SXP Jewellery & Designs

SXP Jewellery

This beautiful permanent collection of contemporary silver jewellery is handcrafted in 925 Sterling Silver is showcased within Therap-Ease Treatment Centre, Morningside Edinburgh. 

The collection is always being reviewed and rotated and as a result, new pieces are always being introduced.

You will find a great variety of styles to suit all tastes.

Great time and care is taken to ensure that each piece meets exacting quality standards. 

Each handmade piece is endorsed and all of our jewellery is hallmarked at the Assay office in Edinburgh. An important final seal of quality and approval!

SXP Designs was established in Edinburgh in 2008 and is owned and managed by Lesley McLaren.

The company has gained a trusted reputation over the years for the exceptional quality and style of its silver jewellery.

With a wealth of experience and knowledge in the silver jewellery business, SXP Designs ensures that each piece from the collection is checked in fine detail before reaching the customer.

Come in to the clinic and treat yourself or a loved one - Therap-Ease, 382 Morningside Road, Edinburgh

Dr Andrew Murray

Dr Andrew Murray MFSEM, PgC MSK USS, MRCGP, MBCHB
Specialist in Sport and Exercise Medicine and General Practitioner

Across deserts and snow-capped mountains, through dense jungles and passed the pyramids, Doctor Andrew Murray runs. And runs.

This is a Scot who has truly been to the ends of the earth. For charity. For adventure. For knowledge. Now, he hopes his homeland can benefit from what he has learned on his travels. In fact, he is sure it can.

Dr Murray currently works in Sports Medicine at the SportScotland Institute of Sport, and also here at Therap-Ease Treatment Centre in Morningside, Edinburgh. Although he can also count the SRU, the European Golf Tour and Heart of Midlothian Football Club as beneficiaries of his expertise.

What he offers:

Solutions and advice for anyone involved in sport from the weekend warrior to the elite athlete.

Sports injuries; diagnosis using examination and ultrasound treatment including medication, injection, acupuncture and advice regarding prevention of injury

Pre-participation medicals for sport, races etc - examination, ECG and blood tests

Advice and input on how to achieve your best performances

Exercise advice regarding what’s best and what is safe

Liaison with Scotland’s best physiotherapists, surgeons, podiatrists and sports psychologists

Please call us on 0131 447 9990 for more information, or to make an appointment.

Holistic Health

Holistic Health Therapy

Reiki - a healing technique based on the principle that the therapist can channel energy into the patient by means of touch, to activate the natural healing processes of the patient's body and restore physical and emotional well-being.

Acupuncture - a system of complementary medicine in which fine needles are inserted in the skin at specific points along what are considered to be lines of energy (meridians), used in the treatment of various physical and mental conditions.

Reflexology - a system of massage used to relieve tension and treat illness, based on the theory that there are reflex points on the feet, hands, and head linked to every part of the body.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) - Tapping often works where nothing else will. EFT breathes fresh air into the healing process by borrowing from the Chinese meridian system. While acupuncture, acupressure and the like have been primarily focused on physical ailments, EFT stands back from this ancient process and points it also at emotional issues.

Hopi Ear Candling -  is a pleasant and non-invasive treatment of the ears, it is used to offer real and calming benefits for many problems and conditions associated with the ear, nose and throat areas.

Hypnotherapy - the use of hypnosis as a therapeutic technique.

Relaxation - 

Do you feel tired all the time ?
Do you struggle to get out of bed in the morning even when you have had plenty of sleep ?
Do you feel as though you constantly need another cup of coffee simply to get through the day ?
Do you crave salty or sweet foods ?
Do you have trouble thinking clearly and find it hard to finish tasks ?

You could be suffering from adrenal fatigue. The 21st century stress syndrome that frequently develops following periods of emotional or physical stress. Over stimulation of the adrenal glands may leave them unable to meet your body's needs resulting in some of these symptoms. 

Adrenal fatigue may also contribute towards a variety of medical conditions including but not limited to the following: 

Insomnia 
PMS/ premature menopause
IBS/ chronic digestive imbalance 
Depression and anxiety
Mood swings/ rage 
Fibromyalgia.

