What I Do!
And why I have such a high success rate for treating conditions such as sciatic pain, headaches, neck tension, shoulder pain, elbow pain, low back pain, hip pain, knee pain, and foot pain.
It's not your traditional spa-like massage.
My primary focus is corrective bodywork—helping restore balance between muscles that are working too hard and their opposing muscles that aren’t doing enough. Think of your biceps and triceps: when one contracts, the other is supposed to relax.
Every muscle in the body works in relationship with an opposing muscle or muscle group. When that relationship becomes unbalanced, one muscle may remain overly tight and protective while its counterpart becomes inhibited or too lax. Or, it's contracting when it should be relaxing, thereby blocking the stretch. It's very common and we call this "contraction on the short".
I address this by releasing trigger points in the muscles that are too tight, then stretching it while using neuromusclar distraction on the opposting muscles. This combination helps communicate with the nervous system, allowing it to recognize that it is safe to let go of protective tension and allowing the tight muscles to lengthen and move more normally. The goal isn't simply to make a tight muscle feel better temporarily, but to help retrain the relationship between the muscles so your body can move with greater balance and less protective tension.
However, if what you need is a relaxing, spa-like massage, I do offer that as well—at your request.
Because this method involves assisted stretching, comfortable clothing is recommended. You will remain fully dressed, so loose, comfortable clothing that allows you to move freely is ideal. Many conditions are best addressed with you lying on your side, which allows me to work with the body in a more effective position. Some issues are most effectively treated on a floor mat, where I may use my feet to achieve the leverage needed to work with certain muscles and areas of the body.
If you've tried chiropractic care, physical therapy, or acupuncture and still haven't gotten the results you were looking for, you may be dealing with a muscle imbalance that requires a different approach. My work focuses specifically on the relationship between muscles—not primarily on bones and joints, or simply strengthening and stretching muscles.
A trigger point, for example, cannot simply be stretched away. It needs to be released first, and then stretched. Likewise, trying to strengthen a muscle containing an active trigger point may cause the body to recruit accessory muscles to help compensate. You may feel like you are strengthening the muscle, while the underlying imbalance remains—or even becomes more pronounced over time.
By addressing the trigger point first and then restoring the proper relationship between opposing muscles, I work with the body to create more balanced movement rather than simply strengthening or stretching on top of an existing imbalance.