How does pain enter the body? Sometimes it is the direct result of an injury. Often our pain arises for no reason that we can recall. Perhaps we notice a little ache in our shoulders or neck or back. Left unattended, imbalances in our movement, our gait, and how we hold ourselves can make the pain worse. Soon we’re thinking of drastic measures to relieve the pain, and scheduling hip replacements, shoulder surgeries, carpel tunnel, and neck spinal fusions. In many cases, with proper body alignment, muscle and soft tissue balance, and periodic massage therapy to maintain fluidity in the tissues and joints, surgery can be avoided and health restored. Learn more about Therapeutic Massage.

Movement is critical in pain reduction. Our unconscious response to pain is to protect the pain point. In order to reduce the sensation of pain we keep our body rigid, we tighten up, and our body begins to lose its natural mobility. Over time, as the body stiffens and our joints and muscles adhere to themselves, this makes the pain worse. My approach is to mobilize the tissues and joints simultaneously with deep pressure and functional massage strokes in a system I call Dynamic Mobile Release. This helps the body re-pattern itself with restored neuromuscular function and improved biomechanics to break the cycle of pain.