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Pain and injury care · South Berkeley
If nothing is helping, I start looking at old scars.
When someone comes to me in pain and the obvious work is not shifting it, I go looking for what nobody has considered. Frequently it is a scar from decades ago that has quietly bound down the fascia and is pulling on something a long way from where it hurts. The body connects things in ways that seem unreasonable until you see it happen.
- Works with
- Sprains, tendonitis, chronic pain
- Also
- Sports injury, rheumatoid arthritis
- Approach
- Lymphatic, fascial, scar release
- First step
- A free phone call with me
Why lymphatic work for pain
Swelling is part of what hurts.
Any injury produces fluid, and fluid under pressure hurts and restricts. That is true of a sprained ankle in week one and of a joint that has been grumbling for a decade. Moving that fluid takes pressure off the tissue, and pain often eases for that reason alone.
Manual Lymph Drainage also has a genuine analgesic effect, quite separate from relaxation and separate again from the way it settles the nervous system. All three matter when you are in pain.
And then there is the fascia. Scar tissue and adhesions bind layers together that are meant to glide over one another, and the result shows up as pain somewhere else entirely. That is not mystical. It is mechanical.
What I work with
Alongside whoever else is helping you.
None of this replaces physical therapy, and if you do not have a practitioner for the structural side of things, I will say so.
Sprains and strains
Acute swelling responds quickly, and getting fluid out early tends to shorten the whole business.
Tendonitis
Persistent inflammation in a place that will not settle. Gentle, repeated work rather than anything forceful.
Chronic pain
Where nothing recent explains it. This is where old scars and fascial restriction are worth investigating.
Sports injuries
Recovery, and getting back to the thing you want to be doing without the swelling limiting you.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Inflammation and fluid as a daily reality. Supportive care alongside your medical treatment.
Scar release
Dolphin microcurrent and hand technique, for scars that are restricting movement or referring pain elsewhere.
How this goes
Curiosity first.
I start by asking what makes it worse, what makes it better, and what has already been tried. Then I look at what is moving and what refuses to.
If there is an old injury or surgery anywhere in your history, tell me, even if it seems unrelated and especially if it seems unrelated. A knee that was operated on in 1998 is genuinely worth knowing about when your hip hurts now.
We approach it with a sense of curiosity and see how your body responds. If it is not responding, I will say so rather than book you in indefinitely.
Worth saying plainly
Where my part ends.
I am not a physical therapist
If what you need is strengthening and loading, that is someone else, and I will happily say so.
I do not diagnose
If something needs imaging or a medical opinion, you need a doctor, not me.
Acute injury may need assessing first
A fresh injury that has not been looked at properly should be looked at properly.
I will tell you if it is not working
Rather than keep booking you. Some pain is not a lymphatic or fascial problem.
Before you call
Questions I get asked.
Can lymphatic drainage help with pain?
Often yes, through three separate mechanisms: reducing the fluid that is putting tissue under pressure, a genuine analgesic effect from the technique itself, and calming a nervous system that amplifies pain when it is on high alert.
I have had this pain for years. Is it worth trying?
Possibly, particularly if nothing else has shifted it. Long-standing pain that has not responded to the obvious treatments is exactly where old scars and fascial restriction are worth investigating.
Do you work on acute injuries?
Yes, and early work on a fresh sprain often shortens things considerably. If the injury has not been properly assessed, get that done first.
Is this the same as sports massage?
No. It is much lighter, it works on fluid and fascia rather than on muscle depth, and it feels nothing like a deep tissue session.
Can you help rheumatoid arthritis?
I can support you with it. I do not treat it. Gentle work on fluid and inflammation alongside whatever your medical care involves.
What does an old scar have to do with my current pain?
Scar tissue binds layers of fascia that are meant to move independently. When they cannot, the restriction shows up as pain or limitation somewhere else. It sounds far-fetched until you feel it release.
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The next step
Tell me where it hurts.
Fifteen free minutes on the phone with me. Tell me what is going on, how long it has been going on, and what you have already tried, and I will tell you honestly whether this is worth your time and money.