Archive for March 2010
I have had shoulder, neck, and head pain for 2 years, and missed all my triathlons for the last 18 months. My pain and symptoms progressed and I received epidurals that did not help. I tried trigger point injections, accupuncture, muscle activation technique (MAT), and physical therapy. It has been a long road, and then 3 months ago I discovered Terrel and active isolated stretching.
Terrel advised me to take control of my medical care, and to learn to be mindful of what my body needed. Taking to heart his advice, I sought a new physical therapist while working with Terrel weekly. This has been the winning combination. Terrel asks for feedback from the physical therapist, and works specific to what the therapist requests. With a combination of massage, active release, and active isolated stretching, Terrel has helped me get past the pain and learn how to maintain what I have gained. I have never found a massage therapist so knowledgable and effective.
Karen
Hello. I wanted to tell the fantastic results I got from massage therapy. I injured my hamstring insertion site about five years ago when I first started doing yoga. Over the past five years, I have been on multiple rounds of antiinflammatory drugs, have been to physical therapy, and have seen a pain doctor who injected the site(s) under flouroscopy three times, exposing me to radiation. The injection helped in the short term, but did nothing to attack the root cause of the pain. Undoubtedly, the pain would always return, and with a vengence.
Last summer, I started seeing Terrel Hale, a massage therapist specializing in sports injuries. I went out of desperation, but thinking that it would do no good. How could massage fix inflammation after all? But, I had nothing to lose. I saw him once a week for three months. It was quite a commitment, but worth it. Terrel found trigger points I didn’t even know I had. Somehow, releasing those helped the inflammation. He combined this massage with some ART. Within a few weeks, I could feel a difference. After three months, I was well on my way to recovery. I continued with ART and some massage for a few more months after that, but with decreasing frequency.
I can say that, today, I am almost completely pain free. My range of motion has increased exponentially. I still continue with therpies because there is still work to do in that area, and others as well. But today, I can do a forward fold without pain, and my yoga practice has soared to new heights.
Thanks Terrel!
Diane Miller
I first came to Terrel about a year ago after reading about Active Release Therapy and wanting to give it a try to overcome the usual aches and pains of a running and resistance training regimen. At the time I had run 2 half-marathons and was about a 25 mile/week runner. For the past few years I had focused mostly on upper-body strength training, and I ran as a basic cardio activity. I went through bouts of shin splints, knee pain, and muscle tightness, but didn’t think much of it (happens to everyone, right?). I definitely did not consider myself a serious or competitive runner by any stretch.
It was my first spring in DC, and I quickly found myself signing up for more races in any given month than I had done in the year before I moved here. The more I ran, the more I loved it, and I wanted to run (and race) even more. My occassional appointments with Terrel became a standing weekly appointment. By the end of the summer I was logging 50+ miles a week, and had a peak week of 70 miles. Over the course of 6 months I had more than doubled my training volume, raised the intensity, and was running longer and faster than ever- all without injuries, pain, or missing a training day.
Terrel’s understanding of the endurance athlete, both body and mind, is the key to his work. Terrel draws on everything from his extensive knowledge of human physiology to his studies of Plato to develop a holistic, integrated approach to treating athletes. As a runner himself, he knows the physical and mental demands the sport places on you, and incorporates this into his treatment. Whatever ache, pain or injury you present to him, he is able not just to treat the symptoms and get you back on the roads, but he gets to the root cause of it- your shoes, your stride, compensations your body may be making, a mental block… whatever the case may be. He’s seen it all, and he’s been through it all himself. As a result, you leave a session not just with looser muscles, but with a better sense of how your mind and your body interact with each other to produce the results you want to see in your training.
These days, a 50-mile week is a light week for me. I’m training harder than ever, but more importantly, I’m training smarter. It is no exaggeration to say that I would not be able to maintain the physical and mental intensity of my training without my work with Terrel. Whatever your sport is, and whatever your level is, Terrel will make you a stronger and smarter athlete.
-GP, Runner
Georgetown Sports Massage: Client Testimonials from Georgetown Sports Massage on Vimeo.
Georgetown Sports Massage: Clients Testimonials
I am a serious collegiate rower who is c0nsidering making an attempt at some national team stuff this summer. My erg scores have been solid for shorter pieces, but my longer pieces are behind the standards. After working with Terrel for a few weeks I feel looser and more elastic. This has allowed me greater length on my stroke and a greater ease of motion. On a recent 5k erg test I was successful in PR’ing by a full split. I believe that much of the credit for this PR is due to Terrel and the work he’s done with me.
I’ve been to a number of sports masseuses and Terrel is the best I’ve seen. As a serious athlete himself, he’s able to relate to my goals and he understands the mental aspect of sports really well.
Tim
I am in the DC area and have been implementing a very rigorous training program in order to prepare for special operations training. My regimen includes constant running, swimming, pushups, pullups, situps, strength training, etc. This amount of training has inevitably led to very frustrating tendonitis issues, but that all ended when I met Terrel Hale.
In the past, I would either “train through” the pain or simply rest a few days and hit it hard again. But the flaring up would always come back. Finally, after the fourth or fifth battle with my achilles tendon, I decided to give Terrel a try.
I have now been working with him for just over a month now, and I cannot believe the difference in my training. Although working out the knots throughout my legs and back was painful at first, the work Terrel does is extremely effective. In addition to sports massage therapy, he uses a technique called ART, which actively breaks up the scar tissue and loosens the tendons and muscles. This technique has not only helped my achilles tendon, but also my shoulder which was flaring up from time to time. He also encouraged me to start taking “ice baths” (44 gallon tub with ice and water) which circulates fresh blood throughout the legs which helps heal your tissue. Although this was not the most enjoyable experience, the effect it had on my legs was incredible, and I now perform this ritual several times a week.
Although Terrel’s focus is running, I was very impressed with his knowledge of all types of exercises and how the body responds to them. He truly cares about his clients’ goals and objectives and helps with reaching them. I feel very fortunate to have Terrel’s work in tandem with my training. I am not only training injury free, but also without having to “tone down” my training in the slightest. With his help, I continue to get faster, stronger, and closer to being ready for Special Ops training.
My name is Karl Dusen. I ran for Columbia University and kept the training up after college in an attempt to move up to the marathon. I was fortunate enough to qualify for the 2007 Olympic Trials at that distance and had a great experience there, but didn’t get the result I was hoping for. Now that I moved to the DC area my focus is on qualifying for the trials again and having a greater impact on that race. Terrel was referred to me as someone who could be a real asset to my goals. I had my first massage with him on Friday and it was a great experience. He was able to work on my problem areas (calves mainly) as well as help me with the general soreness I’ve had from running 100+ mile weeks on the roads (thanks snow!). I am excited to work with him continually throughout my training leading up to the trials. I know it’s going to help me stay on track and recover while taking my training and racing to the next level.
