"I try not to become a patient very often, but I have to admit you learn a lot about yourself and the medicine you practice. My natural exuberance on a sunny day lead to my enjoyment of a long trail run which ended in my diagnosis of heel bursitis, plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis. So much for the sunny day.  After getting properly diagnosed by Dr. Z, who we often refer to at our FirstHealth, I had my marching orders or rather my limping orders. I could use acupuncture, herbs, stretching and deep tissue massage.

Fortunately I knew a fantastic medical staff ... our own. Ken was our new massage therapist at the time and I thought I’d give him a try. Dr. Z had instructed me to have deep tissue massage on both my back, legs, ankles and eventually my feet to break up long standing muscle knots and tension that he felt was at the root of my injury. Wow, what an experience. Ken has strength and the knowledge to back it up, which is essential to deep tissue work. The next day I got up out of bed without any pain at all. Amazing! I had a longer journey to wellness and Ken provided the prescribed deep tissue massage that was an important component in my recovery. I thank him and the rest of our wonderful staff for helping me  through a tough summer. Below are Ken’s thoughts on my care. Please spread the word about this talented practitioner."  David Sollars

"David is a patient of mine who suffers from plantar fasciitis.  His podiatrist diagnosed this condition and massage therapy had been recommended.  David likes to jog, go biking and is known to cut a rug with his wife.  He is not able to do these activities do to this condition.  David described his pain as, “it feels like a stone in my shoe and pain up my ankle.”  I treated David once a week for several sessions, then reduced the sessions to once every other week.  Deep tissue massage was used on the site of the plantar fasciitis at every session.  Along with stretching and acupuncture, David was able to see improvement with walking, jogging, biking and while he was dancing with his wife. The benefits from massage therapy that David continues to experience are: relief in muscle tension and stiffness, improved posture and reduced levels of anxiety.  This has helped David to become more aware of his body and its needs.

There are many types of massage therapy and one in particular is deep tissue massage.  Deep tissue massage is a type of massage therapy that focuses on deeper layers of the muscle bed.   It aids chronic, tense, overworked muscles such as, low back pain, stiff necks and sore shoulders.  Some of the same strokes are used in massage therapy, but the pressure is deeper and concentrated on areas of tension and pain. 

Deep tissue massage is used when there is chronic muscle tension or injury.  There are usually adhesions in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments.  Adhesions can block circulation and cause pain, limited movement and inflammation.  Deep tissue works by physically breaking down these adhesions to relieve pain.  To do this the massage therapist often uses direct deep pressure or friction applied across the grain of the muscles.
At certain points during the massage, most people find there is some discomfort.  It is important to tell the massage therapist when you experience pain or soreness outside your comfort zone.

The benefits of deep tissue massage may help in recovery from soft tissue injuries, increase range of motion, and reduce the pain of arthritis and tendonitis."

-- Ken Driscoll, LMT, EMT, AHA CPR and AED certified