"Just a quick note to thank you for the series of treatments that you have given me recently
Your work has completely resolved a difficult problem concerning the restricted movement of my neck and shoulder. All pain has been resolved, full range of movement restored and the numbness and tingling in my fingers has been eliminated.
All this when more traditional remediation has failed
My problem was difficult to diagnose as no indications were apparent from X Ray or MRI scan
Your patient and obviously accurate work is much appreciated"
Allan Brindley BTAA M.Ed BA
Complementary Therapist
James really has changed my life. I have Vulvodynia and was at the point of being on the strongest medicine I could have.
The doctors had told me there's nothing else they can do for my constant chronic pain, I had thought I maybe only had 2 or 3 years
left where I could work full time to support my family.
James started my treatment and it was so much gentler and more soothing than I thought it would be. After only 3 treatments over 3 weeks
I was already taking 4 less pills a day, and finding it easier to get up and go in the morning. I then didn't see him for another 3 weeks,
being the sceptic I am I thought maybe I was just getting better, but the pain slowly started getting back to the way it was 6 weeks ago.
I've since had more treatments, less than 10 altogether, and I am taking 8 (sometimes 10) less Pills a day which I couldn't even get
to work without before all my treatments. Things I wouldn't even think of doing such as going to the cinema, long car journeys,
plane journeys and even wearing tight jeans have all become possible. It might not sound like much to someone else but my pain
was really stopping me living, I didn't want to socialise, I was very short with people and I couldn't even have sex with my husband.
James really has helped me so much and this treatment has improved my life more than I ever thought was possible!
Even if you're unsure PLEASE just give his treatment a try, it could change your life as much as mine !!
Z. September 2017
For the last 9 years I have been managing with different levels of pelvic pain. From being a sporty person who lived
and breathed activities such as rock climbing, surfing, horse riding, mountain biking and ashtanga yoga, I have been on crutches for
2 1/2 years during the last 9 years. I can’t drive my automatic van and I have a stairlift - not great for a 40 year old. I am generally a positive
person so I don’t say much about it except “it’s fine" and respond that I'm "on the road to recovery,” but often inside I have been thoroughly
despondent as the medical world has not found anything to help. Also I have tried numerous alternative therapies (such as acupuncture,
reflexology, osteopathy, cranio-sacral osteopathy) which have brought temporary pain relief but nothing permanent.
Anyway, enough introduction… James Ellwood and Myo- fascial Relief (MFR) rocks!
James thinks out of the box to help and is willing to explore different applications of MFR to bring actual pain relief for you.
You can have confidence in this “exploration” as it is built upon a wealth of experience gained from training with John Barnes in the USA
on many courses over the years, and treating a myriad of different patients with varying conditions successfully. James draws on his
own personal experience of chronic pain - he does understand what it's like. James can have an irreverent manner which is refreshing
and brings laughter to many treatment sessions. You will also discover that James genuinely cares about you. For example, once he
came out at 7:30 a.m. as an emergency session after an accident. As I can’t drive he comes to my house to treat me and is willing to
work around the hours that suit me and my family best.
I have made more progress over the last 6 months of James' MFR treatments than I ever have previously. For example, after
one session with James as I left the room he said “Haven’t you forgotten something?” I turned and realised that I had walked out without
my crutches! Yet all this progress has been made without James ever hurting me in his treatment - unlike many therapies, MFR is NO
pain lots of gain.
By using MFR James has helped me regain my freedom of movement: I can pick stuff off the floor again, incredibly simple but
horrendously frustrating when I couldn’t before. I can carry my baby in my arms and change his nappy - something most mothers take for
granted and indeed get fed up from, for me the novelty won’t wear off as I couldn't with my previous two children. I can sit at the table
rather than having to lie down to eat my dinner. I’ve just been able to get down to the floor to play with my kids and young nephew.
