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Welcome to the home of Engaging Muscles Massage.

My office is centrally located in North Dallas. 

Every session at Engaging Muscles Massage is specific to how you are functioning at the time of your appointment.

To ensure the feeling-good feelings of deep tissue massage last longer than twenty-four hours, I use a deep tissue massage technique to address muscles that aren’t performing to the best of their ability.

You have muscles that feel tight. Without knowing it, you also have muscles that are underperforming.

The truth: you can’t have tight muscles without also having muscles that are underperforming. 

First, muscles underperform. Then, your brain calls upon tight muscles to restrict motion.

For example, if you have plantar fasciitis, your brain’s best attempt at protecting your plantar fascia from injury is to tighten your calf muscles. 

Whereas muscle tightness throughout your lower back is your brain’s way of protecting your spinal discs.  

Of course, stretching and releasing muscles with deep tissue massage provide relief over the short term. Then, the next day, you are back to scratching the same itch. 

Stretching, chiropractic adjustments (aka rapid stretching), rolling on a lacrosse ball, foam rolling, and foot orthotics are a few examples of stressors that cause muscles to underperform.

When practitioners stretch or release muscles, they don’t know whether your muscles are tight or underperforming. 

The truth is the vast majority of practitioners who work with the musculoskeletal system don’t have the second-layer knowledge or skill set to confirm whether a muscle is tight or underperforming. 

To reinforce my point, I don’t have to know you to know that licensed practitioners have tried releasing muscles. Remaining true to form, they also recommended stretches and one-size-fits-all exercises without any mention of muscles underperforming. 

Whether you walked away from your last session with or without pain, you were unknowingly not functioning better than you were before the pain or injury. 

When you leave Engaging Muscles Massage, your brain recognizes that it no longer has to call upon tight muscles to protect you from an injury. Then, like clockwork, the tight muscles relax. 

Before you reach your vehicle, your brain will recognize that you have more muscles capable of stabilizing your trunk and spinal joints. 

When your brain recognizes increased stability throughout your spine and pelvis, you will also have more stability throughout your legs and arms. 

That’s why plantar fasciitis is rarely about your feet, and shoulder pain is mostly due to muscles that aren’t capable of stabilizing your spine and pelvis. 

When the pain or injury doesn’t require surgery, Engaging Muscles Massage is far and above the best substitute for conventional care.

Engaging Muscles Massage is approximately 25 miles from Dallas Love Field Airport and 30 miles from DFW Airport.

<img src="https://engagingmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/deep-tissue-massage-testimonial.png" alt="Christine recommends that people with pain or an injury get deep tissue massage from rick merriam at engaging muscles massage before anything else. Her testimonial is in a graphic." width="1200px" height="450px"/>

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Have you sprained your ankle, sustained an injury, or worn custom orthotics in the past? If you have, your brain found a workaround.

Can you remember a time when you stretched and did one-size-fits-all exercises after an orthopedic surgery? If you did, your brain found a workaround.

Have you stretched, foam rolled, or exercised your way back to no longer feeling pain? If you have, your brain found a workaround.  

The truth: Compensation is cumulative, and the vast majority of practitioners who are qualified to work with your musculoskeletal system don’t have the second-layer knowledge and skillset to address compensation that has accumulated throughout your lifetime. 

If you answered yes to any of those questions, rest assured you are in the right place to receive new insights and solid answers rooted in science and know-how

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When the amount of tension it takes for muscles to contract and provide stability isn’t readily available, you have instability at the joints your muscles are responsible for controlling.

Sidebar: If you have wondered why ligament tears, menisci tears, and labral tears have not decreased throughout the years —— you just read the reason —— the role of your muscles is to provide stability and control motion. When your muscles cannot provide stability and control motion, your ligaments, menisci, labrums, and spinal discs are at more risk. 

Stability changes what your brain perceives.

