid in the last 2 hours before bed though, it will just increase your need for a night time wee! Hydrate during the day instead.

Get natural daylight during the morning - this helps keep your body clock aligned. Search ‘circadian rhythm’ online for more info.

Exercise regularly - but if intense exercise makes you feel wired, avoid doing it near bedtime.

Don’t obsess over falling asleep - if you’re lying awake and getting frustrated, briefly get up and do something quiet in low light, then return to bed when sleepy.

Keep the routine simple and repeatable - choose a few of these steps that resonate with you, but don’t make it a 15-step ritual!

Last week I received this lovely write up about my work from my training provider Restore Scar Therapy Emma Holly.

I reached out to Emma Holly, who founded Restore therapy at the beginning of the year as I had been asked to speak at an NHS MDT meeting about scar therapy. Emma gave me some great guidance and was really encouraging.

The talk went really well and I have since had several referrals via Maidstone hospital for scar therapy. This has been mostly for women who have gone back post-surgery asking for follow up scans as they feel like ‘something’s not right’. Obviously it’s important to check these things out and make sure everything is ok.
Thankfully all the ladies that have come to me have been told ‘it’s just scar tissue’.

But then what? There is definitely a gap in the NHS for cancer patients who post-surgery have pain, stiffness, lumpy scar tissue, restricted movement, lack of body confidence and more.

Hopefully one day this therapy will be more integrated into mainstream treatment, but until then you can find help from a Restore Scar Therapy Emma Holly practitioner.

Come along this bank holiday Monday to the Dragon Boat Festival at Chipstead lake!

I will be competing as part of the George and Dragon’s team George And Dragon Chipstead raising money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. It’s a privilege to be part of this team with the McNamara family and friends who are helping to raise funds to support Kev with his battle against MND.

If you can sponsor us or come along and support on the day, please do - we’re gonna need it! 🛶 💪 🛶 💪

https://www.justgiving.com/page/chevening-pilgrims?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Confidence deodorant launches this week, contact me to order yours 💚

These before and afters show the improvement that can be made when releasing stuck scar tissue. The stiff / stuck tissue from surgery and radiotherapy was causing a blockage in the lymph flow from the head and neck. Scars can create a dam like effect. By releasing the tissue you can see in the second photo that the swelling has hugely reduced and the client has less stiffness in the neck.

This scar was formed after a road traffic accident where a cyclist was hit by a car.

It has taken a long time to heal after the wound formed a Morel-Lavallee lesion - where a heavy shearing force separates the skin from the underlying tissue creating a lot of tissue trauma.

After months of recovery we were finally able to work on the area this week. The patient was not able to tolerate touch until very recently (even from clothing) as it was hypersensitive and she didn’t like the feeling of touching it herself.

We started treatment with the Deep Oscillation therapy, which was well tolerated and then some gentle scar therapy to help desensitise the area.

The result: by the end of the session the patient was able to touch her scar with less worry and less sensitivity. She has gone away with some homework to try and improve the scar on a daily basis. She was also happy that the scar looked lighter in colour by the end of the session.

Using Restore Scar Therapy Emma Holly techniques and deep oscillation therapy from Physio Equipment is a brilliant way to help bring change to problematic scarred and traumatised areas of tissue.

‘I don’t think about my surgery all the time anymore’

‘After 3 sessions I can now stand up straight without the feeling of my scar pulling down through my abdomen’

‘I feel lighter as I don’t have so many restrictions in my movement’

‘I can now reach for the seatbelt without feeling it through my scars’

‘I’m now feeling more confident about going back to exercise’

It’s so rewarding to help these women move on from their surgery and feel better in their bodies.

Let me know if I can help you or someone you know. And if you’re not local to me, take a look at the Restore Scar Therapy Emma Holly directory to find a practitioner in your area 💕

Firstly, yes I do treat men! It’s a question I often get asked.

This is a before and after of my client who underwent surgery to remove a kidney due to cancer. He came for scar therapy after this first surgery, but something didn’t feel right so I advised him to go back to his surgeon.

Turns out he had a hernia that needed surgical repair, so these photos are both taken after the hernia repair when he came back for scar therapy treatment. In three sessions we have made the scar tissue softer and less visible.

Using the physio pro deep oscillation therapy and scar therapy massage techniques we have made some great improvements.

Google reviews are so important to sole traders and apparently we need at least 30 to start being seen! So if you’ve been for any kind of treatment with me and would like to leave a review then I would be very grateful. ☺️ Link below…

https://maps.app.goo.gl/yfMso3s15rt8UbMt7?g_st=ic