Musculoskeletal and Sports Injury Therapy
Clinical Soft Tissue / Advanced Sports Massage Therapy
Osteopathy
Online Musculoskeletal / Sports Injury Therapy
Pregnancy Care

Our first clinic Durham has rapidly built a growing reputation within Durham and surrounding areas for delivering a complete package of integrated care to assess, diagnose, treat, rehabilitate and prevent musculoskeletal injuries and we hope to do the same for the people of Sunderland from our base in the Powerbar gym.

(Check our Facebook reviews, our 5th Element sports injury clinic Durham Google reviews or our 5th Element sports injury clinic) Sunderland Google reviews.

We offer an integrated care package to our patients in order to help them with a wide variety of musculoskeletal conditions from chronic low back pain and post-operative rehabilitation to sports injuries and work-related muscle pain. The clinic offers a wide range of services to suits the needs of every individual patient. These services include assessment and diagnosis, sports massage, osteopathy, exercise rehabilitation, acupuncture, cupping and taping. (Check out the services on our booking page).

The team currently consists of a clinical lead Osteopath (Ryan) and a Level 4 Sports Massage Therapist (Emma), although will be looking to bring on other members of staff as both clinics expand. All practitioners are registered with their respective regulatory governing bodies and have the relevant insurance requirements in place.
As Powerbar gym members you will be able to take advantage of discounted treatments as part of our affiliate scheme. Patients can book to arrange an appointment seven days a week through various means including, phone, email and online booking. We aim to create a patient booking on our system within 24 hours of their first contact with us and seen in the clinic within 7 days.

OUR SERVICES

Musculoskeletal and Sports Injury Therapy

For patients suffering with a sporting injuries or musculoskeletal complaints. Those patients attending the clinic for the first time or returning patient with a new complaint should book an sports injury initial consultation so the practitioner can determine a diagnoses and causative factors attributing the issue before developing an appropriate treatment plan. During the initial assessment various range of motion, strength and movement-based assessments will be conducted. At the end of the session the practitioner should be able to provide the patient with a structural diagnosis, reasoning to why this may have occurred and some strategies to rectify this moving forward. Following the initial consultation process all follow up treatments will include a variety of manual therapy such as massage / osteopathic mobilization / osteopathic manipulation / acupuncture / electro therapy and taping designed to get the patient out of pain and improve soft tissue function whilst concurrently prescribing a progressive return to function exercise rehabilitation program to resolve any neuromuscular deficits that have occurred from the injury.

Clinical Soft Tissue / Advanced Sports Massage Therapy

A predominantly 'hands on' approach to treatment where special attention shall be focused on the soft tissues. Various interventions including massage / IASMT / acupuncture / cupping / taping can be used to elicit the most appropriate tissue response, whether that be a reduction in sensitivity / decreased muscle tone or guarding / increased blood flow and healing response or improvement in fluid dynamics. This treatment is not used to diagnose or the assess the complaint more to treat the soft tissue responses from injury. If you require diagnosis or a more in-depth assessment than a sports injury consultation should be conducted first.

Osteopathy

Osteopathy is a system of diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of medical conditions. It works with the structure and function of the body and is based on the principle that the well-being of an individual depends on the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues functioning smoothly together. To an osteopath, for your body to work well, its structure must also work well. So, osteopaths work to restore your body to a state of balance, where possible without the use of drugs or surgery. Osteopaths use touch, physical manipulation, stretching and massage to increase the mobility of joints, to relieve muscle tension, to enhance the blood and nerve supply to tissues, and to help your body’s own healing mechanisms. They may also provide advice on posture and exercise to aid recovery, promote health and prevent symptoms recurring.

Online Musculoskeletal and Sports Injury Therapy

An online option for those patients wanting an assessment for an injury but are unable to attend clinic due to illness, pain or disability.

Pregnancy
Care

Unfortunately, some women don't know it’s perfectly safe to have treatment during pregnancy with a qualified therapist and suffer unnecessarily in pain. Emma is qualified in pregnancy massage and pre & post-natal therapy which allows her to treat the patient through the entirety of the pregnancy, even the 1st trimester having done further pre-natal training. Also, as a Level 4 massage therapist she is also very competent in clinic and able to treat a lot of issues that arise from pregnancy such as carpal tunnel, pelvic girdle pain, lower back pain and sciatica. Recent studies have shown that woman who receive therapy during their pregnancy benefit from reduced hormones such as nor-epinephrine and cortisol (hormones associated with stress), increased levels of dopamine and serotonin levels (our bodies natural happy hormones to combat depression), and improved labour outcomes and newborn health, along with symptomatic pain relief from joint and muscle pain.

RYAN MYERS

Ryan is an osteopath, master personal trainer, strength and fitness coach, sports massage therapist, medical acupuncturist and former physical training instructor within the Royal Marines. Before graduating from the British College of Osteopathic medicine with a 1st class master’s degree amongst other academic awards, Ryan spent the majority of his adult life within the Royal Marines. He joined at 17 years of age and completed a total of 18 years of combined regular and reserve forces service. Upon leaving regular service he has spent his time developing theoretical knowledge and practical experience within the healthcare and sporting environments. During this time, he has amassed a great deal of information from key influencers from the manual therapy, rehabilitative exercise, and strength and conditioning fields, whilst working with a diverse patient/client demographic ranging from the elderly and persistent pain patients to royal marine recruits and Olympic athletes. The combination of Ryan’s academic knowledge and practical experience creates a practitioner perfectly suited to educate, motivate and support any patient wanting to progress in their sporting endeavours wherever they may be on the pain to performance continuum. When Ryan isn’t in the clinic you can find him either throwing weights round the gym, throwing people around the Tatami or getting thrown around by his beloved pet ‘Dexter’ the English bull terrier. A keen grappler and lifting enthusiast, Ryan is a black belt in judo and holds multiple world records in team deadlift and sled push events.

Book an Appointment with Ryan (Sunderland)

Book an Appointment with Ryan (Durham)

EMMA HARKIN-JONES

Emma has joined our team here at 5th element as a soft tissue specialist. She has over 10 years’ experience in the industry and has established herself as the ‘go to’ soft tissue therapist in the north east, renowned for her technical ability in treating all issues relating to the soft tissues of the body. The majority of Emma’s experience has been spent in the clinical environment working with a variety of other professionals including physiotherapists, osteopaths and sports therapists which has helped her develop a theoretical knowledge far greater than expected of soft tissue therapists. With an unsatiable thirst for knowledge, over the years she has amassed a wide range of adjunctive treatment interventions including Advanced Sports Massage (level 4), Advanced Medical Acupuncture, Kinesiology Taping, IASTM, Dry Cupping, Spinal Manipulation and Pre and Post Natal Therapy, often combining these techniques for superior results. The combination of her deep theoretical knowledge and vast skill set means she can tailor her treatment to suit the individual needs of the patient and the specific injury they may have.

Book an Appointment with Emma (Sunderland)

Book an Appointment with Emma (Durham)