What is counselling?

Counselling is where one person helps another through purposeful conversation. Counselling is a method of identifying a practical solution to an identified problem such as a relationship difficulty, bereavement, stress, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety. The task of counselling is to give the client an opportunity to explore, discover and clarify ways of living a more satisfyingly and resourceful life.

Counselling provides a professional relationship between a trained counsellor and a client. This relationship is usually person-to-person and is designed to help clients understand and clarify their views of their life. Individuals learn to reach their self-determined goals through meaningful, well-informed choices and through resolution of problems of an emotional or interpersonal problem.

Why choose counselling?

People choose counselling because they feel unable to cope, depressed, anxious, alone or facing some difficulty we cannot see our way out of. In today's world it is often difficult to find someone with the time and inclination to be a good listener. Someone who can help you work through the issues that are affecting our day-to-day lives. Counselling can also be beneficial for people who want to explore their own potential for personal change or growth.

What is the difference between counselling and psychotherapy?

Counselling can help you change and adjust to your current situation, empowering you to respond differently to stressful situations whether at home or work and is usually of a limited duration. Psychotherapy is normally a longer process, requiring the client to commit to working through the deeper issues that prevent them from achieving a fulfilling life.

How long will it take?

There is no easy answer to that question. It depends on many factors. It depends on the issues being explored, the length of time it takes for the relationship to form between client and therapist, how quickly the client is able to feel comfortable in expressing aspects of themselves and their pasts. It depends on the pace that the client sets for the work and that with which they are comfortable.

For further details of how counselling or psychotherapy may help you or to book an initial consultation please phone 0131 447 9990. 

What is Holistic Massage?

Holistic massage

Holistic massage is a deceptively simple but powerful form of healing, involving touch, movement and energy, qualities long associated with well-being and good health. It has been practised in one form or another for thousands of years. Today it is recognized increasingly as a powerful aid to the body's own healing mechanisms, it has a profoundly calming effect on the neuromuscular system bringing about deep relaxation and restoring energy. It is used both as an adjunct to conventional medicine and as a therapeutic tool in its own right for maintaining the body's natural balances.

The massage treatment

Holistic massage as practiced at Therap-Ease is the gentle, rhythmical stroking and kneading of the body's soft tissues, soothing away tensions and relaxing and balancing mind and body. With this approach the whole person is treated, rather than just the symptoms of disease, anxiety or excessive stress.

This is achieved by the use of relaxation techniques, the playing of calming music and we provide a caring and informal atmosphere, and most importantly, listening carefully to the client and attending to their needs in a holistic manner.

The effects of massage

You will immediately notice some of the effects of massage: this gentle therapy relaxes the body, releases muscle tension, and the rhythmical, soothing nature of the massage strokes helps your mind to unwind and become still, leaving you calm and refreshed.

Massage aids our ability to deal with stress. Excessive stress is a major contributor to disease and general ill health. It can cause energy to be blocked, muscles to tense up and remain tensed (in the ‘fight or flight' reaction) and it can bring about mental and emotional anxieties and a feeling of being unable to cope. As massage strokes release muscular tension and calm the mind, the effects of stress are eased away and the body is able to re-balance itself.

After a treatment many people report improved joint mobility and feeling taller as well as the common sense of well-being and calm.

Call Therap-Ease to make an appointment on 0131 447 9990.

Allergy or Intolerance?

Adverse reactions to foods are often called many different names including food hypersensitivity, food intolerance, food allergy, and many other medical and non-medical terms. 

These names add to the confusion of diagnosing and managing food related problems. By keeping a diary of all suspected food related reactions (written records, photographs and keeping labels of suspected pre-packed foods), this will help to identify which type of food is causing your symptoms.  Sometimes the food triggers will be obvious whilst other reactions are very difficult to identify.

Food Allergy

True food allergy is a reaction involving the immune system where the body sees the food as harmful and  makes specific antibodies (called IgE antibodies) to ‘fight off’ the allergens found in these foods. This results in the release of histamine and other naturally occurring chemicals in the body.  It is this release of histamine and chemicals, which produce the symptoms we recognise as an allergic reaction.

