DNA performance Sports massage

31/12/2025

28/12/2025

🐎 Professional vs Amateur Muscle Recruitment — and Why Sports Massage Matters 💪🧠

Dressage performance isn’t about how much muscle you use — it’s about which muscles you recruit, when, and how efficiently.

🔬 What the science shows:
Research in biomechanics and motor control consistently demonstrates that elite riders recruit deep stabilising muscles first, while amateur riders tend to over-activate larger, superficial muscles.

Professional riders typically:
• Use deep core stabilisers (transversus abdominis, multifidus, pelvic floor)
• Maintain low-level, sustained muscle tone
• Show efficient timing and symmetry
• Move with minimal visible effort

Amateur riders often:
• Over-recruit glutes, hip flexors, quads, and upper back
• Brace for stability rather than support
• Accumulate unnecessary tension
• Fatigue quickly and compensate

📊 Where sports massage fits in

Chronic over-recruitment leads to:
❌ Tight hip flexors blocking the seat
❌ Overactive glutes restricting pelvis mobility
❌ Thoracic and shoulder tension affecting rein connection
❌ Asymmetry that the horse must compensate for

Sports massage helps by:
✔️ Reducing tone in overactive superficial muscles
✔️ Improving tissue glide and joint freedom
✔️ Restoring symmetry left to right
✔️ Allowing deep stabilisers to switch on effectively
✔️ Enhancing proprioception and body awareness

💡 Why massage improves riding — not just comfort

When excess tension is removed:
• The nervous system can refine muscle sequencing
• The rider can stabilise without gripping
• The seat becomes quieter
• Aids become lighter and more precise
• The horse moves more freely through the back

🧠 Elite riding isn’t created by forcing strength
It’s built by:
• Efficient muscle recruitment
• Nervous system clarity
• Freedom where movement is needed
• Stability where it matters

✨ Sports massage doesn’t make you ride better —
it removes the physical barriers that stop you riding well.

Your body sets the tone.
Your horse feels the difference.

Tyler Bradshaw Martha Morgan Photography

28/12/2025

My diary availability this week is

Monday - Exeter - full
Tuesday - 3pm / 4pm / 5pm
Wednesday - 1pm / 2pm / 3pm / 4pm
Thursday - 3pm / 4pm / 5pm
Friday - 3pm
Saturday - 3pm / 4pm
Sunday - open

For bookings, please send a message. Please note that all times may be subject to change due to travel schedules. Thank you! 😊

25/12/2025

23/12/2025

I’m so grateful for each and every client who chooses to prioritize their wellness with me—thank you for your continued support. As we move through this festive season, I’m sending you warm wishes for peace, rest, and joy. ✨

Massage therapy offers powerful benefits beyond relaxation.
It’s a proven stress reducer, helps improve circulation and tissue health (including the appearance of cellulite), and supports the nervous system by gently shifting the body out of “fight or flight” and into a state of restoration—especially important during a busy holiday season.

Your body works hard for you all year long—massage is one beautiful way to give back.

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a healthy, relaxed start to the New Year.

14/12/2025

You wouldn’t keep driving if your check engine light came on 🚗

So why keep pushing through stiffness, tightness, and niggles in your body?

Those are warning signs — not something to “just deal with.”

Take care of your body before a small issue becomes a big one.

Address tightness early, move better, and stay pain-free.

Book in. Your body will thank you.

26/11/2025

16/11/2025

📣 Mobile Sports Therapist Covering Somerset, Dorset & Devon 📣

Whether you’re recovering from an injury, dealing with persistent aches, or looking to improve your performance, I bring professional sports therapy directly to your home, gym, club or workplace.

🟢 Mobile Treatments Include:
• Sports Massage
• Soft Tissue Therapy
• Pre/Post-Event Treatment
• Mobility & Recovery Sessions

✨ Flexible appointments across Somerset, Dorset & Devon
✨ No travel stress as I come to you!

📩 Message to book your appointment or for more info!

15/11/2025

✨ Unlock the Power of Lymphatic Massage for Athletes! ✨

Whether you’re pushing your limits in training or working through an intense recovery phase, your lymphatic system is one of the most important — and most overlooked — components of athletic performance. It’s responsible for clearing waste, regulating fluid balance, and supporting your immune system.

A lymphatic massage is a gentle yet highly effective therapy designed to stimulate lymph flow, reduce inflammation, and optimize the body’s natural recovery processes. For athletes, this can make a remarkable difference in how you feel, move, and perform. 💪🔥

Here’s a deeper look at the key benefits:

🟢 Reduced swelling & inflammation
Intense training, impact, and micro-tears in muscle tissue can lead to fluid build-up and localised inflammation. Lymphatic massage helps drain excess fluid and reduce swelling, making it ideal for post-workout recovery, injury rehabilitation, and managing chronic inflammation from overuse.

🟢 Enhanced circulation & waste removal
During exercise, your muscles produce metabolic by-products such as lactic acid. When these accumulate, they contribute to fatigue, heaviness, and soreness. By improving lymphatic and venous circulation, this massage helps your body clear waste more efficiently — leaving your muscles feeling lighter, refreshed, and ready for the next session.

🟢 Boosted immune system support
Your lymphatic system houses many of the cells responsible for immune defence. By stimulating lymph flow, lymphatic massage enhances the movement of immune cells throughout the body. This support becomes crucial during intense training blocks, where stress on the body can suppress immune resilience.

🟢 Faster overall recovery
Reduced inflammation + better circulation + improved waste removal = significantly accelerated recovery time. This means fewer days feeling stiff and sore, and more days performing at your peak. For athletes with consistent training schedules, this advantage can be a game-changer.

🟢 Improved mobility & range of motion
When the tissues are congested with fluid or metabolites, movement can feel restricted. Lymphatic massage helps reduce this congestion, allowing the muscles and fascia to glide more freely. The result is smoother, easier movement, enhanced flexibility, and better joint mechanics.

💥 For athletes, lymphatic massage isn’t just a recovery tool, it’s a performance strategy.
If you train hard, compete regularly, or simply want to keep your body functioning at its best, incorporating lymphatic massage into your routine can elevate both how you feel and how you perform.

Ready to support your recovery from the inside out? 🙌

13/11/2025

✨ Weekend Openings! ✨
A few spots left this weekend grab them before they’re gone!

📅 Friday: 2:30 / 3:30 / 4:30
📅 Saturday: 2:30 / 3:30
📅 Sunday: 2:30 / 3:30

📩 Message or comment to book time adjustments available for mobile visits!