At the end of the day I can sit comfortably on a sofa now to watch a full length film, previously impossible. I can turn over in my sleep
without waking myself up in pain - at least it's just the baby that wakes me now! With James’ help I am confident that I will be able to
manage steps/stairs again, drive... in fact everything that I want to do, as James says “Why limit your recovery”!
Thank you James!
Bex October 2017
"I wanted to write and thank you James for all the help you have given me during my Mum's last illness and since she died. The headaches and shoulder pain I suffered were quite incapacitating but the treatments you gave have greatly alleviated these problems. In the past, I have tried traditional massage where you are 'pummelled and pushed' but these never got to the root of the problem. What has been really enlightening is how you approached the problem, allowing my body and muscles to heal themselves naturally by 'unwinding' and allowing them to find their correct position. And this has also worked very well with Steve's chronic back problems. Again, he has received treatment from osteopaths and chiropractors but none have given him the long-lasting pain relief that the myofascial approach has. We are both very grateful to you."
Jean and Steve
Having suffered with neck and lower back pain for several years and trying different therapies - none of which helped -
I heard about James and decided Ihad nothing to lose. Wow is all I can say! James is extremely professional and empathic
and the whole experience was amazing. Not only was the entire process pain free and gentle, I have had no pain for nearly
3 weeks now and sleep is the best in years. Initially sceptical I truly wish I'd found James years ago.
Thankyou so much - can't wait for my next session!
Marina Davis
August 2017
"You perform miracles! Had about seven hours of unbroken sleep!"
DM
I arrived from London into Kendal with a painful shoulder and the pain spreading through other areas of my body.
Feeling tense and in pain down one side of my body I was not sure how I would enjoy my holiday.
I found the Yoga Factory in Kendal where Hannah recommended James and I was lucky to be seen that afternoon.
After a long and unrushed intro. session with James I was left feeling no longer bitter and twisted but instead
extremely blessed and blissed out and relaxed with barely a trace of pain or tension, I felt blessed out and like a glass of
champagne. James is very calming and I found the therapy to be very gentle. It was everything (I did not know) I needed.
Clare Spencer
August 2017
Thank you James for your support and treatment over the last 2 years.....It is
difficult to remember how much tension I had in my body, both physical and
emotional, but with regular treatment of gentle stretching and pressure, my body
began to release; shoulders, back and leg pain were all helped. The experience
of unwinding released so much tension held in my shoulders and neck. I was
particularly impressed how James actually helped reduce the pain of scar tissue
left following an Achilles operation over 18 years ago!!!
Marion Elliot August 2017
I can't recommend James enough, since I started my treatments with him he has
offered fantastic support and has given me very useful advice throughout. His
approach to massage treatment is really effective and has been very beneficial
for me. As I am a footballer and regular gym user, his treatments and after care
allow me to play and train more comfortably.
Daniel Postlethwaite August 2017
It has been a year since I was introduced to James via a client of mine. Prior to this
I had been keeping an active, well balanced life being involved in many sporting activities.
Winter 2015 the gym I attended closed, therefore my body was becoming like a caged bear,
I did frequent my local kayaking lessons where I felt, tense, nervous and out of my comfort
zone with pool sessions. I started to feel anxiousand my body was showing signs of pain,
numbness, lack of movement, I put it down to time of year and also my body getting stiff etc.
after months of becoming inactive.
The winter came and went and my issues where becoming more aggressive when finally I was
taken to hospital with severe chest pain and numbness, as if I was having an angina attack.
My results were all fine bloods, ECG etc..
The pain didn't relent, every evening I dreaded going to bed as my body started to close in
on itself tighter and tighter. I felt like a rabbit being skinned and left hanging in the midday
sun to burn and be tortured. I would cry at nights as I could not bear the pain.
I then spoke to James, being open minded and interested in sports, massage, holistic approach,
nutrition. He diagnosed the problem and introduced me to myo-fascial release.
After an initial assessment and treatment the first 24/36hrs was uncomfortable but soon after
my body began to heal slowly, my torn meniscus was feeling better as the pressure from the
joint was relieved and my problem with my chest and arm pain was also removed.
