Nicola Gardner

Nicola looks after the massage side of the clinic. Some of the people she sees come in because a shoulder has seized up over a long week at a desk, some because they are on their feet all day, and some because an hour of being properly looked after is the only hour of the week that belongs to them. All three are good reasons.

How Nicola works

She will ask what you want from the session before she starts, and then deliver that rather than a standard routine. Firmer, more specific work into tight and restricted muscle if that is what you need, or lighter work across a wider area if the aim is to settle everything down. Deep work should be comfortable enough to breathe through, and it is not a competition. If a massage anywhere has ever left you bruised or unable to move properly the next day, tell her and she will work differently.

The advantage of a massage inside a physiotherapy clinic

Because Nicola works alongside the physiotherapy team rather than in a spa, there is a useful safety net. If something she finds during a session looks as though it needs assessing properly, she will say so, and there is a physiotherapist along the corridor. Equally, if what you actually have is a tendon problem, a stiff joint or a nerve related pain, massage on its own will not resolve it, and you will be told that rather than sold a course of treatment that was never going to work.

Where to find her

Nicola works from the clinic at The Edge on Woolmer Hill in Haslemere.