Symptoms caused by an allergic reaction to food can range from skin reactions: which include itching and rashes; swelling, gut symptoms, vomiting, stomach ache, and diarrhoea. Respiratory symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, asthma, blocked or runny nose.

In the most severe cases symptoms may develop rapidly and can be life threatening so require urgent medical attention.  Symptoms may include swelling of the lips, tongue, or face, shortness of breath, throat constriction and breathing difficulties.  Loss of consciousness can occur in extreme cases.  This collection of symptoms is known as anaphylaxis.  Normally symptoms arise within a few minutes of eating or coming in to contact with an offending food, although they may be delayed by up to a couple of hours.  Those at risk of anaphylaxis should have an adrenaline device available. 

Thankfully true food allergy is actually quite rare, affecting approximately 2% of the adult UK population and up to 8% of children.  

The foods that most commonly cause allergic reactions are peanuts, tree nuts (such as almonds and Brazils), eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, and sesame.  You should be aware that any food can cause an allergic reaction and some foods are more likely to cause reactions in certain ethnic groups.

Food intolerance

Food intolerance is not so clear cut and is a more controversial area.  Although not life threatening, it can and often does, make the sufferer feel extremely unwell and can have a major impact on working and social life.  Ongoing symptoms can also affect the person psychologically as they feel they will never get better.

Symptoms can affect different people in different ways but usually last for many hours or days depending on the symptoms, and because it is possible to be intolerant to several different foods at the same time it becomes very difficult to determine whether food intolerance is the cause of chronic illness, and which foods may be responsible.  Many people with food intolerance have several symptoms.  Sometimes the symptoms are vague and not always easily diagnosed.  People may complain of non-specific problems such as brain fog, lethargy, headaches, or feeling bloated.  These are often additional to bigger problems relating to bowels and skin.

Food intolerance can be caused by several different factors; lifestyles with erratic food intakes and poor nutritional intake or high intakes of refined foods, poor intakes of dietary fibre or high fat diets are just a few examples.

Some people actually lack the enzymes needed to break foods down for example lactose intolerance where the enzyme lactase is not produced in large enough amounts to break down the lactose (milk sugars) in milk. 

Others react to the chemicals that are produced naturally in foods such as caffeine, salicylates, and histamine in foods like strawberries, chocolate, and cheese.  Another possible cause of food intolerance is to additives in foods, these can be found in the form of sulphites, which are added to processed foods to give them a longer shelf life.  They can also be found in fruit drinks and wine.  A reaction to a food that has ‘gone off’ such as salmonella poisoning is another type of reaction to a food; such a reaction will usually affect anyone consuming it.

If you would like to book in for a free 30 min consultation with our dietitian and nutritionist Penny Stevenson, please contact us 0131 447 9990 for an appointment.

Sports massage can alleviate pain in certain parts of the body, which can be caused by too much physical activity. This type of massage was originally developed to serve athletes as a way to prevent and relieve injuries, but both athletes and non-athletes can gain physiological and psychological benefits from receiving sports massage therapy.

It can help people manage stress. When a person receives a sports massage, their body releases neurotransmitters called endorphins. Endorphins that are released, help to decrease anxiety, provide pain relief, improve mood and enhance a person's state of well-being.

Who can benefit?

Peter is comfortable working with clients from a variety of backgrounds and believes that Sports massage is not just for sports people, but anyone who uses there body to perform tasks. Any activity can lead to an injury or build-up of tension.  Peter regularly treats:

Amateur and professional sports people
Musicians.
People with work related issues
Parents that are sore from the demands of parenthood
People with chronic pain
What’s involved

Chronic conditions and injuries – Peter always tries to work within your pain threshold and will seek feedback and give advice to help you relax.  This can mean some discomfort, but leads to a long lasting relief of symptoms.  Peter uses a variety of techniques based around Deep -Tissue Massage, incorporating:

• Trigger Point Therapy
• Myo-fascial Release
• Dry Needling (acupuncture)
• Muscle Energy Techniques
• Maintenance and less specific issues - Peter can provide more generalised deep tissue work to help relax and rejuvenate tired overworked muscles, helping to prevent the build-up of chronic tension and aiding recovery from activity and exercise.

