“I started off in beauty therapy then went into holistic therapy, and eventually massage, which became my speciality. My business partner and I did a holistic massage course (which includes sports, Reiki and relaxing Swedish) with an American couple from California. We are the only ones in Malta who are trained in this and they are the ones who taught us about on-site massage,” said Christine Vella Wallbank.

She had brought along her special massage chair and proceeded to demonstrate on our advertising manager Sean Ellul, who was all too willing to be our “guinea pig”.

“The idea is to offer this service to companies who wish to give an added benefit to their staff. We can do it on a contract basis, and can tailor-make a package for once a week, a fortnight, a month, or whatever they require. It depends on how much they are willing to invest both in time and financially.”

Now employers may be reading this and wondering, “why on earth should I offer this to my staff?” Well, first of all, if you care for the well-being of your employees, there is every chance that they will show their appreciation by becoming more productive, which is good news for the company. This is not just a theory either, as Christine explained.

“In a test over a five-week period, 24 people were given a massage every week and their productivity increased; they were able to manage their workload better and even interpersonal relationships with other staff members improved. After all, if you’re in pain because of stress you’re bound to be irritable towards others. Even your family suffers when you go home, as does your social life. Meanwhile, in a control group, 24 people were asked to simply close their eyes and relax, but this made no difference to their productivity.”

Christine pointed out that with massage therapy, even sick-leave goes down as does the reliance on anti-inflammatory pills or anti-anxiety pills to overcome pain and stress.

“Many people can’t afford to keep taking sick-leave either, while pills just stop it for the moment but don’t cure the problem. Massage therapy should be ongoing for maximum benefits.”

Since the massage is done at the office, it is non-invasive, ie it is done while the person is fully clothed, which might make it more appealing to some people. It has been described as being “better than a coffee break” because the idea is to leave your work space and clutter for 15 minutes. Christine sets up her chair in a secluded space for privacy and staff are scheduled accordingly.

“While you’re getting the massage, you stop thinking about work. It has been proven that when the mind is clear, it can be more productive.”

She listed the most common problems related to office jobs:

“Most people have repetitive stress injury due to bad posture, sedentary jobs, being on a keyboard for a whole day and not being able to stretch. It is very harmful to sit in the same position, hunched over with no mobilisation whatsoever. If your monitor is turned at an angle, you can get an injury in your neck, so it has to be positioned in a correct way, directly in front of you. Poor ventilation, bad lighting, air conditioning and the wrong type of chair are also factors which need to be considered.”

Christine explained that her massage starts with the shoulders, normally the main stress area since arms are always in the same position because of the keyboard. Then she moves to the lower back; when a person is continuously seated, there is a lot of strain on this part of the body as well. After the arms, she continues with the hands, which are always very tense.

“We can relieve the negative energy by using special movements to remove the stress which is collected in the fingers. The most important part is the neck and head where muscles can become so tight, and which is the main cause of migraines, headaches and stiff necks. Slouching into the chair is also bad because the muscles in the lower vertebrae are being shortened, so they suffer.”

As Christine is trained in a holistic approach as well as in nutrition she can give employees recommendations on their diet and lifestyle as well. This includes cutting out coffee, cigarettes and fatty foods which take a long time to digest.

“When the body needs a lot of energy to digest food you become sluggish and feel very tired. That means you won’t be very productive so it is better to eat lightly, sticking to fruit, salads and sandwiches.”

Asked about the number one ailment she comes across among office workers, Christine says that it has to be shoulder pain because trapped nerves from the head down to the arm can cause a certain numbness.

“If muscles seize, they will trap the nerve which is very painful. Sometimes it may be simply a matter of moving your monitor so I usually ask to see the person’s work space to see what is causing it. I can offer a whole consultation about their health in order to build a profile of each person and keep a file on them so that we can then trace their progress.

“Ideally, on-site massage therapy involves constant assessment and monitoring of employees to check their improvement. I can also offer this service to corporate incentive groups which may be in Malta for a short period.”