Sports therapist Sophie Lamb opens new clinic in a bid to help ease Sunderland strains

Sophie Lamb has opened her sports therapy clinic on the ground floor of Gildacre Fields in Southwick.

Not only will she be providing a service for residents and staff at the independent living retirement development, her clinic will be offering massages, acupuncture and more for the wider community.

With more people working from home, Sophie has noticed a rise in demand for neck and shoulder treatments and she’s hoping to take the burden off the NHS which can often have long waiting lists for equivalent massages.

Sophie said: “I’ve been self employed for seven years working in other clinics, but decided I had enough clients to open my own place and help fill a gap in the market in the city for sports therapy clinics.”

Services Sophie offers include: initial injury assessment, sports massage, acupuncture, pregnancy massage and lymphatic drainage massage.

The businesswoman added: “My aim is to get my name out there even more to help take the burden and strain off the NHS, GPs and physios, as we all know their wait times can be anywhere between 8-12 weeks at the moment.“Most of my clientele are your average sort of person rather than sporty and athletic. I see people from retired age to hairdressers to tradesmen to office workers, all with ailments ranging from back pain, sciatica, knee pain to general aches and pains.”Sophie says that home workers are often requiring her services.

"With so many people working from home, they are often sat at a dining table on a dining chair instead of a proper office chair, so I’ve noticed an increase in neck and shoulder strains,” she said. “That can also come from people constantly looking at their phones these days. “Regular massages are also great as a preventative measure.”

Speaking about why she chose Gildacre, she said: “It’s a great development and this is an ideal space, especially as it’s on bus routes and has free parking at the back so it’s easy for people to get to.”

Sophie’s prices start from £30 for a half hour standard massage, upper or lower, and £45 for an hour.