Aching Joints? Shiatsu in Cheltenham & Gloucester Can Help
- Andrea Marsh
- Nov 3
- 6 min read
If you’re reading this, you may have noticed that your joints are feeling stiffer than they used to. Maybe you wake up and your knees or hips take a while to “warm up”. Or perhaps everything’s fine when you’re moving, but after you’ve sat for a while your joints seize up. You’re not alone — and today we’ll explore why this happens, how it relates to joint pain and even arthritis, and what you can do to feel better. As a local shiatsu practitioner based in Cheltenham & Gloucester, I’ll also explain how gentle, targeted shiatsu therapy can support your joint health.
My Personal Journey with Aching Joints
I’ve had joint pain for as long as I can remember — my knees, pelvis, neck and back all gave me grief. As a child I was told “growing pains”, even though the discomfort didn’t really vanish when I got older. Thankfully studying shiatsu changed everything for me and resolved my lifelong tension patterns. Now I focus on helping others with aching joints, arthritis, stiffness and mobility issues in our local area.
What’s Really Going On When Your Joints Ache?
When you think of a joint you probably think of two bones meeting. But in reality each joint is far more complex: it’s bones + cartilage + ligaments + tendons + muscles + joint fluid + blood supply. In the UK, 10 million+ people live with some form of Arthritis. So if your joints ache, it’s not always simply “wear and tear”.
Joints: More than just bones
The ends of bones are covered in cartilage which acts as a shock-absorber. When that cartilage wears down you get pain, stiffness, limited movement.
Ligaments and tendons help hold things together and transmit force.
Muscles provide movement and stability.
Joint fluid nourishes the surfaces and helps lubrication.
Blood supplies nutrients and clears waste.
When any of those components aren’t working optimally, you can get joint ache, stiffness, and restricted mobility — even if you don’t have diagnosed arthritis.
Why Joints Feel Stiff, Especially on Waking or After Sitting
It’s common to feel stiff when you first get out of bed or after you’ve been sedentary. Here’s why:
Overnight or during long sits, your joints stay static. Fluids & blood flow slow. They need movement to “wake up”.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) terms: your body stores and pools “blood” overnight (in TCM sense), so by the morning your limbs may feel cold and tight until circulation improves.
Diet, low nutrient intake, inflammation and “inflamm-aging” (low-level chronic inflammation) can slow everything down.
When you move, stretch, rotate joints gently, you increase lubrication, blood flow and warmth — and the joints begin to feel better.
If you wake and rub your knees or wrists to loosen up, that’s your body saying: “Right — I’m ready to move now.”
Why Inflammation and Stiffness Isn’t Just Age-Related
Yes, you might hear “it’s just ageing”. But age itself doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be the one hobbling around. Many factors play key roles:
Low-level inflammation (even if your joint isn’t red or obviously swollen) can cause the stiffness and ache.
Lifestyle, diet, nutrient deficiencies, movement habits all matter.
For example, in osteoarthritis the cartilage thins, joint space reduces, and bones may develop spurs — but this isn’t inevitable just because of age.
Being sedentary, eating processed foods, or lacking movement will accelerate joint issues.
In short: your joints can be better, not simply “worn out”.
Handy Tip to Wake Up Your Joints
In TCM terms we have a term Liver Blood. Overnight your blood is cleansed of toxins (if your liver is working optimally – another blog!) it then stores blood in the liver until your body is ready to move in the morning. Your extremities can be left cold or stiff due to a lack of circulation in the night. Here’s a simple warm-up you can do before getting out of bed (or when you’ve sat for too long):
Rotate your ankles and wrists
While still lying or seated, rotate your ankles clockwise and then anti-clockwise for 1-2 minutes each side.
Do the same with wrists.
This sends a signal to your body: “I’m going to move now”. The pooled blood starts flowing, joint fluid loosens, and your joints feel warmer and more responsive.
Do this daily for a couple of weeks and you should notice the difference.
