Sports Massage Bristol / Anatomy Trains assessment
Sports massage in Clifton, Bristol
Anatomy Trains assessment
The Anatomy Trains assessment at Sports Massage Bristol shows how your back, neck or training niggle connects to the rest of your body.
Sports massage in Clifton, Bristol
What is an Anatomy Trains assessment?
An Anatomy Trains assessment reads your body as one connected system, using the map of Fascia developed by Thomas Myers.
Myers began mapping these connections in the 1990s and first published them as a book in 2001. The fourth edition appeared in 2020, and the work is now taught to massage therapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, Pilates and yoga teachers and coaches around the world.
Instead of looking at one muscle at a time, it follows the long lines of muscle and Fascia that link your feet to your hips, your hips to your spine and your spine to your neck. That is how a tight calf can end up showing as an ache in your lower back.
Sports massage in Clifton, Bristol
Why it suits back and neck pain
Back and neck pain often sit at the busiest crossing points on these lines.
Your back sits in the middle of the Superficial Back Line, which runs from under your toes, up the calves and hamstrings, over the pelvis and along the spine to your brow. Your neck is where several lines meet on their way to the skull. When something along the way tightens, these are the places that tend to feel it first.
If you have already tried treatment aimed at the sore spot and feel ready for something more up to date, this is usually where the picture starts to make sense.
Sports massage in Clifton, Bristol
What the research shows
Research on the Anatomy Trains lines has grown steadily since the map was first published.
A 2016 systematic review by Wilke and colleagues brought together 62 anatomy dissection studies. It found strong evidence that the Superficial Back Line and the two Functional Lines are continuous chains, with moderate evidence for parts of the Spiral and Lateral Lines. The Superficial Back Line, the line most closely linked to back pain, was confirmed across 15 studies.
Sports massage in Clifton, Bristol
How it shapes your session
The assessment shapes every part of your session at Sports Massage Bristol.
It shows James which lines are carrying the most load, so the hands on work goes where it will help most. He explains what he finds in plain language, with images where they help, so you understand your own body as well as feeling the change in it.
Reviews
Anatomy Trains assessment reviews
I went from hardly being able to walk to playing football again within about 2 months.
It opened my body up loads to where I could train harder for longer, and recover faster. I've sent people to James with fibromyalgia, back pain, sciatica and everyone has been helped.
Google reviews of James Tyrell-Nestor's work.
Questions
Anatomy Trains assessment: questions answered
Who created Anatomy Trains?
Thomas Myers, an American bodyworker and educator, developed Anatomy Trains in the 1990s and first published it as a book in 2001.
Is the Anatomy Trains assessment part of every session?
Yes. It is how every session at Sports Massage Bristol begins, and it guides where the work goes.
Do I need to know anything about Fascia first?
Nothing at all. James explains everything as you go, in plain language.
Book your first session with James.Leave your name and number and James will WhatsApp you to find a time that suits you.If you feel no measurable improvement in your first session, you don't pay.
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