Massages have many well-known health benefits – easing muscle tension, improving circulation, helping with stress – but they’re probably not the first thing you’d think of when you’re trying to re-learn how to walk. In August last year, Sam Sahai suffered a riding accident that fractured her spine – leaving her a paraplegic within moments. She was airlifted to Southampton, where surgeons carried out a complex spinal operation, fusing five vertebrae with metal rods and plates.
Just a week later, Sam was back in Jersey and beginning the painstaking process of learning to walk again. She slowly graduated from a zimmer frame to crutches, and by October was strong enough to begin hydrotherapy – a water-based rehab that rebuilds muscle and teaches balance without putting pressure on the spine.
However, even with the hospital’s treatment programme, parts of her recovery remained untouched. Large patches of skin on her hips and legs were still numb, leaving parts of her body feeling foreign. Friends suggested massage treatments, but every therapist turned her away, citing concerns about the metalwork in her spine.
Tables turned when she met Les at Natural Therapies – a complementary therapy clinic who respect clinical practice and work alongside medical professionals. Their mission is to support people during clinical intervention where appropriate, referring to clinicians when therapy is insufficient in itself as a course of action. As a retired paramedic with a reputation for taking on complicated cases, Les wasn’t fazed by surgical scars or spinal implants. At their first session, he studied Sam’s X-rays, reviewed her medication, and examined the deep scar that ran along her back.
Les’ approach was far from a spa-style massage. His treatment focused on fascia release – a targeted technique designed to free trapped tissue, stimulate blood flow and reawaken nerves dulled by trauma. Within a couple of sessions, Sam regained around 95% of sensation in her legs. By the fifth, full feeling had returned – something that she had never imagined possible.
Outside of regular treatments, Les suggested other supportive therapies: aqua classes where lifeguards kept an eye on her, regular sauna visits to ease muscle tension, and handmade scar oils blended by his wife Michelle – a Clinical Aromatherapist – to keep the healing skin pliable. Between appointments, Les remembered everything: which exercises she was supposed to be doing, upcoming hospital check ups and how her body was responding to coming off pain medication. “He has a lovely way of communicating,” she said. “If I had been busy and hadn’t done my exercises, he’d just support me with that. He had a genuine interest in how I was getting on, backed up by really good knowledge.”
The effect of Les’ treatments became even more obvious when he went on holiday. She missed two sessions, and could feel the difference. “When he left, I was in a very good place – I was back riding, doing light gardening and exercising again,” she said. “But without his sessions, I started to notice how much tension and stiffness returned.” It showed that Les’ treatments were at the centre of her recovery, allowing her to heal more quickly and completely than she would have otherwise.
Six months after the accident, Sam was able to get back in the saddle. Whilst the first rides were nothing glamorous – slow walks up and down her own driveway, supported either side by her husband and daughter – they allowed her to regain an element of her life that after the accident had felt lost. Her short rides, taken on a trusted pony, grew slowly in distance. Often, she would walk beside him, using him to steady her. “I’m convinced he understood what was going on,” she said. “This pony usually loves to run. But when I was with him, he’s careful. He knows how to take care of me.”
Ten months on, Sam still sees Les regularly. She plans to continue until she reaches the one-year mark – by then, she hopes scans will show her spine has healed enough to begin working with a personal trainer and properly rebuild the muscle she lost. At that point, Les’ role will shift from essential treatment to occasional maintenance – a safety net she knows she’ll always be grateful for.
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