Massage and Ear Acupuncture in Middlesbrough for Stress, Tension and Burnout Relief
Relax & Reset at Deanna Thomas Acupuncture & Wellbeing. Therapeutic massage and gentle ear acupuncture with Anthony, in a calm, supportive Acklam clinic. For when your nervous system has been running too hot for too long.
✨ Currently £54 £90 · introductory pricing
Appointment-only clinic. Booking is paid via Fresha to secure your time.
✨ 800+ five-star reviews across Google & Fresha
When You're Carrying Too Much, Your Body Will Tell You First
Tight shoulders that won't drop. A jaw you didn't realise you were clenching. Sleep that doesn't quite reach the deep, restorative kind. Headaches that have become part of your week. The vague, low-level wired-and-tired feeling that follows you into Sunday and quietly steals the weekend before it's even started.
If any of that sounds like you, you're not making it up, and you're not weak for finding it hard. You've been holding a lot. The body keeps the score, and at some point it asks to be heard.
Our Relax & Reset massage and ear acupuncture in Middlesbrough is a treatment designed precisely for that moment, when you know you need to switch off, but switching off has become the hardest thing you do all week.
What This Treatment Is For
🌿Stress & Burnout
For the version of you that has been running on adrenaline for months. Massage softens the body. Ear acupuncture quietens the nervous system. Together they help you actually feel calm, not just the absence of urgency.
✨Tension Relief & Tight Shoulders
Tension headaches, locked neck and shoulders, jaw tightness, and the kind of stiffness that builds up from too many hours at a desk or too many nights of broken sleep. We work with where you actually hold it.
🌙Sleep & Nervous System Reset
If your mind won't switch off at night and you're waking at 3am with your shoulders already up around your ears, this is for you. The combination shifts your body out of fight-or-flight and into rest-and-digest, so sleep can actually land.
What Happens in a Relax & Reset Session
Your 65-minute Relax & Reset session combines two therapies that work beautifully together for stress relief. You don't have to do anything except arrive and let yourself be looked after.
1. Therapeutic massage with Anthony (35 minutes)
A personalised therapeutic massage tailored to where you actually carry your tension. Some clients want focused work on the neck, shoulders and upper back. Others need a slower full body relaxation massage to wind everything down. Anthony will check in with you at the start and adjust pressure and focus to suit. Warming, nourishing oils. A quiet room. No rush.
2. Ear acupuncture (30 minutes)
Once your body has softened, Anthony places up to five small, sterile needles in specific points on each ear, using either the NADA protocol or the Battlefield Acupuncture protocol depending on what you need. You don't need to talk. You can rest, breathe, or drift. This is the part where the nervous system genuinely shifts gear.
You'll leave with a clearer head, looser shoulders, and the version of calm that doesn't disappear the moment you get back in the car. Many clients tell us they sleep better that night than they have done in weeks.
A Calm, Private Space
Soft lighting. Warming oils. A heated treatment couch. The room is set up to do one thing well, which is to help you stop bracing.
There's no busy waiting room, no clipboard at reception, no tinny background music. The pace is slow from the moment you walk in, because that's the pace your nervous system actually responds to.
Most clients tell us the room feels like a held breath being let out.
Massage & Ear Acupuncture Services in Middlesbrough
Our full menu of stress relief and recovery treatments with Anthony. Pricing is transparent and bookable online. The Relax & Reset session is our most popular for nervous system support and is featured below.
Book Online via Fresha
What Clients Say About Anthony's Massage and Ear Acupuncture in Middlesbrough
★★★★★
"I feel like something has lifted, and I feel so much more like me again."
"My acupuncture experience with Anthony has been excellent. I've had 4 acupuncture sessions now, for headaches and arm pain. My pain has been really bad for around 6 months, I've been grieving and it affected my whole wellbeing. My arm pain released after the first session and my headache has lifted after each session. After the 3rd session my headaches has completely lifted and I have also felt so much better in my overall wellbeing. Thank you x"
Amanda W. · Verified Fresha review★★★★★
"I literally float out of the building. No tension, no pain, no stress, huge smile."
"Everyone should experience this! Always feel like a new woman after a relax and reset massage and ear acupuncture. Anthony makes me feel at ease and is very good at what he does. I'll be back again!"
Liz P. · Verified Fresha review★★★★★"Friendly welcome from Anthony who explained the best massage for my symptoms. Felt relaxed and comfortable throughout the massage. Also had acupuncture in both ears, felt relaxed, nearly falling asleep, so chilled out. Once home relaxed feeling continued. One of the best massages I have received. Anthony was so knowledgeable regarding both treatments."
Sharon P. · Verified Fresha review ★★★★★"Had a wonderful massage and ear acupuncture, I felt so relaxed and balanced afterwards. Highly recommend and will be back."
Natasha M. · Verified Fresha review 800+ five-star reviews Across Google and Fresha. Tracked individually. Real clients, real outcomes.
