AsiaLIFE

Neck constantly aching? Back injury preventing you from standing fully upright? Andrew Marriott offers relief through massage to the Phnom Penh community. Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen learns about the benefits of trigger point therapy.

“I’m not a masseur,” explains Andrew Marriott. “I’m a massage therapist.” A session with Andrew is not a soothing rubdown. Drawing the distinction between massage for relaxation and massage as treatment, Andrew takes the latter approach. Which means some participation, and pain, is involved.

Trained in trigger point therapy, Andrew follows a school of massage that aims to release contraction-prone spots in the muscular system that radiate pain throughout the body. During his two-year course in Australia, Andrew gained a scientific understanding of the human body, even examining the muscles of cadavers to observe the knots that can cause so much grief.

Given how much we slump over our computers, slouch when we walk, and forget everything our mothers ever told us about standing up straight, it’s no wonder that physical pain is a part of daily life for many. Muscles that aren’t meant to be so strained provoke suffering, and emotional stress also has its impact. We get used to living with discomfort, while optimistically believing that it won’t get any more serious.

“What happens is with overuse all it takes is one more thing, one more little thing,” observes Andrew. “One fine day, you pick up your son and your back gives, because there’s been an accumulation of pressure in the muscles.”

An Australian, born in the United Kingdom and partially raised in Ghana, Andrew receives most of his clients by referral from SOS Medical and local doctors serving the expatriate community. In Phnom Penh, a city that draws many who walk on the adventurous side of life, there are plenty of muscles crying out for relief. “We really punish ourselves with all the hiking, the bungee-jumping,” says Andrew. “There is a price to pay for that.”

A former chef, Andrew came from what he calls a “work, sleep, go back to work” lifestyle. He traded in the sweltering kitchen for a tranquil massage studio, working as a massage therapist for the past 14 years. Three years ago, he relocated from Melbourne to join his wife, a clinical psychologist, in Phnom Penh. Together they created The Mind-Body Practice to address both psychological and physical issues.

Located in their home, Andrew’s studio is a haven dedicated to wellness. Classical music and opera playing in the background and low, warm lighting creates an ambience of calm. A custom-built massage bed holds court in the centre of the room.

Clients are first presented with a questionnaire covering a basic survey of health and preference questions, including whether deep, firm, or light work is desired. A discussion precedes the massage, allowing him to identify focus areas and achieve insight into possible causes of problems. Andrew can go into detailed explanation of cause and effect involved in muscular issues, using his collections of charts to illustrate.

The forceful methods of trigger point therapy can hurt. Not that Andrew’s massages are agony alone—though his technique of locating and pressing certain sore points can easily draw a few gasps of pain, he follows up with relieving pats that makes it just about bearable. Once circulation is restored to the tight muscles, a feeling of lightness follows. 

Treatment doesn’t end once the massage session finishes, as Andrew emphasizes the need for his clients to continually practice stretches that he prescribes. He checks in 48 hours later to ensure recovery. The number of necessary treatments depends on the severity of his client’s symptoms. Once a problem has been resolved, Andrew recommends upkeep through physical exercise and occasional massage therapy.

“What I do, you can’t have it every day,” advises Andrew. “What I recommend, especially after treatment, is to have a massage one time a month. That is enough to get rid of the pressures of the month. If there is a new emerging problem, we can nip it in the bud right then and there.”

Sessions are set for a minimum of an hour and a half, for up to two and a half hours. Costs range between US$60 and US$100, under usual prices for similar procedures in Western countries.

“The best advice, really, is to maintain your muscles,” says Andrew.  “Movement is life. We just take it for granted that we can wake up and move around. When someone has a problem that they are living with, it means that they are not fully experiencing the quality of life that they are entitled to.”

With Andrew’s aid, life in Phnom Penh shouldn’t have to include chronic aches.

Andrew Marriott, Tel: 092 489 114, available Monday through Friday by appointment only.