I now can exercise 75-100%, getting back to swimming, cycling, gym, paddling etc.
I still feel sore now and again but James releases me and after every session I feel like
walking on air with a spring in my step, my mobility and range of movement has increased,
my posture is better and overall I can sleep at night. The cost is minimal when you think
how much I cost the NHS that evening. I take no painkillers, no MRI X-RAY needed,
just James with his Magic Hands.
The sessions are non invasive and worth every penny spent.
I CAN NOT PRAISE THIS GUY ENOUGH AS HE HAS BROUGHT ME BACK FROM THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR.
All you need to do is listen to your body, think outside the box and see JAMES
THANK YOU M.A.GUNTRIP. September 2017
This time last year (2016), almost to the day I was feeling pretty down. For some twenty years I had run both
road & fell, including a few ultras, and regularly backpacked long distance paths both in this country and abroad.
Then, at the ripe old age of 65, I started to suffer from a pain down the outside of my right leg. Initially I assumed
it was a problem with my IT band and tried to self-treat it. When the pain continued to worsen I saw two separate
physios privately. The first diagnosed a previous injury to my thigh, which quite frankly, had never happened.
After the second treatment I was in more pain than before, so I excused myself from further punishment.
The second physio diagnosed weakened right leg muscles but the subsequent treatment didn’t relieve the pain
very much. Eventually, after almost five years, and unable to walk more than a quarter of a mile without stopping
to ease the pain, I was persuaded to put myself in the hands of the NHS for a “more holistic approach to the problem”.
The first appointment was with a physio who, after a couple of sessions identified that I had ‘one leg shorter than the other’
and diagnosed ‘suspected’ spinal stenosis (without offering me a scan to confirm it). He also informed me that he
had never cured anyone of it. However he did arrange for me to see an orthotist to get my shoes packed to address
the leg length issue This was ‘it’, I could walk no further than a quarter of a mile and the prognosis was that my condition
would continue to worsen. So, yes, at this point last year I was feeling pretty glum to say the least.
Then, while moaning to folk about my misfortune James’ name kept cropping up. Unbeknown to me he already had
a good reputation locally for treating back pain. So, without much hope for a good outcome I paid him a visit
(two hours on 20th Dec. 2016). Within a matter of minutes he diagnosed a hip rotation, which he said was causing the
pain and resulting in the apparent difference in leg length. The treatment, to relax the offending myofascial tissues and
correct the hip alignment, was so gentle that it was difficult to believe it would even be remotely effective, but I left that
session with my leg feeling more relaxed than I could remember. I had a second two hour session on 22nd Dec. and
continued to stretch the tissues daily over the Christmas period. This was followed by a third session on 5th Jan 2017
and continued daily stretching. At the fourth session on 12 Jan. James asked how the leg was feeling. The pain had
eased considerably and I was beginning to cover bigger distances before needing to rest the leg, but I was reluctant
to articulate that to James in case I ‘kettled’ the entire thing. However, thereafter things improved rapidly.
Within a few weeks I was walking normally. I can still remember the first time, having crested a fell at the back of the house,
I became aware of the freedom with which I was walking downhill; the entire right hand side of my body had been
knotted (probably caused by my sitting position at work over several years). So, after five years of pain and failed
treatments, James had given me back my freedom in the space of six weeks! For a time I would still think twice
before walking several miles even though I knew I could do it, but now the pain has been erased from my mind
as well as my body. Distance is no longer an issue where my legs are concerned. I am also back to running ‘of sorts’
and did my first 10k at the end of April. I did eventually get a scan of my back and although there are signs of spinal
stenosis it is nowhere near severe enough to be the cause of the pain I had been suffering. I also cancelled
my appointment with the orthotist, but I have had to buy several new pairs of shoes/boots now that I am walking
with correctly aligned legs and feet! Thanks James.
Roger Wilkins
November 2017