The Movement Method is our unique approach to clinical bodywork and self-care education. It combines three different specialties- Medical Massage, Gentle Joint Therapy and At-Home Movement Therapy- to get your body moving better and provide you with lasting results!

In order to feel your best, your joints, soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia), nervous system, and the fluids of your body (blood and lymph) to MOVE together in a highly efficient and coordinated manner. Lack of proper movement in one or more of these areas is often the cause of symptoms such as pain or decreased function.

Naturally, the best solution needs to assess and treat all of these areas! Unfortunately, most specialties, such as traditional massage, chiropractic, physical therapy, are geared towards treating only one or two of these issues.

That’s why we created The Movement Method: to “fill in the missing gaps” that are often overlooked as root causes of pain and dysfunction. It is designed to identify what’s not moving well in your body, and to treat these “stuck” areas within the larger framework of whole-body-connectedness.

Medical Massage is an evaluation-based approach to manual therapy designed to give specific results, such as to alleviate pain, improve mobility, speed recovery, and treat chronic conditions such as migraines, fibromyalgia and sciatica. Rather than being a specific technique, it is a problem-solving treatment process that may incorporate many different kinds of massage and manual therapy including: deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy, neuromuscular therapy (NMT), craniosacral techniques, myofascial release techniques, cupping, and more.

Gentle Joint Therapy is a cornerstone of Asheville Medical Massage’s approach to medical massage, offering precise techniques to quickly identify and correct both joint movement dysfunctions that contribute to pain and compromised function throughout the body. The foundation of our Gentle Joint Therapy is The Hesch Method. The Hesch Method was developed by Dr. