It's time to throw the doors open and welcome Spring
Welcome to our latest newsletter

Spring is most definitely getting ready to be sprung and, for the first time, it’s noticeable how days are getting longer and warmer. With a roadmap out of lockdown, the schools going back and a vaccination drive that is going gangbusters, you’d be forgiven for feeling just a little bit optimistic.

There’s a very real possibility that we may be able to get back to normality soon. That means summer holidays, more time outside with family and friends and getting back to sports, like football, running, tennis and golf.

Now is the time to be careful. If you stopped exercising when gyms shut, the transition back may require a little preparation to avoid injury. Thankfully, massage at The Heeler Centre is almost back!

In this issue of The Heeler Centre newsletter, we focus on getting ready for being more active, more outdoors and think about celebrating mum on Mother’s Day on Sunday, 14 March (consider that a reminder!)

We hope you enjoy reading this and, remember, we’re here if you need us.

Enjoy and see you next month!

Stay safe,

The Heeler Centre Team

Jade's advice on how to prepare to get back to the gym safely

Because, unless you’ve been working out to the same intensity and level during lockdown in your home gym, you could be at high risk of injury. In all the excitement to get back in the gym, rushing to get back to where you were could end up leaving you injured and unable to use the gym.

We see this happens every January at The Heeler Centre when you decide to finally get fit as a New Year’s Resolution. You hit the gym hard and because your body hasn’t been conditioned to working at that level, injuries ensue and you take two steps back.

Despite your efforts at keeping fit and active at home, the likelihood is that you may have lost a lot of fitness. Having lifted barely anything since the start of lockdown, trying to lift 90kg above your head may just be a little too much on your first day back in the gym!

Here’s my advice to get your body gm-ready to avoid getting injured in week two:

Use this time to stretch and mobilise your joints properly. A joint mobility program will stimulate and circulate synovial fluid within the capsule, “washing” the joint, lubricating the moving parts and removing waste products lingering in unwanted areas. This has the ability to not only prevent injury, but also revitalise your joints.

Use mobility exercises where you move your articulating joints through their full range of motion in a slow, purposeful and controlled manner. These exercises should be incorporated into your exercise program as warm ups, active recovery between sets or as a stand-alone low intensity workout.

Foam rolling helps release tension in the muscles, relieve muscle soreness, and improve flexibility and range of motion which means you can perform your workouts with better more efficient and safer form.

Start off training the number of days a week you normally would, but not the same amount of hours. We’ve still got a couple of week until gyms open so try some workouts or online classes. These are a great way to prep your body for the upcoming gym sessions ahead. 

If lockdown has properly played havoc with your diet and sleep, start using this time to hit reset before hitting the gym. Most people train to improve their health and to do that you need to make sure you’re well rested. If you’re not sleeping properly, eating terribly, are not eating enough or eating too much then when you start training, you’re undoing all the hard work.  Start eating healthy, hydrate and rest well.

If you need help with your nutrition programme, call The Heeler Centre and ask to speak with Claire who will be able to provide a tailored nutrition plan. Also, make sure you book your massages for when the gym opens to help stave off injury.

Top tips from Profiles Health & Beauty to deal with the problem of "maskne"

You’ve probably noticed that finally, the weather has started to get better. The cold and rain are starting to give way to slightly less cold and more sunshine. Before long, it will be time to think about skincare as the weather improves.

More vitamin D is always a great way to help clear up the skin and treats a range of skin conditions. But there is one condition that is unique to COVID… and that’s Maskne (a combination of mask and acne, if you’re wondering!).

Here, we asked our friends at Profiles in Hassocks to give us some advice on how to deal with this very current condition:

One of the most googled phrases during this lockdown is ‘MASKNE’.

It's no surprise really considering we are all being good and wearing our face coverings every time we leave the house! Your skin can get very confused under your mask - it feels blocked and congested, a little bit oilier than normal but can also become sensitive, dehydrated and irritated.

So what can you do at home to help?

Cleanse - make sure you are cleansing your skin once every morning and twice every evening. Use whatever you prefer, cleansing milks, foaming cleansers, micellar waters, Jut make sure you do it!

Exfoliate - Ideally twice a week, exfoliating powders are great- easy to mix with water or your daily cleanser, massage in and rinse, for super clean pores.

Mask - Apply a purifying face mask to the affected area a couple of times a week or apply to an inflamed spot overnight to reduce redness, swelling. 

Target Spot Gel - This product is amazing! Apply to the blemish with a clean finger, several times a day to reduce inflammation and help clear the spot. 

Fluid - drink more water and increase your intake of fresh fruit and veg to help flush out the toxins from the body.

You can book treatments with Profiles Health and Beauty by calling 01273 846348 or visiting the website: www.profileshealthandbeauty.co.uk

Introducing a new podiatry treatment with Nikki - toe nail reconstruction

Many men and women suffer from unsightly toenails and are embarrassed by their feet. In order to hide them, you would choose to wear shoes and socks all the time or paint over the damage to disguise them, often making it worse in the process. 

If you’ve suffered from misshapen, damaged or fungal infected toenails and want to do something about them, now is the time to act. And Nikki is able to transform your toenail with a bespoke cosmetically reconstructed natural nail.

Have you damaged your nails playing sport? Have you had nail surgery leaving discoloured blemishes or uneven surfaces? This new treatment uses a natural gel that provides an instant cosmetic solution that leaves your toenails looking great.

You don’t have to hide your tootsies any more. Book in with Nikki and she’ll give you the confidence back to get your feet out whenever and wherever you choose. When you’ve had your nail done, treat yourself and head down to our friends at Profiles for a pedicure.

Appointments are 45 minutes and each nail to be treated is £40. To book your appointment, call us on 01273843780 and ask to speak to Nikki.

The chocolate chicks are back at The Heeler Centre in aid of Cancer Research

Who is available to treat?

Clinic protocols

• Pre-arranged appointments only… please call or book online.
• Please wear a mask when arriving at the clinic and when in the reception area – we have masks to help yourselves to if you don't have one with you.
• We are temperature checking all patients on arrival to the clinic.
• Hand sanitise or wash hands on entering the clinic.
• Please arrive exactly at your appointment time to reduce time spent in reception waiting areas. 
• Please aim to maintain the 2m social distancing measure where possible.
• If possible, please pay contactless up to £45.
• As of 24th September, it was a legal requirement for the clinic to help with track and trace... you’ll be asked for permission to be able to use your details that we have stored should we need to contact you. 
• Our patients are not obliged to but we are required to provide an NHS QR track and trace code to scan using the NHS app.