<img src="https://engagingmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/home.png" alt="home base for the feet is a neutral position" width="1200px" height="600px"/>
After ten deep tissue massage sessions, this man’s legs were no longer bowed. It’s a testament to what’s possible when muscles can provide stability and the brain no longer feels the need to protect.

jump to the testimonial his wife wrote for him

Whether you have plantar fasciitis, piriformis syndrome, pain in your neck and shoulders, or low back pain, I’ll address your muscles in a way that is specific to you.

Then, as I do online, I’ll recommend exercises that will allow you to remain antifragile as you grow older. 

Does the muscle between your neck and shoulder feel tight?

Your trapezius could be underperforming. If your trapezius muscle is unable to pull its weight, your neck and shoulders will tighten within twenty-four hours of getting a deep tissue massage. 

Are Your Traps Tight? This Counterintuitive Approach Will Get Rid of Knots In Your Neck and Shoulder

 

Top-Tier Experience

When you take twenty-nine years of hands-on experience as a licensed massage therapist and add it to a consistent growth mindset, you get a unique combination of the best deep tissue massage and sports massage.

For eighteen of the twenty-nine years, I completed thousands of one-on-one sessions as a nationally certified personal trainer.

In addition to having well over two and a half decades of experience with practical application, I have dedicated fifteen years to teaching kinesiology (the study of human movement).

Twenty-Nine Years of Experience Working with Pain and Injuries.

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Restore Stability and Improve Function for Optimum Performance and Prevention.

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Stability Comes Before Mobility and Flexibility.

I used the second-layer knowledge and overall skill stack I had gained over the years to serve as the applied biomechanics consultant for the strength coaches and personal trainers at ESPN.

After a few years in that role, I was asked to provide sports and deep tissue massage for on-air talent and the behind-the-scenes staff at ESPN.  

I’m a member of the ABMP (Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals) and the AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association).

<img src="https://engagingmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/patient-describes-how-deep-tissue-massage-improved-her-life.png" alt="A female patient describes her experience with deep tissue massage at Engaging Muscles Massage. Her testimonial is in a graphic image." width="1200px" length="450px"/>

In 2016, I wrote a blog post about how harmful custom-molded foot orthotics are for your feet. That post is still widely read today. 

The same year, I wrote another post that turned out to be even more popular. In that post, I explained why plantar fasciitis is rarely about your foot. 

Since those blog posts were published, I’m proud to say that readers with custom orthotics, plantar fasciitis, sciatica, and piriformis syndrome have traveled to Dallas from all over the country and from different parts of the world. 

<img src="https://engagingmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/testimonial-about-deep-tissue-massage.png" alt="Alex's testimonial about online consultation and traveling from South America for deep tissue massage at Engaging Muscles Massage" width="1200px" length="450px"/>

Second-Layer Knowledge

I’ll start by defining second-layer knowledge: a level of understanding far exceeding first-layer knowledge.  

When you don’t know what you don’t know, it helps to know that most practitioners and podcasters who recommend exercises, stretches, and self-massage tools are doing it from a position of first-layer knowledge.  

Second-Layer Knowledge Confirms THIS Piriformis Stretch Is a Waste Of Your Time

Shorts Playlist

 

FAQ

When I received deep tissue in the past, I was underneath a sheet or wearing a medical gown. The massage therapist used lotion or oil. I noticed you work with patients wearing athletic clothing and do not use oil or lotion; why is that?

Answer: Since I provided deep tissue massage at ESPN, my preference is to address the muscle attachments through athletic clothing. 

When you are fully clothed, I can move the hip and shoulders without a sheet getting in the way. 

Because I address the site of the muscles’ attachments with a deep tissue transverse friction massage technique, there is no need for lotion or oil.  

 

Location

Engaging Muscles Massage

12700 Hillcrest Rd, Ste 125 #143

Dallas, TX  75230

Investment

Your first in-office session starts at $295. I also offer package pricing.

Your first online session from home starts at $212. Package pricing is an opportunity to remain antifragile as you age.

Whether you work with me from home or at my office, you will know what it feels like to have muscles perform to the best of their ability.

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Texas Massage Therapy License:  MT110566

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