Dave aims to help you achieve optimal well-being by caring for your spine in a way that will free your brain, spinal cord and nerves. The treatment he offers reflects both his in-depth education and extensive experience.

He studied at the AECC (Anglo European College of Chiropractic) and graduated in 2003 from the Bachelors and Masters degree programme. After qualifying he spent time working at chiropractic clinics in the New Forest and Plymouth.

Having grown up in South Devon, he chose to return to his roots and worked in clinics in Exeter and Exmouth for a period of 14 years before joining the team here at Hands-on Health, where he’ll be offering appointments to new and existing patients.

Call reception on 01395 224207 or email admin@hands-onhealth.co.uk to book your appointment with Dave.

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A healthy atmosphere

Hands-on Health is a place where you can breathe easily, knowing that we have your well-being in mind. We have used environmentally-friendly paints, varnishes, furnishings, fittings and supplies wherever possible.

We supply Pure Dartmoor Water for our patients, clients and visitors from a cooler in reception. Unlike many other bottled waters, Dartmoor Water is bottled at source, drawn from deep under Dartmoor, and the 19 litre bottles are returned, sterilised and re-used. We provide glasses from our kitchen for patients to use, and compostable paper cups for clients attending classes, although we encourage them to bring their own reusable bottles.

The massage oil we use is an organic 100% grapeseed oil, good for even the most sensitive skin. Our laundry products, cleaning products and soaps are eco-friendly, and most are in containers that are refilled rather than replaced. Our couch roll and other paper supplies are all FSC approved.

A smaller carbon footprint

Local suppliers and eco-friendly, sustainable or recycled products have been our first choice for everything from building work to cleaning materials.

The studio and clinic treatment rooms have bamboo flooring* and underfloor heating and we have installed energy-efficient lights and appliances, high levels of insulation in floors, walls and ceilings and windows that are double glazed with low-emissivity glass.

We purchase our gas and electricity from Good Energy, a company that provides renewable energy, harnessing sources like sunshine, wind, rain and biofuels. It owns solar and wind sites including Delabole Wind Farm in Cornwall and Woolbridge Solar Park in Dorset. It also offers carbon neutral green gas.

Much of our furniture, including the reception table and chairs, is recycled – rescued from landfill when its previous business owners replaced it.

We ensure that all the clinic information is available on our comprehensive website, so that fewer people need to take a paper flyer; we have always printed our flyers in very small quantities as we need them.

We recycle everything we can, including the small amount of office paper, card and plastic packaging we use. Our current landfill waste amounts to about one 30 litre bag per month, and we’re working on reducing that further.

We hope you feel welcome and comfortable in our clinic – getting it right for our clients, ourselves and our planet is incredibly important to us.

*Bamboo grows much faster than hardwood trees, so it’s more sustainable and environmentally friendly than wood.

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We’re offering three hour-long massage appointments (two before and one after your running event), plus two foot health care sessions (45 minutes before and half-an-hour after) at a total cost of £150. This saves you £25 on the normal cost, and by booking and paying for everything in advance, you’ll get your care planned and reserved for you.

Benefits of massage

For runners, massage can be a great help with muscle pain in the back, shoulders, legs and calves, and we can treat symptoms including plantar fasciitis and joint pain in the ankles, knees and hips.

Before the big day, your massage sessions will help to:

• improve circulation
• improve delivery of nutrients and blood enriched with oxygen, glucose and electrolytes to muscle tissue
• elongate muscles for better range of movement
• increase blood vessel diameter for better flow
• decrease blood pressure
• improve overall performance

Benefits of the massage after your run include:

• faster muscle recovery
• help with the removal of waste at cellular level
• the prevention of injury
• the release of tight muscles
• restoring range of motion in your joints

Benefits of foot health care

Your foot health care appointments will provide care and maintenance for a variety of foot-related problems both before and after your run.

A common issue in running is bruising to the toe nails caused by pressure and trauma to the nail bed from the striking of the toe against the front of the shoe. This can lead to damage of the nail matrix increasing the risk of the nail thickening as it grows through. Management of thickened nails by reduction on a regular basis by a professional is important to prevent further pressure which can create a wound under the nail.

Callouses can occur on a bony prominence from friction on dry skin which can lead to corns if the pressure is concentrated in a small area. These can feel like a small pebble in your shoe and can be extremely painful. Your foot health practitioner can easily remove them, and then clean and smooth the area to help make your running more comfortable.