Your Practitioner: Anthony Thomas
Calm, trauma-informed, fully insured
Anthony works with clients across Teesside who need a steady, unhurried space to come back to themselves. His training combines auricular acupuncture (NADA GB Certified, renewed annually), Level 3 Battlefield Acupuncture, VTCT Level 3 Sports Massage, and certified Cupping Therapy practice (IGCT and IPHM accredited).
He is FHT Registered, licensed to practise acupuncture by Middlesbrough Council, and fully insured with Balens Specialist Insurance. More importantly for the people who book this session, he is genuinely calm. There's no rush, no small talk you have to manage, and no pressure to explain anything you'd rather not.
Anthony works Monday to Saturday, with late Wednesday evening appointments now available. That means you can book around school runs, shift patterns, late finishes at work, and the realities of a full diary.
Book a Session with Anthony
Why Massage and Ear Acupuncture Work So Well Together for Stress
Most stress relief treatments do one of two things. They work the body, or they calm the mind. The Relax & Reset combination does both, in the order your nervous system actually needs.
The therapeutic massage component physically releases the muscular tension you've been carrying. Tight trapezius. Locked rhomboids. Stiff suboccipitals at the base of the skull. The places that headaches start.
Once the body has softened, ear acupuncture goes deeper. The five NADA points (Sympathetic, Shen Men, Kidney, Liver and Lung) are used in addiction and trauma clinics around the world precisely because they help shift the nervous system out of fight-or-flight and into rest-and-digest. Ear acupuncture has been studied for stress, anxiety, sleep, and PTSD support, and is offered through the NHS in some settings as part of mental health and recovery programmes.
The combination is what makes it work. Massage opens the door. Ear acupuncture walks the body through it.
Your Visit, From Arrival to Leaving
If it's been a while since you booked something just for you, here's exactly what to expect when you arrive for your massage and ear acupuncture appointment in Middlesbrough. Nothing rushed, nothing surprising, nothing you have to perform for.
1
Park & arrive
Pull up at Acklam Shopping Parade (free for two hours) or on the surrounding residential streets. Allow a few extra minutes at lunchtimes or during rush hour. The clinic is at The House, 283 Acklam Road.
2
Settle in
Anthony will greet you and walk you through to a quiet, private treatment room. The pace is slow from the moment you walk in. No busy waiting room, no clipboard at reception.
3
A brief check-in
A short conversation about how you're feeling today and where you'd like the focus. No long medical history needed. You can share as much or as little as you want to.
4
Therapeutic massage (35 minutes)
Personalised therapeutic massage with warming oils. Anthony adjusts pressure to suit, focusing on the neck, shoulders, back or wherever you carry your tension most.
5
Ear acupuncture (30 minutes)
Up to five small needles placed gently in each ear using NADA or Battlefield protocol. You don't need to talk. Most clients drift, breathe, or rest deeply at this point.
6
Leave at your own pace
No rushed exit. Take a moment to come back to yourself, drink some water, and step back into the day with looser shoulders and a quieter mind.
Is This Right for You?
This is for you if you're
- Burnt out, wired-and-tired, or running on empty
- Carrying tension headaches, tight shoulders or jaw clenching
- Struggling with sleep, restlessness or 3am wake-ups
- Recovering from a stressful season at work or at home
- Looking for stress-relief massage in Middlesbrough that goes deeper than a spa treatment
- Wanting massage and acupuncture in one session, with no need to repeat your story to two practitioners
This is probably not for you if you're
- Looking for sports massage, deep tissue work for athletic recovery, or DOMS support (see our Sports Massage page)
- Dealing with an acute injury that needs a GP, A&E or physio first
- Wanting fertility, IVF or pregnancy acupuncture (see Deanna's Fertility Acupuncture page)
- Hoping for a single-session fix. This works, but it works best when nervous system care is part of how you live
Middlesbrough Massage & Ear Acupuncture Clinic: Visit Us in Acklam
The House, 283 Acklam Road
Middlesbrough, TS5 7BP
Parking: Free two-hour parking is available at Acklam Shopping Parade. It can be busy at lunchtimes and rush hour, so allow a few extra minutes. Additional parking is available on the surrounding residential streets.
Booking: We're an appointment-only clinic. All appointments are paid upon booking via Fresha to secure your time.
Easily reached from across Teesside: Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees, Thornaby, Eaglescliffe, Ingleby Barwick, Marton, Nunthorpe, Redcar, Saltburn, Guisborough, Stokesley, Billingham, Hartlepool, Darlington and Northallerton.
Ready to Switch Off Properly?
If your shoulders are already up around your ears reading this, you don't need another to-do list. You need 65 minutes of being looked after by someone who knows what they're doing. Late Wednesday evening slots and Saturday appointments are bookable online.
✨ Currently £54 £90 · introductory pricing · available on Treatment Membership Plans
No pressure to commit to a programme. This is a single session, designed to give your nervous system a proper break.
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