Muscle Medicine

Just my cat. Chilling.

Back or shoulder pain that won’t settle is usually not just “tight muscles.” It needs an assessment so you know what is actually driving it — then hands-on treatment the same day, and a plan for what comes next.

At Muscle Medicine in Leeds that means sports massage and muscle rehab for desk workers and people who train: soft tissue work, rehab loading, and medical acupuncture where it fits. Lower back, shoulder, neck, hip and leg problems are the usual cases. First session includes the assessment. £50 for an hour, £28 for 30 minutes, 7 days a week.

Call 07922 884 788 or book online at musclemedicine.co.uk.

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She came back because the left-side pain was now on the right.

She ran her hand across the top of her hip — the usual sign for sacroiliac pain.

Last time the drivers were the QL, piriformis and SIJ, tied to the psoas. This time testing found the QL overworking and the psoas underworking. Releasing the QL and switching the psoas on did not change the SIJ test.

The bilateral “SIJ” pain was coming from trigger points in the piriformis. Release the piriformis, activate the psoas, and the pain was gone by the end of the session.

She had been doing intense uphill walks and hikes. That load will light up a piriformis already doing another muscle’s job.

If your hip or low-back pain keeps switching sides, it is worth finding the muscle that is actually driving it.

Book an assessment in Leeds — £50 for 60 minutes.

musclemedicine.co.uk

07922 884 788

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That knot at the top of your shoulder is often levator scapulae.

It runs from the upper neck (C1–C4) to the top inner corner of the shoulder blade. Its job is simple: lift the scapula, sidebend the neck, and rotate the head to the same side. When it is unhappy, you feel it in both the neck and the shoulder.

In clinic, the pattern is usually not “one tight muscle.” Levator scapulae is overworking while the rhomboids, lats and lower traps are underworking. Or the opposite: levator is switching off and the scalenes on the other side are doing too much. Either way, rubbing the sore spot alone does not fix it.

Desk posture, a monitor that is too low, and training through a shrugged shoulder all feed it. Stretching helps. Sorting the imbalance is what stops it coming back.

At Muscle Medicine in Armley, Leeds, the first session starts with an assessment so we treat the cause, not just the knot. Sports massage, trigger-point work and a plan you can actually use.

Book at musclemedicine.co.uk or call 07922 884 788.
Train hard — recover harder.

**Hashtags**

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Surgery can take an hour. The tendon still needs about a year.

Pain often settles long before the repair is strong. That gap is where people go back to lifting, throwing or overhead work too soon — and the cuff pays for it.

Typical path after rotator cuff repair:
Protect (0–6 weeks)
Move (6–12 weeks)
Strengthen (3–6 months)
Return (6–12 months)

Always follow your surgeon’s protocol. Then build the tissue properly.

At Muscle Medicine in Leeds I help with the bit after the operation: full assessment, sports massage and soft tissue work, joint mobilisations, trigger point therapy, medical acupuncture, and a written plan so load goes up at the right time.

Book an assessment → musclemedicine.co.uk
Call 07922 884 788

Train hard — recover harder.

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That knot that keeps coming back?

Dry needling (medical acupuncture) is one of the tools we use at Muscle Medicine when hands-on work alone is not quite enough.

A very fine, sterile needle is placed into a myofascial trigger point — the tight band of muscle that refers pain, limits movement and refuses to let go. When the needle hits the spot, the tissue often twitches. That twitch is a good sign. Blood flow returns, the muscle resets, and movement usually opens up.

What it can help with:
• Stubborn trigger points that bounce back after massage
• Persistent neck, shoulder and upper-back pain
• Tension headaches driven by tight muscles
• Restricted range of movement that is holding training or desk work back

It is a Western, anatomy-based technique — not traditional acupuncture. Needles stay in for around 10–20 minutes and are almost always used alongside assessment and hands-on treatment, not instead of them.

Plenty of clients never have it. If needles are not for you, we have eleven other techniques. If they are, and the problem fits, it can be the thing that finally shifts a knot that has been sitting there for months.

If it is going to help, most people notice a change within two or three sessions.

Train hard — recover harder.

Book an assessment in Leeds

Your pain doesn’t have to last all season.

Whether you’re an athlete trying to stay in the game, still tight after an injury, a gym regular who wants to train harder, or an office worker whose back and neck pay the price of sitting (or standing) all day — this is the work we do.

At Muscle Medicine we use focused, one-to-one sports massage and muscle rehab to treat the root cause, not just the sore spot.

- Get back to training in less time
- Rehab that actually speeds recovery
- Sessions that help you move better, not just feel better for a day

**Your pain fixed in 1–5 sessions.**

1 hour — £50
30 min — £28

📍 Malik House – Crown House, 94 Armley Road, Armley, Leeds LS12 2EJ
📞 07922 884 788
🌐 musclemedicine.co.uk

Book the session. Stop managing the problem and start fixing it.

Reg. and a member of STO.

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Use the “Who this works for” flyer or the “Your pain fixed in 1–5 sessions” flyer as the image. If you want a slightly shorter or more sales-focused version, say the word.

Mobility doesn’t have to be complicated.
A simple mix of mobility, stretching and strengthening is often enough to keep your body moving comfortably — from neck to calves.

This carousel gives you 3 targeted 12-exercise routines to help:
✅ Improve full-body mobility and flexibility
✅ Build stronger, more supported knees
✅ Improve shoulder mobility and control
✅ Reduce everyday stiffness
✅ Keep key joints moving through comfortable ranges
Start with the routine your body needs most today — or rotate all three through the week.

Inside the carousel:
1️⃣ Full Body Reset
2️⃣ Build Stronger Knees
3️⃣ Shoulder Pain Reset

Save this so you’ve got all 3 ready when stiffness hits — and send it to someone who wants to move better.
These are general mobility drills, not a diagnosis. If pain is sharp, keeps coming back, or you’re not sure what’s driving it, get it assessed properly rather than pushing through.

Muscle Medicine
Train hard — recover harder.

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The relationship between the psoas and quadratus lumborum has fascinated us for a long time.

The psoas is a hip flexor. The QL is an extensor. Both attach to the diaphragm and affect breathing. Both attach to the lumbar spine and hips, acting on those areas in different ways.

Muscle Medicine often finds the QL overworking and the psoas — although tight — underworking in anterior pelvic tilt.

Remember: just because something is tight does not mean it needs to be released.

This article is a clear explanation of how these two muscles affect the lumbar spine and hips:
https://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519/jospt.2013.4292
(link in profile)

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