Massage at work is good for you!

Investing in onsite massage for staff can have a major impact on staff morale and effectiveness claims an Exeter therapist.

Derek Lowe, founder of onsite massage service MMC Wellbeing believes the damage we do to our backs by working in a sedentary position can be alleviated by regular mini massages.

Derek, who for nine years was principal teacher at complementary therapist training school Devon Academy, said: “It is well documented that sitting at a desk all day working at a laptop causes stress in the neck, shoulders and back, and this pain can seriously affect an employee’s wellbeing.

“Even with increased use of ergonomic aids like posture chairs, wrist rests and use of an upright mouse, employees still habitually use poor posture when seated at their desks. Besides sitting all day in the office, some employees also sit in their cars during rush hour, and during lunch and tea breaks. All this can add stress to the upper and lower back.”

Last year, our increasingly sedentary lifestyle was compared to smoking in terms of the toll it is having on employee health, when Dr James Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative, claimed: “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death.”

Dr Levine invented the innovative treadmill desk to keep sedentary employees active, but Derek suggests that massage in the office, a fairly common perk in the USA and South East England may be a more practical solution for many employees.
“Employees don’t necessarily have to leave their work station for their massage, so it’s an extremely time efficient option,” he explained.

“The massage is carried out through the clothes and the therapist can work as the employee prefers – if they don't want their hair untidy they simply ask the therapist not to massage their head.”
Derek has developed massage treatments starting from just 10 minutes in length, which offer immediate stress-busting results.

“Clearly longer treatments will have a longer-term benefit, and if a company has the time capacity, we also provide massages of up to 40 minutes.”

One business already benefiting from offering regular massage to employees is Exeter’s Room-B Serviced Apartments. Director Amanda Williamson said: “We use MMC Wellbeing to give monthly treatments to our nine employees, who are mainly working at desks. Our employees enjoy these treatments and look forward to them – everybody says they feel better after having their massage.”

“I feel it benefits Room-B to look after our employees with something as enjoyable as this, which is a relatively low cost to the company.”

With current estimates suggesting that UK businesses lose 4.9 billion days a year due to work-related back pain, MMC Wellbeing offers Exeter employers a simple yet effective method of helping to treat or prevent back pain in the workplace. “Onsite massage is clearly only a part of the solution. Employers need to make sure their staff are kept up to date with good posture practices, receive the latest ergonomic kit to work with and have sufficient break times to get up and walk around regularly.”

Alongside onsite massage for businesses, MMC Wellbeing also provides services for care home residents. Derek explains: “For care home clients we generally concentrate on the gentler therapies. I believe hand reflexology is particularly suitable for older people, some of whom have disorientated lives, as it is unobtrusive and unthreatening, giving the client a wonderful sense of relaxation.”

For more information and to discuss how MMC Wellbeing can benefit your employees and your business, visit mmcwellbeing.co.uk