If your skin is moist from perspiration and there is friction from your sock and shoe, it can create blistering, where a pocket of fluid builds up between the two layers of the skin. Your foot health practitioner can provide you with, or apply for you, one of a variety of products for vulnerable areas to prevent blistering before a race. Aftercare of blisters is just as important and the practitioner will provide advice and care to help them heal well.

Following each treatment, a gentle exfoliation will help with any dry skin, and a foot massage will help relieve any tension in the joints and loosen the plantar fascia tendon which can become tight before and after running any distance.

Finally, a foot health package will be provided for you to continue your foot care at home.

To find out more, and to book your Runner’s Package, call 01395 224207 or email info@hands-onhealth.co.uk.

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If your mum is active, or wants to be, if she’s had an injury or surgery and needs some rehabilitation, or if she wants to improve her balance and mobility, encourage her by booking a FREE taster for both of you, and discover all the benefits this amazing form of exercise can offer everyone.

Call 01395 224207 or email info@hands-onhealth.co.uk.

(Thanks to Ruby Fury Activewear for the perfect, locally made, leggings!)

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Peter talked to Albie at Hands-on Health in October, and they discussed TRX as a way forward for the knee stiffness and pain: “Albie looked at the issue in a different way. I had never heard of TRX before, but this opened up a whole new avenue of rehabilitation after surgery.”

At the beginning he couldn’t bend his knee to 90 degrees, and his leg was weak, but progress was fast and effective; after just three months of weekly one-hour TRX sessions, Peter was able to bend his knee to over 120 degrees and the pain had virtually gone in everyday use. “Albie did not tell me to give up doing the exercises from the physiotherapist but to do them in addition to the exercises that we did with TRX.”

Now Peter is feeling much stronger and more confident overall, having used TRX to work on his upper body, leg and core muscles at the same time. “TRX has made a huge difference to my life. Albie took it at my pace, understood my lack of confidence initially with the pain and weakness I was feeling in my knee and I didn’t feel under pressure. He tailored the TRX exercises to my specific needs, aimed at rehabilitation and fitness.

“I see TRX now as helping me build my core strength and help me build up my other leg which also needs a knee replacement. Using the TRX has given me the confidence to go back to the gym and use a bike as well as a rowing machine and I swim regularly.”

TRX training is a whole-body approach to fitness and rehabilitation suitable for all ages and physical conditions. It can be tailored to your specific needs – including training for a specific sport, post-natal return to fitness, and rehabilitation after surgery, illness or injury. For advice on TRX and a free taster session, call 01395 224207 or email info@hands-onhealth.co.uk

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The resulting injury made it very difficult to elevate and rotate her arm, and the shoulder became much weaker. She was able to carry on with the walking but had to stop, or was restricted in, all her other activities.

When things didn’t improve, Val saw her GP and was referred for a scan, which revealed a partial thickness tear, for which surgery was not necessary. She saw a physiotherapist, who gave her some exercises to do at home, but, as she explains: “I needed someone who could supervise the exercises I needed to do to improve movement. As I had done TRX with Albie in the past, I thought he was the best guy to see as I thought he would be able to focus the TRX exercises to target the injury.”

Her first TRX session was in February 2018, about four months after the accident, and she discussed what the physiotherapist had suggested with Albie so that he could develop a suitable programme.

“The TRX sessions have been brilliant. I can now swim crawl and backstroke as well as a more vigorous breast stroke,” she says. “I’m now able to put any top garments on without discomfort, my balance has improved, so I’m no longer paranoid about falling over. I’m sleeping better as I’m no longer woken up by the shoulder being painful and I can wash and brush my hair without any discomfort.

“I had a bit of a setback last September when I tripped over and badly bruised my ribs, but Albie took all that into consideration and adjusted the TRX exercises to help with that injury as well.

“I’ve been so pleased with the progress I’ve made and I’m more or less ready to gradually resume the activities I did before the accident. I intend to carry on with the TRX and I’ve signed up to do kettlebells too.”