Aftercare - Peter can help you to plan how massage can fit into training or practice schedules and how to vary massage around performances and events to get the most out of it.  Peter can also give advice about self-massage techniques and exercises you can do at home to help.

The Soprano Ice was launched in the UK in March 2013.

The Soprano Ice laser represents the next generation in permanent hair reduction, boasting a superior cooling mechanism that means virtually pain-free treatments and offering quicker, more efficient and comfortable treatment for people who want to resolve the problem of unwanted body and facial hair.

At Soprano ICE Edinburgh we provide one of the only Soprano ICE Lasers available in the East of Scotland.

You can be sure you will be able to enjoy the very latest treatments using the highest quality and most technologically advanced equipment available.

The Soprano Ice laser offers significantly improved outcomes for people with lighter coloured or thinner hair, and its enhanced ergonomic design means it can now treat smaller and difficult to target areas like centre brows, nose and ears.

Using our brand new Soprano Ice Laser, treatments are quicker and more efficient than other, less advanced forms of laser hair removal.

What is Soprano ICE™ laser hair removal?Soprano ICE is the most complete and effective laser hair removal solution available today.
By incorporating multiple laser wavelengths and technologies, Soprano ICE allows practitioners to treat the widest range of patients and hair types all year round, administer treatments quickly and comfortably and achieve the best possible clinical results.
Laser technology is an efficient and effective alternative to IPL, electrolysis, waxing and shaving.  90% of patients experience significant hair reduction after 3-5 sessions.

How does laser hair removal work?
The Soprano ICE laser passes safely through the skin’s dermal layers.  The laser works by gently heating and destroying the hair follicles at their base using pulses of infrared laser light which are attracted to the coloured pigment in individual hairs.

How does Soprano ICE differ from other lasers?
Traditional lasers fire single shot high energy which is uncomfortable and painful and can feel like the skin is rapidly being hit with elastic bands.  The Soprano ICE uses low energy making the treatment more comfortable and virtually pain free, minimising any side effects.

How safe is Soprano ICE?
Soprano ICE uses low energy pulses which makes the treatment virtually pain free and very rarely has any side effects.
The Soprano ICE laser parameters are specifically designed to match your skin and hair type, assuring exceptionally precise gentle treatments.

What can I expect during my treatment?
Before your treatment you will be required to attend a free consultation at least 24hrs prior to your treatment.  During the consultation you will be asked about your medical history.  The area to be treated will be examined.  The treatment will be fully explained and the therapist will advise the best course of action for each client.  You will also be given a free patch test to ensure your suitability for treatment.
Before individual sessions, you will need to have shaved the target area preferably 24hrs prior to treatment.  Before commencing the treatment your therapist will confirm that there have been no changes in your medical history.  Then after mapping out the area to be treated, a thick cold gel will be applied and you will be given a pair of safety glasses to wear.  The laser hand piece is then placed in contact with the skin and is passed over the mapped out area numerous times until the treatment is completed.

Jill Kerr Physiotherapy

Musculoskeletal & Women’s Health - Jill Kerr is a Chartered Physiotherapist with over 26 years experience in hands on Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy. She has treated everyone from the general public, to elite athletes both privately and within the NHS.  Jill has a MSc, lectures internationally and is clinical advisor and module leader/academic advisor to post graduate Physiotherapists and GP's at Masters level for the Society of Musculoskeletal Medicine. She has developed a new training module called Special Tests in Musculoskeletal Medicine and has delivered this internationally and within the UK.
Currently Jill is in the process of writing the next Edition of a textbook for clinicians on how to assess and treat the common Musculoskeletal conditions. This will be on the shelves in Autumn 2015.

Jill Kerr is now joined by experienced Associates (Andrew Johnson and Venetia Thomson) to help cover the clinic opening hours from 8am-8pm Monday-Friday and 9am-1pm Saturday mornings.

Dawn Waitt is an Associate who also specialises in Women's health treating those ladies with stress, frequency or urge incontinence. This is a growing problem in the UK and too many people suffer in silence so please spread the word of this confidential service available to ladies in Edinburgh.