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<src img="https://engagingmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/rick-merriam-headshot-and-hand-massaging-shoulder.png" alt="The image is divided into two sections. On the left is a headshot of Rick Merriam. On the wall behind him, Runner's World UK magazine is in frame. There's also a life-size skeleton in the background. Below the headshot reads "Rick Merriam" in blue, followed by "Applied Biomechanics Consultant and Licensed Massage Therapist" and Dallas, TX, in black. On the right, there's a black-and-white image of a person receiving a massage focusing on their shoulder. Rick's holding a model of a cervical spine in his opposite hand. The text above says "Engaging Muscles Massage." width="1200px" length="768px"/>

Engaging Muscles Massage is less than a mile south of the LBJ freeway (635) and across the street from the Dallas County Tax Office.

All of your sessions at Engaging Muscles Massage will be specific to how your muscles and joints are functioning at the beginning of each appointment.

Since serving as the biomechanics consultant and massage therapist at ESPN, where I tuned up the muscles of on-air talent, strength coaches, personal trainers, and the people behind the scenes, I’ve devoted a great deal of time and attention to developing an approach that includes getting to the root cause of pain, improving performance, and preventing injuries before they occur.
To get to the root cause of pain and muscle tightness, I use a deep tissue sports massage technique that will increase your muscles’ ability to provide stability and control motion.
When it comes to preventing injuries, I have the skill stack to differentiate tight muscles from muscles that are underperforming.
Unlike most experts who work with the musculoskeletal system, I can see the ways in which your brain has chosen to compensate for instability before an injury occurs.
The truth: compensation and fragility go hand in hand.
I’m confident when I tell you this: because most experts who work with the musculoskeletal system ignore compensation as if it doesn’t exist, that has led to surgeries that could have been avoided.
<img src="https://engagingmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/deep-tissue-massage-testimonial.png" alt="On the left side of the image, there's a picture of a woman smiling. She's wearing a black dress and has long blonde hair. On the right side of the image, there's a testimonial about Rick Merriam's ability to perform a deep tissue massage that reads, "Rick can be your last resort, but he should be your first! -- Christine." A light blue partial smiley face is in the background." width="1200px" height="450px"/>
I taught kinesiology (the study of human movement) for fifteen years.
My thirty years of experience as a licensed massage therapist include thousands of one-on-one sessions as a nationally certified personal trainer.
I wrote the foreword for the 1st edition of Joseph Muscolino’s kinesiology textbook. I’ve also been quoted in Runner’s World UK, Massage & Bodywork, and Massage Magazine.

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/2024/06/client-testimonial.png" alt="On the right side of the image, there's a headshot of a man in his thirties wearing a dark blue suit and a red tie. He is smiling at the camera. The text reads, "It's important to move. But it's even more important to move well! Rick's ability to improve how well muscles and joints function is worth much more than the price of his biggest session package. -- Luke" is displayed on the left. A light blue partial smiley face is in the background." width="1200px" height="450px"/>"
I haven’t stretched or released muscles in over twenty years.
Instead, I’ve addressed the muscles that are underperforming.
If this is your first time reading that muscles underperform, you aren’t alone. 
The truth is, in real life, the underperforming muscles are the reason for muscle tightness.
First, muscles underperform. Then, like clockwork, your brain, which is hardwired to protect, sends signals for muscles to tighten.
Whether you spend your days sitting at a desk, doing chores at home, or competing on the field of play, the increased strength, stability, mobility, and flexibility will give you the ability to function better than you have in years, even decades. 
With muscles fully equipped to counteract the constant pull of gravity, you won’t have to think about posture.
Along the same line, you won’t have to rely on arch supports that increase compensation and fragility.
Both of the aforementioned results are due to the fact that your ability to recruit the muscles responsible for maintaining good posture is there for you when you want to use it.
When the amount of force output it takes for muscles to contract and provide stability and control motion is present, your brain pays attention.
Then, and only then, is it possible for your muscles to efficiently play their role as the first line of defense to prevent a tear of a muscle, ligament, meniscus, or labrum.
If you’ve wondered why sprains, strains, and injuries to the meniscus, labrum, and spinal discs haven’t decreased over the years, the reason is this: our brains are hardwired to recognize when muscles are readily available to provide stability and control motion.
After addressing the neuromuscular component, I focus on improving the neuromechanical piece of the puzzle. 
The neuromechanical piece of the puzzle complements the neuromuscular part.
Proof that increasing stability allows for positive neuroplastic changes at any age.
<img src="https://engagingmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/bowed-human-legs-and-supinated-feet.jpg" alt="A medical before-and-after comparison of a man's bowed legs. On the left side, the man is wearing socks and shorts, standing on a carpet. Both legs are severely bowed and his feet are supinated (turned out). The date "4/19/17" is written on the image. On the right side, the man is barefoot, standing on the same carpet. His legs are straighter and his feet are no longer supinated. The date "8/11/17" is written on the image. " width="1200px" height="600px"/>
After addressing muscles with a deep tissue sports massage technique, this man’s legs were no longer bowed. It’s a testament to what’s possible when muscles are fully capable of providing stability.
Jump to Investment
Jump to Address and Map
Suppose you bought into stretching, foam rolling, or releasing muscles with deep tissue massage, like many people have.
In that case, you’ve undoubtedly worked with experts who, once again, defaulted to increasing mobility and flexibility without increasing stability. 

