Essentially, Amatsu is a “hands on” modern bio-dynamic, musculo-skeletal therapy.
It has its roots in traditional Japanese medicine, which is based on and is designed to enhance our own natural body movement. Amatsu means “benevolent hands”

Amatsu has its roots in traditional Japanese medicine from over 3000 years. It is a holistic therapy treating the whole body not just any symptoms, it comprises of a number of different techniques such as gentle massage, soft tissue release, mobilisation, re-patterning and cranial balancing, which will be used in different combinations to suit each client’s needs.

Why do we use it?

What makes Amatsu unique is the body movement (or “Tai Jutsu”) of the practitioner and their specific palpatory skills during a treatment. This allows us to cross the interface of tissue and access beneath the client’s nervous system to initiate change.

We are scanning the body for “stress forces”. These can appear as a result of physical force, injury or surgery, virus, infection or even emotional circumstances. Stress forces are stored energy, and in the body this equals distortion and deformity of tissue, creating internal adaptions, often in patterns, spanning the length of the body.

In a treatment with a combination of our hand and body movement, we can detect the changes in tissue quality as a result of a stress factor. We then use a specific touch of gentle pressure to release the stored energy and to re-balance the tensegrous nature of the tissue, which in turn may have been causing adaption in the shape of the body’s structure. For example, in many cases, one leg can appear longer than the other when the pelvis becomes misaligned and often quite simply can be as a result of tissues having taken on stress adapted patterns.

Equally, we have respect for natural principles within the body, we never take the body anywhere it doesn’t want to go! Therefore Amatsu is basically a GENTLE therapy. At times pressure can be firm, but overall the client feels very relaxed during and after treatment and afterwards an immediate increased feeling of well being is normally observed.

What is it good for?

There are very few conditions that haven’t been successfully treated with Amatsu as we focus on treating the body as a whole which affects more than one body system in each treatment so “symptoms” experience relief. Although we can say that we can treat certain conditions, we generally find that it is a combination of pulls and torsions creating more than one symptom which affects most people, so treatment is highly tailored.

However, Amatsu has specifically been known to help;
Back and pelvic alignment problems* frozen shoulders, neck pain, tennis and golfers elbow * groin and hamstring strains * ankle and knee strains * headaches and especially migraines * sinusitis * asthma and breathing problems * indigestion problems * IBS * TMJ and jaw problems *performance enhancement * post operative and serious injury recovery* and is suitable and effective through pregnancy and for new born babies.

Areas of specific interest include:
TMJ and cranial misalignments in adults and children
Headaches and Migraines
Pregnancy and New Born infant care

Who comes for treatment?

As Amatsu is a musculo-skeletal realignment therapy many clients come initially with injury; predominantly, but not exclusively, from sport including both professional and amateur, football, rugby, tennis, golf and yoga.

We then find that as results are so dramatic, most clients continue to come in for regular MOTs, never wanting to suffer for their sport again and to enhance feelings of general well being.

What happens in a consultation?

In a treatment we work throughout the body using a variety of techniques, but ostensibly to achieve two key factors by the end of the session;

1. Firstly, that the body (particularly the pelvic area) is re-balanced and re-integrated and can begin self healing - including reciprocal muscle tension, soft tissue release and mobilisation, visceral release, ligament tension coupling and cranial sacral re-balancing. In order to recover and then prevent.
2. Secondly and very importantly, that the body’s natural ability for proprio-reception is literally “switched back on” (almost certainly damaged during injury) which therefore enables us to re-access our co-ordination, speed of reaction, intuition and judgement, spatial awareness, anticipatory abilities and basic vertical competency in space and time.

Both of these key factors and particularly the proprio-reception element are of course especially important within sport and physical fitness.

Preparation and Requirements

Regularity of Treatment?

Clients’ don’t need often but regularly is beneficial. For example an existing client would usually come back within 3-6 weeks, dependent on their personal treatment programme.

New clients will be seen for a follow up within a couple of weeks of initial treatment and a personal treatment programme will be discussed with them to their initial complaint treated as quickly as possible and then transfer them into MOT treatments where needed.




Prices for Children

Under 12 - £70 - 30 minutes appointment
Baby to age 5 - £60 - 30 minutes appointment