TAG | success story
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
Hello! My name is Kay and I’ve been working with Terrel for about 14 weeks now. His sessions have helped me tremendously and I wanted to share a bit of my background so that others out there know what his skill and expertise can do.
Having been a gymnast for most of my childhood and teenage years, I never thought about running as an exercise or way to keep fit. It was only after I moved here to DC to start my career and needed a good, effective, workout that would fit into my schedule did I start running. I’m a Librarian in my day job, so once I got the running bug, I naturally started reading everything I could about the sport. After reading a select few tomes, ”Marathoning for Mortals” and “Marathon Training for Dummies” to name a few, I thought I knew everything about training and stretching and taking days off, but unfortunately after a good 2+ years of running, and 2 marathons, I found my old gymnastics injury–a degenerative L5 S1 disc in my lower back–acting up again. I sought help from my orthopedic doctor who prescribed PT and 2 steriod injections, I went to a chiropractor, I took several weeks off, I thought I’d tried everything, but to no avail. Only after hearing mention of Active Release Therapy at a race expo did I seek out a licensed practioner in DC, and found Terrel, and am now well on my way to returning to my old running self.
Terrel has been a life saver. Between his recommendation of Active Isolated Stretching and weekly massage/ART sessions, I am back on my normal running routine with little or no pain. At first, I have to admit, I was a little intimidated. What could a little recreational, sometimes marathoner, wanna-be runner like myself be doing with Terrel, a professional who works with professionals? Lucky for me, Terrel is a star and has treated me as such. I highly recommend him not only as a licensed ART practioner, but also as a fellow runner, who knows what it’s like to put in those miles and go through the aches and pains that we all know so well.
Terrel has asked me to be a sometimes blogger for him, and I’m honored and eager. Hopefully I can relate to everyone my running and wellness journey, and encourage others to start down the path as well.