How to Resolve Aching Joints
If your joints are persistently hot and swollen, you’ll likely have seen a GP already. But what about the chronic, niggling stiffness or the ache you just can’t quite shake? That’s where holistic therapies like shiatsu can help — complementing your mainstream care.
Here are four key areas your joints need:
1. Stretch
Tight muscles restrict joint movement. A joint that can’t open and close freely will become stiff and sore. Stretching releases tension and allows fluid and blood to flow properly. A swollen joint is one that is too full in TCM terms and shiatsu can release this condition.
2. Strengthen
Muscles that are weak or exhausted don’t support your joints well — especially shoulders, hips, knees. In TCM terms they might be “empty” rather than “over-tense”. Strength and nourishment help the joints work better. They’re not tense as in tight more like tense as in brittle; if you push me, I will snap (as I am not able to do the job at present). This is a chronic condition and is resolved with nutrients, energetic strengthening and, where applicable physical strengthening. This is where shiatsu is incredibly beneficial.
3. Nourish
You won’t always get all the nutrients you need from diet alone. Poor nutrition + stress + active lifestyle = joints that don’t recover well. For example: magnesium is key for muscle recovery and joint comfort.
Supplements are needed if you have tired aching joints. Magnesium is the #1 for muscles. I sent my Magnesium cream to a friend only the other week who is doing a lot of gym work and though doing really well said: I’m just aching all the time. My response: You haven’t got enough nutrients to recover from the amount of exercise you are doing. She applied the cream and the aches disappeared within minutes. You. Need. Magnesium!
On a broader note, blood carries nutrients to your joints - the bones and muscles to help them recover. If nutrients are all directed to combatting stress, then you’re limiting your recovery. Sinews like ligaments, tendons and cartilage don’t receive a direct blood supply and can take 10 times longer to recover when injured; supplementation will boost your recovery time.
4. Treat Muscles & Soft Tissue Gently
Muscles hold tensions, trauma and emotional stress. Tight muscles pull on joints, impacting mobility, posture, alignment. A good session of shiatsu gently listens to your body — supporting where needed, releasing where stuck, aligning skeleton gently — rather than forcing it (as some therapies do).
While conventional medicine provides guidance, shiatsu takes into account soft-tissue, circulation and energetic and emotional support too.
Why Choose Andrea at Shiatsu Bodyworks Cheltenham & Gloucester for Joint Care
If you're based around Cheltenham, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, or the wider Cotswolds region and you’re looking for a gentle, effective therapy for joint aches, here’s why I believe shiatsu benefits you:
I specialise in joint mobility, ache relief, stiffness reduction, and clients often report less pain and more freedom after treatment.
Shiatsu treats your whole body — not just the joint. The pelvis, spine, shoulders, neck all influence how your joints feel.
Regular shiatsu acts as a preventative for joint issues and can support those with diagnosed arthritis or inflammatory conditions by working on underlying energetics and soft-tissue health.
My practice is locally accessible, friendly, and I'll support you with lifestyle and exercise options to help you between appointments.
What’s the Next Step?
Stretching and nutrition are a great start — but if you’re unsure or need more support, book a shiatsu session with me. Together we’ll review your joint and health history, movement patterns, stiffness triggers, and design a personalised plan to get you moving freely again.
If you’re in the Cheltenham or Gloucester area and you’re sick of achy knees, shoulders, hips or simply want to keep your joints healthy as you age — I’d love to help.
➡ Book your session today and let’s get your joints back in motion with gentle, effective shiatsu.
Your mind and body deserve more... You deserve shiatsu...
About Andrea at Shiatsu Bodyworks Cheltenham
Andrea is a qualified Shiatsu and Chinese medicine practitioner with over 20 years immersed in holistic therapies and the energetics of mind and body. Based in Cheltenham, UK she offers in house clinic and online shiatsu sessions to help people with midlife health issues and also offers online consultations for helping you resolve health issues and regain your vitality. She is a menopause specialist too, find out more at cotswoldmenopause.co.uk
Shiatsu Bodyworks - Gentle body work to make your body work better
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