What My Clients Are Saying
He is an expert—likely the top 1% of his profession.
— Jon
Having shed tears of joy and pain, I settled into my airplane seat, understanding I was forever changed.
— Barbara
Rick’s depth of knowledge and expertise are what set him apart!
— Pranay
Rick’s technique is not a regular massage, and his knowledge of the body, mechanics, and muscle attachment/anatomy is doctoral. He got my muscles activated and working correctly again.
— Adrienne
Rick got me back to feeling normal again after my hip replacement and, more recently, post-shoulder surgery. I recommend giving Rick a try if you’re in pain or not happy with where you have gotten with your physical therapy.
— Liz
I haven’t felt how I feel today in 30 years, and I have Rick Merriam to thank for that!
— Drew
— Keith
Even though I was skeptical that anyone could restore stability and improve function, I was willing to try anything. So, four days before my race, I went to Rick. The first thing Rick noticed was that I was wearing the wrong type of shoe for my foot and the way I walk. He recommended a better shoe, which I purchased that day.
Rick worked with me for two hours, and I could not believe the difference he made in such a short time. I went from hobbling after painfully finishing 3 miles to easily running 10 miles.
— Deidra
I suffered a severe injury a few years ago, and surgery, rehab, chiropractic, and ART [Active Release Technique] didn’t help. But then I found Rick, and I was able to start exercising again.
— Russ
A friend sent me an article on plantar fasciitis that Rick wrote. It blew my mind and gave me hope. We had three sessions in total. The payoff: I don’t feel that horrible foot pain anymore, and I can walk barefoot around the house.
— Misty
— Walter
I had a full travel day on Wednesday, and as I was walking up the jetway, I realized that I had spent several hours walking and sitting at airports and on airplanes with ZERO sciatic pain!
— Craig
I haven’t been to the chiropractor in nine months, and I canceled my shot. My husband is thrilled that he doesn’t have to watch me stretch in front of the TV anymore. Thank you, Rick!
— Sheryl
Hip Pain? Activate Quads Physical Therapists Miss
Whether you know it or not, you’re compensating for every pain, injury, car accident, surgery, and, if the shoe fits, giving birth to a child.
Unlike ~99% of practitioners who work with the muscular and skeletal systems, I ignore tight muscles (and I think you should, too!).
Whether you spend your days sitting at a desk for work, doing yardwork, or competing on the field of play, most of the practitioners who have met the requirements to work with your musculoskeletal system don’t have the skill set to figure out how you’re compensating differently than the ten people who walked through the door before you.Tight muscles are a sensation and a symptom that, like pain, aren’t worth chasing.
If you can wrap your head around why it’s worth your time and attention to ignore tight muscles and instead improve the underperforming muscles’ ability to provide stability, you’ll feel better—because you’ll be moving better than you have in years.
• Jump to how to work with me online
• Jump to read my body of work
• Jump to FAQ
• Jump to address and airports
Throughout my 30 years of experience as a licensed massage therapist and 18 years of providing one-on-one personalized training, clients have regularly asked why the feel-good effects of stretching, rolling on a lacrosse ball, foam rolling, and actively releasing muscles with deep tissue massage haven’t lasted longer than 24 hours.
The short answer: while the approaches mentioned in the previous sentence remain popular today, they fail to change what your brain perceives.The Skill Set ~99% of Practitioners Lack
The vast majority of practitioners qualified to work with your musculoskeletal system don’t have the skill set to differentiate tight muscles from the muscles that are underperforming (neurologically inhibited).
The next time a practitioner who specializes in working with your musculoskeletal system tells you muscle tightness or scar tissue is the reason you’re experiencing pain, ask them, “Can you identify the muscles that are underperforming?”
Then, watch for the blank stare.
First-Layer Knowledge Everywhere You Turn
The first sign of first-layer knowledge: practitioners who focus on where you feel pain and muscle tightness.
While one-size-fits-all common-knowledge exercises and cookie-cutter stretches have been sold as therapeutic for decades, they have increased compensation (that’s cumulative).
Lacking specificity, common-knowledge exercises have forced countless people, who didn’t know what they didn’t know, to undergo surgeries that could have been avoided.
First-layer knowledge has most practitioners saying, “Your piriformis muscle is tight”, which confirms what you feel.
And…
Going by feel is chasing a sensation and a symptom.
Imagine how productive you’d be if you regularly stretched your piriformis muscle when it wasn’t actually tight to begin with.
Having worked from a position of second-layer knowledge for decades, I’m confident when I tell you that, in most cases, the piriformis is underperforming (and not tight).
