A truly complimentary couple
It must make for an interesting dynamic when two people in complimentary health therapies are also life partners and this month’s therapist of the month is an example of just this. Seán Collier does deep tissue massage and other therapies from the Talbot Leisure Centre and is married to Nichola Forrest who is one of three Nutritional Therapists working in Only Natural. They both live the athletic life and both coach others in how to optimise athletic performance, in Nichola’s case through nutritional advice and in Seán’s through dealing with injury and other physical impediments to sports performance. They are literally a formidable team. Sean’s practice, however, goes way beyond sports injuries and has and can benefit anyone, sportspeople and non sportspeople alike.
This is how Seán himself describes what he does :
I guess my story started when I was 12. I see my profession as a massage therapist and my involvement in sports as intertwined. Lessons I’ve learned and continue to learn on both sides always complement each other. I started doing taekwondo when I was 12, kickboxing at 20, boxing at 22 and triathlons at 34 which I’m still doing.
I’ve experienced a lot of injuries and learned a lot about the physical and mental side of injuries and training. After school I decided to go into this area as a profession. In 1987 this was in its infancy and not much choice. I studied recreation managment in Waterford for 3 years. In 1993 I studied Ki Massage at the NCEHS in Dublin, in 2001 I began in The National Training Centre studying Sports Massage and in 2005 I completed training in Trigger Point Needling.
However training and learning never ends. I’m always looking for interesting courses and I learn lessons from absolutely everybody who comes to see me.
Ive been working with people for 21 years now and so far my best successes have come from trigger point needling. In my experience a lot of the physical pain that people suffer from comes from trigger points (knots) that form in the muscles, usually from the repetitive strains involved in their work, accidents or sports injuries. The needle releases the trigger points and the pain is gone. It’s that simple.
I work out of the Quay Leisure Centre in the Talbot Hotel and I can be contacted on 086 278 4031.
