Soft tissue injuries
Strains, tears, sprains and the fibrous cords that get pulled away with them. Hamstrings, calves, quadriceps, groin, shoulders and Achilles tendons.
Injured tissue that has been left out of place.
Muscle manipulation is hands-on therapy that finds torn or displaced muscle, tendon, ligament and fibrous tissue by feel, and puts it back where it belongs so the body can heal it.
Endeavour Hills
Melbourne's south-east, by arrangement
People and horses
Soft tissue therapy for both
Hatchard's Way
Taught by the late Bill Hatchard
0438 106 861
Phone is the quickest way to reach me
About the practice
Taking on the human body and its many functions is a real challenge when something physically goes wrong. The aim here is simple: settle the pain as soon as possible, correct the alignment of damaged or torn tissue, give you the right exercises for the injury, and get you back to physical activity at the earliest date that is safe.
This therapy was taught to me by the late Bill Hatchard, who called his method Hatchard's Way. He developed it over more than fifty years from detailed anatomical study of muscles, ligaments, tendons and blood vessels, and later passed that knowledge on to those who wanted to learn the art. I treat people at Endeavour Hills in Melbourne's south-east, and I also treat horses.
What I do
Back, neck and joints
Lower back and neck pain, sciatica, disc-related pain, knees, ankles, and the ligaments and muscles that hold those joints in position.
Horses
Equine soft tissue work for muscle soreness, spasm, strains and bruising, with stretching and management advice for owners and trainers.
What a session involves
I work by feel. Muscles, tendons, ligaments, cords and blood vessels each feel different under the fingers, and most sporting injuries are muscular. Once the direction of a muscle is known, light pressure run along that direction will find a tear as a depression under the thumb.
From there the work is to bring the torn fibres and cords back as close as possible to where they belong, alongside the bone or tendon, so that the body re-attaches them quickly and with as little scar tissue as possible. A Bio Stimulator (TENS) unit may be used alongside the hands to help disperse bruising and settle pain.
Sessions finish with stretches you can do at home. Stretching is the part that stops the injury coming back, and it is the part most people skip.
What this therapy is, and what it isn't
This is manual soft tissue therapy. It complements medical care rather than replacing it, it does not diagnose disease, and it does not cure disease.
See a doctor or go to hospital first if you have a suspected fracture, a complete tendon rupture, a dislocation, a head injury, numbness or loss of power in a limb, or an injury with a piece of bone torn away. Those need medical assessment, and some need surgery. If you are under medical care for a condition, keep taking your doctor's advice and keep taking your prescribed medication.
Book a treatment
Endeavour Hills, Victoria. Phone is the quickest way to reach me; otherwise send a message and I will get back to you.