Because stretching, foam rolling, and actively releasing muscles with deep tissue massage don’t increase stability, your muscles go right back to being tight.

Although I don’t know your story yet, I’m willing to bet that you can relate to what you’ve read thus far.
It’s fair to say that the experts intentions have been good; however, in real life, stretching, rolling on a lacrosse ball, foam rolling, and releasing muscles with deep tissue massage have two things in common: (1) all of them increase instability (aka the threat), and (2) the threat of instability increases muscle tightness.
In other words, while self-massage tools and deep tissue massage techniques are seemingly harmless, the muscle tightness you’re attempting to solve for increases instability and, as a result, muscle tightness.
Tight muscles are a symptom and a sensation (that aren’t worth chasing).
You can feel when muscles are tight. But you can’t feel muscles that are underperforming. (hint, hint).
To your mind, stretching, self-massage tools, and the wide variety of deep tissue massage techniques feel productive, yet beyond your conscious awareness, your brain perceives all of those things as negative inputs, i.e., stressors.

In order to avoid increasing instability and, as a result, muscle tightness, hand over heart, it’s been well over twenty years since I stretched or released muscles with deep tissue massage.

<img src="https://engagingmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/patient-describes-how-deep-tissue-massage-improved-her-life.png" alt="The image is split into two sections. On the left side, there's text that reads: "I limped in, but I walked out! Rick changed my perspective on massage therapy and physical therapy entirely." On the right side, there's a photograph of a woman with brown curly hair smiling. She's wearing a white shirt with black polka dots. A light blue partial smiley face is in the background." "width="1200px" length="450px"/>
Most practitioners will say, “You can’t have more mobility without stability.”  While that sounds promising, and I know it to be true, the vast majority of the experts who work with the musculoskeletal system aren’t aware of the fact that they don’t have the skill set to do what increases stability.
Truth be told, in real life, most experts don’t have the skill set to differentiate a tight muscle from a muscle that’s underperforming.
Be honest; neither do you!
So, of course, your guess ends up being as accurate as the experts.
<img src"https://engagingmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/stability-increases-antifragility.png" alt="This image features a black and white photo of Rick Merriam's hand massaging a client's shoulder. At the top of the image, the word "stability" is in blue capital letters. Below the word "stability," the text reads, "While it may seem counterintuitive and not what most practitioners would say, the truth is, erasing pain and improving function comes down to this: increasing stability. Erase the threat your brain perceives, and stability will trigger your brain to stop sending signals telling your muscles to tighten." width="1200px" length="600px" />
When your muscles feel tight, they are overworking to compensate for the stability that the underperforming muscles are incapable of providing.
For example, if you have a bulging disc and pain to go along with the injury to the disc, beyond your conscious awareness, your brain calls upon certain trunk and spinal muscles to tighten.
By restricting your range of motion with tight muscles, your brain can protect your spinal disc from taking more damage.
To put what you read in the previous sentence in perspective: When muscles are fully capable of providing stability at your spinal joints, for instance, you also have more mobility, which allows for an environment that takes the stress off an injured disc (hint, hint).
When the threat of instability is erased, the tight muscles will relax.
To give yourself the gift of what it feels like to have increased stability, schedule a session today.
Have you sprained your ankle and kept walking until you no longer felt discomfort?
If you answered yes, that could be the first straw. If it isn’t the first straw, it’s one straw that was added to the whole.
In any case, whether you “walked it off” or you followed the experts protocol for an ankle sprain, your brain found a workaround.
To ensure you’re catching what I’m throwing, think about a workaround like this: all the injuries, niggles, “custom” foot orthotics, and orthopedic surgeries you’ve endured are a straw.
Because the pre-existing compensation that was a result of the first straw wasn’t addressed in a way that allowed you to function better than you were before the pain or injury, without knowing it, straws have been piled on top of straws for some time now.
To put it another way, plantar fasciitis doesn’t happen overnight, and foot orthotics, night splints, and stretching increase compensation even more than before the foot pain started.
<img src="https://engagingmuscles.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/testimonial-about-deep-tissue-massage.png" alt="A man in his thirties is smiling with a blurred outdoor background. To the right of the man is a testimonial that reads: "I reached out to Rick via email and booked an online consultation. Rick assured me I would perform better and no longer feel pain if I came to Dallas. So I flew to Dallas from South America. The treatment exceeded my expectations, and the quality of my life improved so much! I cannot thank Rick enough! -- Alex" A light blue partial smiley face is in the background." width="1200px" length="450px"/>
To stop the vicious cycle of false promises, managing symptoms, and running into dead ends at every turn, take control of your health by putting yourself in the driver’s seat with the leverage of second-layer knowledge.
Take the first and most important step to gaining the leverage that you want to become antifragile as you age.
Schedule an online consultation today.
As mentioned earlier, most practitioners don’t have the skill set to differentiate a tight muscle from a muscle that’s underperforming.
While most people who have piriformis syndrome think that their piriformis is tight, in most cases, it’s underperforming. 
For example, practitioners who specialize in releasing pelvic floor muscles don’t have the skill set to confirm how many muscles that attach to your pelvis are underperforming.
To put what you read in the previous sentence into perspective, 75% of your muscles attach to your pelvis.
Although your piriformis doesn’t directly attach to your pelvis, it’s one of three muscles that attach your spine to your femur (aka thigh).
While this goes against popular opinion, the piriformis muscle is rarely tight. Instead, it’s underperforming.
20 Years Ago, I Stopped Releasing The Piriformis with Deep Tissue Massage | What I Do Instead! 
I have the skill set to know whether your muscles are tight or underperforming. (To see why stretching your piriformis is a waste of your time, watch the short video below.) 
Jump to Video of Popular Piriformis Stretch that’s a Waste of Your Time

