Life Touch Massage in Crouch End and my old life in the country.

Eleonora at Life Touch Massage

I've been suffering from a painful shoulder since last December. But it wasn't until May this year, when the pain became acute, that I decided I needed to go and see somebody. I found a web page for Eleonora at Life Touch Massage, read the testimonials, and decided I couldn't go wrong.

Eleonora asked me to arrive 10 minutes early for the first appointment to talk about my health history. She was so friendly and caring, I immediately felt at ease. After that first massage, which was wonderfully relaxing, Eleonora said I was suffering from a Frozen shoulder. 'I can fix it, but it can take a little time,' she said.

Frozen shoulder is something that affects mainly women, and there's very little research into why it happens. It's not an affliction which stops daily life - it's just painful and it prevents me from doing certain things, like swimming and going to the gym.

When my GP said the condition can last from six months to six years, I very nearly fainted. I'm not going to be in pain for six years, I decided and asked for a Cortisone injection, which sometimes helps for a few weeks, allowing more movement in the joints.

But after my summer holiday in Finland, the shoulder got even worse. It ached constantly and stopped me from sleeping. Exhausted and close to tears, I crawled back to Eleonora and her magical hands. 'You will get better,' she assured me and began working on my sore body.

After a few twice weekly sessions with Eleonora, I was right as rain. My shoulder is still a little painful and occasionally I will lose a night's sleep, but generally I feel myself again.

When I asked Eleonora why people get a Frozen Shoulder - was it my slacking gym attendance, or that fact that since we left Wiltshire I hadn't really taken regular Pilates classes? 'Well,' she said, 'Some people think it's associated with mourning.'

When I walked home after that session, I tried to think what an earth I would be mourning for. True, my life had changed dramatically in the last two years. The move from the country to London was perhaps a little drastic (from a cottage with 3 acres of land & gardens in the middle of nowhere, to a flat in busy North London with only a few potted herbs on a balcony), but I didn't think missing the orchard, or the bumper crop of swiss chard, or our lovely Labrador could be called mourning.

Our chocolate Lab doing his rounds around the garden.

But the more I thought about it, and looked at the many pictures I took of the house and grounds before we left, I realised perhaps I was kidding myself. Perhaps I just hadn't allowed myself to miss my previous life? Even though I knew I wouldn't want to go back and knew that the idyllic pictures belie the endless grass cutting, digging and weeding the garden demanded. Or the farm smells that I never got used to, or the mud and the flies which seemed to be a constant feature of our life in the country (I swear I lived in my wellington boots for the 15 years we were in the cottage). Still, I can honestly say I do (sometimes) miss the old life.

There.

Now better (nearly - my back is another story!), I go and see Eleonora about every two weeks. She literally fixes both my mind and body, and so she's become part of my regular health routine.

Eleonora at Life Touch Massage can be contacted here.