When Exercise Adds Insult to Injury
Although I haven’t heard your story yet, I’m confident when I tell you that before you do a one-size-fits-all common-knowledge exercise, you have muscles that are neurologically incapable of performing their role to the best of their ability.Because practitioners choose exercise before the underperforming muscles are addressed, your brain figures out how to compensate on every set and repetition.
Did you think to yourself, Well, I feel stronger?
You feel stronger because the muscles that are neurologically capable of performing their role are—in fact—stronger.
Because the underperforming muscles that, by definition, aren’t receiving the optimal amount of neurological input to contract optimally aren’t identified and addressed before a one-size-fits-all exercise, those muscles don’t get stronger.
So, regardless of how productive or even therapeutic one-size-fits-all exercises feel, when all the muscles responsible for producing the motion aren’t neurologically capable of pulling their weight, you unknowingly fall short of functioning better than you were before the pain or injury.
Being deemed qualified to recommend exercise doesn’t always equate to competence.
Do you feel muscle tightness throughout your upper back and between your shoulder blades at the end of the day?
The muscle tightness you feel throughout your upper back and between your shoulder blades is due to muscles compensating for the stability that the underperforming muscles in your neck and upper back are neurologically incapable of providing.
As you follow this train of thought to its logical conclusion, here’s more second-layer knowledge to process: When you ignore tight muscles and instead take the less-traveled path of addressing the underperforming muscles that are neurologically incapable of playing their role to the best of their ability, the increased stability will have you functioning better than before the pain or injury.
Read in-depth client testimonials.
The Truth: Neuroplasticity allows your brain to reorganize at any age.
For neuroplastic changes to take effect, your brain has to recognize increased stability in positions where there’s instability at a spinal joint, for instance.
Rather than move in the direction of becoming more and more fragile as you grow older, which is what stretching, actively releasing muscles, spinal adjustments, and arch supports allow for—decide to take the wheel now—and remain antifragile as you grow older.
Is this your first time reading that underperforming muscles are the reason for instability, and ultimately, muscle tightness?
Remaining true to its nature and without your knowledge or consent, your brain is hardwired to signal muscles to tighten to compensate for the stability that the underperforming muscles are neurologically incapable of providing.
Ignoring underperforming muscles as if they don’t exist has led to countless surgeries that could have been avoided.
Body of Work (the Highlights)
My 30 years of experience as a licensed massage therapist include thousands of one-on-one sessions as a nationally certified personal trainer.
Since serving as the biomechanics consultant and massage therapist at ESPN, where I worked with sports and work-related injuries for on-air talent and the great people behind the scenes, I have devoted a great deal of time, energy, and attention to developing an approach that includes getting to the root cause of pain, improving performance, and preventing injuries before they occur.I taught Kinesiology (the study of human movement) for 15 years.
Most recently, I taught kinesiology at the Parker University School of Massage Therapy in Dallas, TX.
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).
Is pronation bad? How about overpronation?To begin with, pronation is normal. And if you overpronate, that’s normal for you!
When you walk, your lead foot initiates shock absorption, which, when free to move, starts a combination of motions that end all the way up at your jaw.
When you swing a golf club, pronation of your spine and pelvis occurs from the top down, making your foot the last part of your body to pronate.
Regardless of the activity, artificially supporting your arches weakens the muscles throughout your foundation and prevents your feet from functioning as they were designed to move when interacting with the ground.
If you want to learn more, listen to my conversation with Steven Sashen, the founder of Xero Shoes and the host of The Movement Movement Podcast.
Get Back Spring In Your Step
If you have plantar fasciitis (PF), you lost the spring in your step long before the heel pain and calf tightness began.Until muscles throughout your trunk and spine are neurologically capable of providing stability, the muscles in your feet won’t generate the force required to push efficiently into the ground.
Whether you have neck, back, hip, knee, or foot pain, the neuromuscular deep tissue massage technique I provide will have you walking away from my treatment table with more muscles engaging at the right time, giving you more spring in your step.
FAQ
When I received a deep tissue massage, 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 providing deep tissue massage at the gym on the main campus of ESPN, I’ve preferred to address underperforming muscles through athletic clothing.
Because my massage technique doesn’t require sliding or gliding along your skin, there’s no need for massage oil or lotion.
Increase Stability Online
When you work with me online. I’ll show you how to perform isometric exercises in positions where your muscles cannot provide stability.
Most Read Blog Posts
What No One Tells You About Releasing Your Piriformis MuscleWhen Custom Orthotics Do More Harm Than Good
Plantar Fasciitis Has Little To Do With Your Foot
Address
Engaging Muscles Massage
12700 Hillcrest Rd Ste 125 #143, Dallas, TX 75230
Engaging Muscles Massage is less than a mile south of the LBJ freeway (635) and across the street from the Dallas County Tax Office.
Travel