About Tim Young | Pain & Mobility Therapist Nelson

ABOUT TIM

Pain & Mobility Therapist

Helping people move better, feel better and find a way forward.

I’m Tim Young, with more than 25 years’ experience in healthcare, rehabilitation and hands-on therapeutic massage experience.

My approach has been shaped by professional experience, years of working with people in pain and, importantly, my own experience of persistent back pain.

ABOUT TIM

Pain & Mobility Therapist

Helping people move better, feel better and find a way forward.

I’m Tim Young, with more than 25 years’ experience in healthcare, rehabilitation and hands-on therapeutic massage experience.

My approach has been shaped by professional experience, years of working with people in pain and, importantly, my own experience of persistent back pain.

My Journey into healthcare

My interest in healthcare started early. My mum was a nurse, and from the age of eight I was involved with St John as a youth cadet, remaining involved until I was 25.

This led me into nursing and a career spanning more than 25 years in healthcare, including several years in rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation taught me that it doesn’t matter how long someone has been struggling or how bad things feel at the beginning. With the right approach, support and consistent effort, meaningful improvements can be made.

It also taught me that recovery isn’t a straight line. There are good days and difficult days. Pain can be exhausting, and sometimes people need someone alongside them to keep moving in the right direction.

An experience that changed how I think about recovery

I worked one-to-one in a live-in rehabilitation role with a man in his 70s who was severely physically limited by pain and restricted movement.

Over four years, through a consistent approach combining exercise, movement, stretching, hands-on treatment, encouragement and accountability, he went from struggling to walk a few hundred metres to ballroom dancing for an hour a day, five days a week.

His recovery was slow and far from linear, with plenty of setbacks along the way. Working with him twice a day, seven days a week, I developed a deep understanding of how a body can change through persistent pain, and how it responds to movement and hands-on treatment.

I learned to listen with my hands.

Most importantly, I learned that recovery takes time, commitment and consistency. Hands-on treatment can play an important role, but it works best as part of a broader approach that helps people move, build confidence and take an active role in their recovery.

Then I found myself living with persistent pain

During COVID, I fell out of my usual routine and was spending hours sitting and reading each morning. One day, I stood up from the couch and felt a sudden, severe jolt in my lower back. My back, hips and legs tightened almost immediately.

For several months, the pain was constant and severe. Sitting, driving and sleeping were difficult. Although it eventually eased, it never completely went away. For the next three years, I experienced periods of persistent pain and stiffness.

I tried stretching, yoga and exercises I had used successfully in rehabilitation, but the results were temporary. Eventually, I developed a simple movement sequence based on a modified sun salutation, focusing on gentle strengthening rather than stretching.

Practising it consistently every day changed everything. Within weeks, the pain disappeared, followed by the stiffness and other lingering symptoms.

The biggest lesson was that recovery required the right kind of movement, consistency and patience.

Most importantly, I got my freedom back — the freedom to live normally without the constant nag of pain.

That experience changed how I understand persistent pain and shapes how I work today. I combine hands-on treatment, movement, education and practical strategies to help you find a way forward that works for you.

My Approach

Hands-on treatment

Hands-on treatment can be an effective way of reducing discomfort, easing tension and helping you move more freely.

Movement & mobility

Understanding how you move and what affects your symptoms helps us identify what approaches will be most useful for you.

Strength & self-management

For many people, hands-on treatment is only part of the answer. Building strength and confidence is essential for longer-term progress.

Education

Understanding your pain can change how you respond to it. I’ll help you understand what may be happening and what you can do between appointments.

My Approach

Hands-on treatment

Hands-on treatment can be an effective way of reducing discomfort, easing tension and helping you move more freely.

Movement & mobility

Understanding how you move and what affects your symptoms helps us identify what approaches will be most useful for you.

Strength & self-management

For many people, hands-on treatment is only part of the answer. Building strength and confidence is essential for longer-term progress.

Education

Understanding your pain can change how you respond to it. I’ll help you understand what may be happening and what you can do between appointments.

I’m a big believer in keeping things practical. If you need exercises or strategies to work on between appointments, I’d rather give you a few things that make sense — things you will actually do. Consistency matters more than complexity.

My experience

25+ years healthcare experience

A broad understanding of health, injury and recovery.

16+ years hands-on treatment

Extensive experience working with acute and persistent pain.

Registered Nurse

Bachelor of Nursing, UNITEC

4 years in rehabilitation

Experience supporting people through complex physical limitations.

Thai Massage

Level 4 Diploma, 300 hours

Yoga

Teacher certified with 15+ years of personal practice

What you can expect

I take time to listen and understand the full picture.

I’m calm, thoughtful and unhurried.

You’ll leave feeling heard, supported and with a clearer idea of what comes next.

Sometimes it’s treatment. Sometimes it’s explanation. Sometimes it’s both.

My goal is meaningful results that help you get back to doing what matters to you.

Why I do this work

I get a kick out of helping people feel better. Seeing someone move more freely, regain confidence or return to activities they thought they might have lost is incredibly rewarding.

There are no guarantees and no single treatment that works for everyone. But with the right support, a practical approach and consistent effort, meaningful progress is often possible.

My goal is simple: to help you understand your body, move with more confidence and find a practical route out of pain and discomfort.