About the MOT Massage
ABOUT OUR MOT MASSAGE
An MOT massage is an hour or 90-minute appointment to check the general state of the muscles you’ll be using while you’re training or that you use day-to-day.
In an MOT Massage we try to cover as much as possible to give you a full picture of where your muscles are tight and overworked and/or of any imbalances in muscle tone or tension.
Armed with this information, you can adjust your stretching routine or check your technique to help you improve and hopefully prevent injury. We can also use this information to inform your treatment in future Deep Tissue, Sports or Relaxation Massage appointments you may have with us.
Each appointment starts with an assessment and a review of what you’re training for, or what you’re planning to do, so we know which muscles to look at. During the appointment you’ll get a commentary on what’s tight, what’s loose and the possible implications. You don’t need to be an athlete for an MOT Massage – it can be useful for occupational tension as well. To give you a better idea, here are a couple possible examples, one for a runner and one for an office worker:
Example MOT Massage for a Runner (aka Sports-Related MOT)
Let’s say you’re a runner. You’ve taken it a bit easy recently but you’ll be starting to train for an event and increasing your mileage. We’ll talk to you to get an idea of your training program, including any non-running activities you do.
Once you’re on the table, we’ll cover the basics: quads, hams, calves, ITB’s, achilles, glutes. Some runners get lower back pain or neck and shoulder pain while they run, so if that’s you we’ll try to check that as well. What might we find? Well, did you know most runners don’t use their legs equally? It’s not uncommon to find one leg is generally tighter than the other, which can eventually lead to fatigue, soreness, or even injury on that side. If we find this is the case for you, we’ll let you know and you can keep an eye on your running style and make sure you stretch out your ‘lead’ side. And that’s just one example.
Of course, there is always the possibility that your stretching and conditioning routines are comprehensive and your technique is excellent. If we don’t feel any significant tension we’ll let you know. You may be surprised, however – there have been a number of clients who came in just because they heard sports massage was good generally, and walked out feeling lighter, looser, and reporting better results with less effort at subsequent training sessions.
Example MOT Massage for the Office Worker (aka Occupational MOT)
You may not realise how much sitting in one place for an extended period of time can fatigue/tighten up your muscles. People who spend a long time at a desk often develop a semi-permanent hunch, with shoulders rounded forward and head slightly in front of shoulders; they sit, frozen, holding you up for hours on end, usually not in an optimal position. Muscles in a shortened state become tight, while stretched, overworked muscles become strained. The stiffness slowly translates into restriction, until one day your shoulder hurts putting on your shirt, or turning your head produces a sharp pain in your neck. The MOT Massage for the office worker is about nipping this in the bud.
We again start with a conversation to get an idea of your routine, even if that is just 10 hours at a desk. Usually office workers need focus on the upper body and back, so an MOT Massage for you would include tops and backs of shoulders, upper and lower back, chest (as in, pectorals), neck and base of the head. We also like to check for tight forearms and stiff hands/wrists (RSI anyone?). Again, we will tell you as we go, what’s tighter, what’s looser and possible implications. Hopefully after your MOT Massage you’ll have a better understanding of what your muscles are doing while you’re stationery and a few simple fixes to make it easier to ward off later problems.
In addition to office workers, we’ve found ‘occupational’ MOT’s can be helpful to teachers, those in the construction industry, students, drivers and cleaners, to name a few. Any sort of work that is repetitive, or requires holding yourself in one position for a prolonged period of time, can cause an imbalance in the muscles, which is where the occupational MOT massage comes in.
Other MOT Massages
These are just two examples of MOT Massage. An MOT Massage can be useful for anyone who wants to see how their muscles are doing. You can have an MOT Massage every once in a while to check in, or you can make it a regular thing and turn it into a maintenance massage. If you would like more information about an MOT Massage for yourself we are happy to provide information specific to you. Just get in touch using your preferred contact method and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Prices/How to book an MOT Massage
The prices for an hour or 90-min MOT Massage at The Treatment Room are £40 for an hour or £55 for 90 minutes.
Whatever your needs, from a general all-over feel good massage, to improved flexibility, relief from sore and aching muscles, enhanced performance, alleviation of lingering pain and repetitive strain injuries, Mel Wright Massage Therapy has a treatment to suit your needs, all you need to do is give us a call
to discuss your requirements, or if you know already what kind of massage you'd like to book, why not head over to our online booking portal
and make your appointment in less than 60 seconds.