TRX training is a whole-body approach to fitness and rehabilitation suitable for all ages and physical conditions. It can be tailored to your specific needs – including training for a specific sport, post-natal return to fitness, and rehabilitation after surgery, illness or injury. For advice on TRX and a free taster session, call 01395 224207 or email info@hands-onhealth.co.uk

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Therapeutic massage helps to elongate the muscles, release tight muscles, restore joint range of motion, and improve circulation. It can provide very specific physiological responses, such as increased blood circulation, increased diameter of blood vessels, and decreased blood pressure. These effects are of particular importance to a runner looking for ways to recover faster, prevent injuries, and improve performance.

Hands-on Health offers a ‘marathon package’ for all you runners out there. The offer is basically a 10% discount off two one-hour massage treatments before, and one after, your event. This can either be paid up front – £108 instead of £120 – or pay as you go – the normal price of £40 for the first two appointments and just £28 for the third.

And, yes, if you’re doing a triathlon, or a half-marathon, or a 10k, or a 5k, or a commando challenge, or a cycling race, you qualify for the package too.

Just give us a call on 01395 224207 to book in your dates, before your race catches up with you!

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Some of our clients take their fitness very seriously, and don’t want to veg out even when they’re on holiday. Sue Sutherland, with husband Alan, recently took off for a month in their campervan to tour around Spain’s Costa Dorada – and she took a TRX with her!

When she’s not enjoying lots of sangria and paella, Sue’s been attaching her TRX to railings, trees or playground climbing frames, and following the programme Albie set for her, ensuring that her first session back at Hands-on Health won’t be a shock to the system…

And rather than a postcard, she sent us some photos and video of one of her workouts in Cambrils.

Well done Sue – you’re an inspiration!

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We have TRX clients ranging in age from 18 to 80, all with different objectives, who are finding that it’s changing their lives – and they just keep coming back for more.

In this blog, we hear from some of our over 50s, who are loving what they’re achieving with TRX.

“Individual attention although we’re in a class”

Julia Chapple (80) lives in Exmouth and has been a massage patient of Albie’s for some years. She’s been doing regular TRX training at Hands-on Health for about 18 months.

“I like to keep fit. I’m no longer able to go to the gym because of back problems, but I can do TRX at my own pace, faster when I feel up to it and slower when I don’t. It’s a great alternative to the gym because it doesn’t affect my back problem, and it’s fun where going to the gym can be boring – with TRX there’s a variety that keeps your mind going as well as your body.

“TRX uses the muscles you’ve got, and works you aerobically too. For older women like me it means you’re getting toned, especially your core muscles and around the tummy, hips and bum, and it’s aerobic at the same time. And you don’t damage yourself like you can with some kinds of energetic exercise when you’re older. With TRX at Hands-on Health you have somebody recognising the limits of your body, and watching you to make sure you’re doing it right. Albie makes sure that the exercises fit my ability – so someone else in my class might be doing things differently to address their own physical problem. We get individual attention even though we’re in a class.

“I feel fit, and I do TRX as my body allows. It would be difficult to do some of the exercises you do in a gym when you’re not feeling 100%, but TRX is adaptable. So I can still do something, even if my back is bad, and it helps lift my spirits because I realise there are still things I can do.”

“TRX ought to be on the NHS!”

Getting yourself back to fitness after surgery is another situation where TRX is really effective. Ed Caudrelier (63) also lives in Exmouth and had a total left knee replacement earlier this year. After a friend recommended TRX for rehabilitation, he came for a free taster, and he is already feeling the benefits after just three sessions.

“TRX ought to be on the NHS! It’s absolutely brilliant. I was told that you can walk on the actual knee replacement half an hour after the operation – it’s the damage to all the soft tissue around it that’s the problem!  So TRX is helping me to build up the strength in the muscles around my knee that atrophied while I was waiting for my operation.

“Albie is brilliant at targeting the right muscles. My leg is already stronger and I have more mobility. When I walk upstairs I’m now putting my weight through my left leg – where I used to hobble up, I now walk up three flights properly.

“Just as TRX was recommended to me, I would recommend it to anybody – and I have already sent a friend along!”

“Jolly good value”

Henry Pryse (54) lives in Exeter and has had two hip resurfacing operations. He started TRX training at Hands-on Health in order to gain confidence and fitness.

