Do You Have an Injury? Check out Dynamic Massage Therapy

Hey everyone; Callie Durbrow here again for Ultimate Athletic Fitness. It’s a great Friday here in Boston and even with the heat wave, I see lots of people sticking to their training plans and not making excuses. There is always going to be a reason not to train so the more you adjust your lifestyle to make it a fixture in your daily routine, the easier it becomes.

In this blog I talk a lot about training programs, different exercises, nutrition, and motivation to train. There is one thing that is often neglected and that is often a person’s recovery method. Whether it is daily stretching, foam rolling, getting enough sleep, drinking plenty of water and replenishing your body after a training session; these things all come into play to help you get stronger, leaner, and healthier.

Even with all of these factors in place, injuries can still occur. Many injuries stem from years of compensation from old injuries, overuse (such as running), performing exercises with incorrect form, or just postural issues.

The other day I met with my friend Sam Peck, who is doing some pretty interesting stuff right here in Somerville. Sam runs Soar Dynamic Muscular Therapy. His program is pretty unique and after an extensive meeting and body work session with him, I wanted to give you all some insight about this practice and how it can benefit you.

Sam and I discussed some old injuries and movement patterns that I had developed, and then he did some work and we discovered a few things.
1. My right quadricep is stronger than my left
2. My right gluteal muscle is slightly weaker than my left
3. My right hamstring is slightly tighter than the left
4. My left shoulder and scapula area is tighter than my right

All of this makes sense if you think of how the body works. I had a severe left leg injury in college, thus leading to compensation on my right side and the quadricep getting stronger. When the quadricep is much bigger and stronger, it essentially “takes over” and over powers the glutes. With the glutes not quite as strong (in comparison to the left side), my right hamstring is tight from overworking and compensating. Looking at the left shoulder, the body muscular system is primarily in a diagonal pattern. With tightness on the lower right extremity, it transfers up to the upper left side. All of these things were slight but now I have some things that I know I need to work on.

Here is an interview that I did with Sam which describes his practice and how the process works for an injured client. Check it out and also check out his website at http://www.soarbody.com

We all want to stay healthy in our daily life and also to keep us in the gym getting stronger, leaner, and more fit.

Can you explain ‘dynamic muscular therapy?’

Dynamic muscular therapy aids in the healing of chronic athletic injuries through a combination passive manual therapy and active directed movement to resolve the physical road blocks to fluid movement and correct inefficient movement patterns. Passive and active therapies, such as massage and yoga, have, of course, been aiding people for hundreds of years. What is unique about dynamic muscular therapy is that it combines a passive mode (orthopedic assessment and treatment through passive manual therapy) and an active mode (strength and conditioning assessment and exercise prescription) to specifically address the athlete’s goals.

 The process is intensive. It involves examining the movement patterns developed over time by the activities we choose and the injuries we have incurred from our activities. This requires an exhaustive history be taken. A thorough orthopedic assessment must then be carefully executed to isolate specific chronic injuries. Finally, a multifaceted strength and conditioning assessment must be undertaken, which includes an analysis of the needs of the sport as well as an assessment of the athlete’s condition. Only then can it be determined what type of manual therapy and exercise program is appropriate – if any. If the athlete’s condition is such that they need to be referred out to a health care professional, it is done so immediately, without hesitation.

 The focus of dynamic muscular therapy is athletic performance. General health and fitness, although monitored very carefully for the safety of the athlete and weighed heavily in exercise prescription, are not by themselves objectives. However, if a non-athlete is open and dedicated to the same type of change and challenge that athletes embrace, then the process can be tremendously rewarding for them as well. As of the writing of this piece, a full third of the clients in our care are not engaged in athletics. All that is really needed is an acceptance of the need for change, the desire to overcome one’s pain, and the willingness to embrace physical activity to improve performance.

 How did you get into the practice of dynamic muscular therapy?

I originally came to massage therapy as an injured athlete who had been helped out of disability with a combination of manual therapy by a massage therapist and exercise prescription by a physical therapist. The school I attended for massage therapy was a two year program. The summer between the two years there I took on an internship at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic in Medford where I had the opportunity to work with some fine physical and occupational therapists. It was there I decided I wanted to focus my practice on injury work for athletes.

However, when started working in sports massage soon learned that, although manual therapy was crucial for removing some of the roadblocks to allow a client to heal, the internal process of healing musculotendinous injuries primarily occurred through client’s movement. Additionally I came to discover that the majority of clients valued massage for it’s ability to relieve pain and decrease tension more than they valued it as a tool to deal with the cause of their pain. This led many clients to ignore the self care I would suggest (some saying they were doing it when they were not) opting to just continue to book regular treatments to deal with their pain. This type of dependency is a danger in any passive solution to a problem. This is what motivated me switch my practice to focus on just chronic athletic injuries and making the exercise prescription the focus of the treatment program with massage as a means to remove roadblocks to movement.      

What type of clientele do you generally see?

Presently, my clients range from the college athlete to triathletes in their early sixties, with the majority falling between 21 and 45 years old. Because the overall goal Soarbody Therapeutics is to improve performance through resolution of chronic injuries, regular weekly clients are rare – if I can’t resolve an issue I guide the client in the next step of their healing journey by helping them find someone who can help them. Whatever the client’s injury, sport, age, and stage, they need to have a gym membership and access to good trainers who understand our objectives and can instruct the client in proper execution of the exercises assigned.     
 

How does the dynamic therapy differ from what most people receive with a general or sports massage?

Huge difference. Nobody books a massage here. They book an appointment to assess a nagging injury that has been diminishing their performance and we decide what needs to be done about it. Manual therapy is often part of the solution, but adjustments to activities of daily living (ADL’s), ergonomics, and posture along with exercise prescription specific to their condition and their sport are more important. The manual therapy done uses a variety of modes and techniques and focuses on the injury that is impeding performance. I don’t do sports massage on request or general massage, but I do have an extensive network of massage therapists that I can refer my clients out to if they want those services.

 I have many training clients that are athletic and active but do not have chronic injuries, just simply joint or muscular pains. How would dynamic therapy help them to remain strong and pain free?

These pains may well just require general massage therapy for which I can refer them out to some great massage therapists. But often these pains are a result of a history of musculoskeletal imbalances and/or ADL’s. It’s worth scheduling an assessment to determine the best course of action. If one can provide their own therapy by changing some aspect of their daily routine (often as simple as changing a piece of clothing, how you sleep or when/how you use a foam roller) isn’t that better than spending $85+/week for massage? Most motivated athletes appreciate taking control of their own pain and success.

Generally speaking, what would a typical session consist of for a primarily healthy client?

Generally speaking, I don’t see healthy clients. Once their problem is solved, they are off and running until their next injury, which as athletes we all get!