8 Advantages of Having More Stability 

• More mobility (joints)

• More flexibility (muscles)

• More strength (muscles)

• Better results from exercise

• Neuroplastic changes that can only come from increased stability, erasing the threat your brain perceives

Results that last much longer than twenty-four hours

• Results that allow for antifragility

• Decreases the risk of an injury to your muscles, meniscus, spinal discs, ligaments, and labrum

While the vast majority of massage techniques are designed to release muscles, fascia, and trigger points, your brain responds positively to addressing muscles that are underperforming.

How many times will practitioners default to stretching, releasing muscles, and one-size-fits-all exercises, like clamshells, for instance, before they change their minds?
Second-Layer Knowledge Confirms THIS Piriformis Stretch is a Waste of Your Time
When you think of the times when experts thought that stretching or releasing muscles was the solution for solving the pain that goes along with piriformis syndrome, there was no assessment to determine whether the muscle was tight, underperforming, or playing its role to the best of its ability.
As counterintuitive as this may be, your piriformis can feel tight when it’s not.
FAQ
When I received deep tissue in the past, I was underneath a sheet or wearing a medical gown, and the massage therapist used lotion or oil. I noticed you address muscles through athletic clothing; why is that? 

Answer: Since the time when I provided deep tissue sports massage at ESPN, I’ve preferred to address underperforming muscles through athletic clothing.

When you wear athletic clothing, you can easily move your hip and shoulder joints without a sheet getting in the way.
My massage technique doesn’t require sliding or gliding along your skin, so there’s no need for massage oil or lotion.

Location

Engaging Muscles Massage

12700 Hillcrest Rd., Ste. 125, #143

Dallas, TX  75230

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


Investment
Your first in-office session starts at $295. I also offer package pricing.
Your first online consultation starts at $212.
Most massage techniques are designed to release tight muscles. Without muscles capable of providing stability, your brain won’t allow for more mobility or flexibility.
When you feel what it’s like to have increased stability and, as a result, no tightness, you’ll realize what’s been missing for all of this time.
In other words, you have to feel it to believe it.  🙂
Whether you work with me at my office or online, package pricing is an opportunity to increase stability (muscles), mobility (joints), flexibility (muscles), and strength (muscles) to remain antifragile as you age.
Texas Massage Therapy License:  MT110566
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