“I wanted to use and push my body a bit more. I was cycling and doing a bit of swimming, but wanted to build up stamina, strength and endurance. I had been doing pilates too, and didn’t think there’d be time for it all, but I’ve been shoehorning it all in on my day off, by cycling down to Exmouth for TRX.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised at my increased flexibility, and I feel I’m pushing myself into areas I haven’t been before. My core stability is improving (very important after having had my hips done) and I’ve even been doing TRX press-ups which have inspired me to keep some press-ups going at home – something I’d never have done!

“Albie is a very good instructor; he provides a very good mix of challenge and encouragement. He’s a  good communicator, relaxed, and adds a bit of humour to the sessions too – you don’t feel intimidated or under pressure – it’s fun! It’s also jolly good value – with three people in the class at the most, it’s much cheaper than one-to-one fitness classes.

“I needed something like this. I’m not interested in the gym, and I need someone telling me what to do – that’s why it works so well for me.

“There are endless combinations of exercises that you can do. I’ve just had two endurance sessions and I can really see the benefit. My walking has improved and I haven’t had any back twinges either.”

“I am now confidently on the road to rebuilding strength”

Even after years of poor posture and wear and tear, regular TRX training quickly pays dividends. Jennifer Kirkham-Sandy (59) from Exeter took up TRX on the recommendation of a friend and work colleague.

“I have been surprised at the speed of progress – each week there has been a noticeable difference – not something you expect when you’re 59!

“First I noticed I could hold good posture at my desk without tiring – no slumping in front of the computer! Then I could paint my toenails comfortably. Next an unexpected bonus – noticeably stronger breath control with my singing.

“Most recently, there’s been further improvement in posture and I’ve become aware of a skew to my movements to compensate for my weaker leg, which is recovering from arthritis. With help from my trainer Maria, I am now confidently on the road to rebuilding strength in that weakened leg.

“I have been delighted by Maria’s encouraging approach, to gently move me on to new challenges.”

“I bounced out feeling better!”

Shirley North (77) comes from Exeter every week with friends to do TRX at Hands-on Health.

“l always liked to keep fit, but after having had my second knee replacement, I found I didn’t get about as much as I should, and I wanted something to keep me going. When my friend suggested TRX, I didn’t think I’d like it – but I thoroughly enjoy it now!

I’d used a stick for four years before my operation last November, and it had affected my posture. Once I started TRX I felt an improvement pretty well straight away – I bounced out feeling better! And my daughter was pleased because she said my posture had improved.

“I feel fit. Albie’s very good at giving you tips, and TRX works very quickly, enough for you to want to carry on after the first six weeks. I’m sure my knee has got better quicker as a result.

“I’ve recommended it to friends – it’s great as a carry-on from the post-operative physiotherapy that you get from the hospital. Personally I’m thrilled to bits with it.”

If you want to see what TRX training can do for you, call 01395 224207 and book in for a no-obligation, free 15-minute taster session with Albie or Maria.

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The study, A Comparison of the Effects of 2 Types of Massage and Usual Care on Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized, Controlled Trial, involved 400 patients who had had low back pain for at least three months. Their pain was ‘nonspecific’, meaning with no identified cause. They were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: structural massage, relaxation massage, or usual care. Usual care was what they would have received anyway, most often medications. The hour-long massage treatments were given weekly for 10 weeks.

The results were interesting.

At 10 weeks, more than one in three patients who received either type of massage—but only one in 25 patients who got usual care—said their back pain was much better or gone. Also at 10 weeks, a questionnaire showed nearly twice as many massage patients (around two-thirds) as usual-care patients (more than one third) were functioning significantly better than at the trial’s outset. Patients in the massage groups spent fewer days in bed, were more active, and used less anti-inflammatory medication than did those with usual  care.

But that’s not all. According to the trial leader, Dr Daniel Cherkin: “We found the benefits of massage are about as strong as those reported for other effective treatments: medications, acupuncture, exercise, and yoga. And massage is at least as safe as other treatment options. So people who have persistent back pain may want to consider massage as an option.”

So, if you’re not too happy about taking painkillers all the time, then massage, acupuncture, exercise or yoga would seem like a good plan!

Read a report of the trial here.

At our Exmouth eco-clinic, we offer a multi-disciplinary team approach involving acupuncture, massage therapies, McTimoney chiropractic, myofascial release, nutrition, reflexology, circuit training, corrective exercise, Pilates, Tai Chi, TRX, yoga and more.

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