Scottish Manual Therapists Organisation

Expect some change 🌿🙂
Sometimes you feel looser straight away, sometimes you feel a bit different later. If anything worries you after a session, contact me and we’ll talk it through.

Touch and Comfort 🌿🤲
Gentle, skilled touch can help create comfort, ease tension and give the body time to settle.
Massage does not need to be forceful to be useful. The right pressure is the pressure that feels right for you today.

💬 Trigger point manual therapy for rotator cuff related shoulder pain, what does the research say?

Research title: Effectiveness of Trigger Point Manual Therapy for Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, Zeng et al., 2025
This review found that trigger point manual therapy may be about as effective as other passive treatments for short term pain reduction, and slightly more effective for functional improvement in people with rotator cuff related shoulder pain.

The authors are working from the common trigger point model, where trigger points are described as hyperirritable spots in a taut band of skeletal muscle, often thought to reproduce familiar pain when pressed. In clinical practice, they are usually said to be identified by palpation, local tenderness, tissue tension, and sometimes symptom reproduction.

The practical conclusion is that this kind of hands on treatment may have a place within a wider rehabilitation plan, especially alongside exercise and education.

The limitations are important. The evidence quality was very low to low, the findings were mainly short term, and the trigger point concept itself remains debated. It is not always clear that clinicians can reliably identify the same trigger points, so that uncertainty should be acknowledged when interpreting the findings.

🔗 Research link:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39189423/

Thanks to Sue for this great conversation.

AG 2026 Ep 24: The Overlap: Fascia, Safety & The Nervous System — Ruth Duncan Returns What if pain isn’t in your tissue, but in your meaning?Sue welcom...

🩹 FIRST AID TRAINING FOR THERAPISTS 🩹
If you need to update and renew your First Aid training, or you are attending for the first time, here are the SMTO dates for 2026.
👉 Cost is only £75
📍 Ellon
📅 Sunday 26 July 2026, 1300-1700 - FULL
🏢 The Studio, New Inn Hotel Courtyard, Market Street, Ellon, AB41 9JD
📍 Glasgow
📅 Sunday 30 August 2026, 10.30 to 15.00
🏢 The Wellbeing Hub, 14 Rogart Street, Bridgeton, G40 2AA
📍 Elgin
📅 Sunday 18 October 2026, 10.30 to 15.00
🏢 1st Elgin Scout Hall, Wards Road, Elgin, IV30 6AA
📍 Glasgow
📅 Sunday 8 November 2026, 10.30 to 15.00
🏢 The Wellbeing Hub, 14 Rogart Street, Bridgeton, G40 2AA
📍 Edinburgh
📅 Sunday 29 November 2026, 10.30 to 15.00
🏢 Active X, 10 Atholl Place, Haymarket, Edinburgh, EH3 8HP
✅ To book:
Click the link below, choose your preferred date and venue, complete the form, then arrange payment by BACS. Payment details will appear once the form has been submitted. Please also look out for your confirmation email.
🔗 https://smto.co.uk/first-aid/

Preterm infants and mothers

👶 Massage therapy for preterm infants, what does the research say?
Research title: Effects of Massage Therapy on Preterm Infants and Their Mothers: A Systematic Review and Meta Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials, Zhang et al., 2023

This review found that massage therapy may improve oxygen saturation in preterm infants and strengthen maternal infant attachment. It did not show significant effects across all outcomes, including motor activity, reflexes, temperature or calorie intake.

The limitations are clear. The studies were heterogeneous, and the authors advised that larger and more rigorous trials are needed before strong recommendations can be made.

The practical message is that touch based care may be meaningful for some preterm infants and families, but neonatal massage is a specialist area. It should not be treated as general massage applied to a smaller body.

🔗 Research link:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2023.1198730/full

Clinical Skills, Modern Thinking
Good massage therapy is more than technique. It is clinical reasoning, communication, consent, safety and professional judgement. 🧠🤲
SMTO supports therapists who want to keep their practice modern, credible and client centred.

Talk to me openly 🗣️💬
Tell me what you’re noticing, what feels good, what feels too much, and what you’d rather avoid. Clear feedback helps me support you properly.

Touch and Trust 🤝💚
Trust is built through clear communication, consent and touch that feels safe. A good session should help you feel heard, respected and supported.
You should always be able to ask questions, give feedback and change what happens during treatment.