Hello & Welcome!

Hi everyone, I’m Mark and I’m kickstarting this project - MC Sports Recovery. This has been a long time in the making and I’m super excited to finally be underway!

Why have I started MC Sports Recovery?

I graduated university in 2016 with a degree in Biology and immediately stopped using or thinking about everything I’d learnt. Instead I became wrapped up in the whirlwind that is corporate life and while that’s given me a lot of great experience and skills, it’s also delivered some nasty side-effects with my day to day life becoming increasingly marked by eating on the run, not exercising, overthinking and over-stressing, dehydration and poor sleep.

Now to be clear, that’s no-one’s fault but my own. But I was surprised at how easily I had picked up these bad habits along the way. Fast forward to 2020 and I finally decide its time to do some exercise, beginning a long journey, which (with some bumps along the way) has vastly improved my strength, mobility and appearance - not to mention my mental health and self-image.

This was the first time I went for a massage. My back felt like a block of granite and my traps were solid. This was certainly nothing new for me, it’s where I’d always carried stress and tension and I’d just accepted it as part of life. But adding an intense exercise plan in on top had pushed my body over the limit and it was now very much complaining about my choices. A colleague recommended I go for a massage to ease off some of my issues and I began looking around for options. This was a bit of a minefield. Everyone and their aunt would provide a massage but everyone advertised something slightly different. Did I want a relaxing and calming massage? Should I pick the sports clinic? Was the Swedish Massage for me? I almost gave up. At the last moment I found one that seemed to be a bit clearer in what it would give and what it would treat. I opted for a recovery massage, which was based on Swedish massage but tailored for individual needs and was more focused on those with exercise-related or sporting injuries. I won’t lie, I was nervous. I thought it would hurt and I thought it might even be awkward.

Well. All my preconceptions were blown away and I enjoyed a thorough massage that tackled each of my problem areas. I’ll admit I felt a little tender in places afterwards but I have never felt my body release tension like that before. The next few days I noticed such a change in my flexibility and mobility, finding that problems I’d lived with for years were significantly improved. I knew I should go back for regular treatment and I found myself eager and even a little excited to get on the table and have my knots broken up.

4 years later and I still go every 4 weeks for a massage - quite often there’s nothing to complain about and it’s simply keeping on top of things. My performance at the gym and running has never been better and I feel much more confident now in pushing my body that little bit further, knowing I have a proper recovery plan in place to support that drive. At the day job too (oh yes, still in corporate wonderland!) I’ve found my posture, my focus and my confidence boosted. Why go for a massage if everything is working fine? Well trust me, when you drop the massage from your recovery for a while, you really feel it and noticeable problems can quickly take root.

So, why start up MC Sports Recovery? Put simply - to return the favour. I know so many people that are in the position I was in back in 2020, trying to make a change and improve them-self but struggling with how to do it in a safe and sustainable way without being hampered by niggling tightness and pains that will only grow over time.

It gives me such a great feeling to be able to help someone recover and grow and there’s nothing better than that message the next day from a patient saying how great they woke up feeling.

If you are interested in how massage can help you or would like to find out more, take a look at the FAQs, read the detailed descriptions of the massages I offer or get in touch directly!

All the best!

Mark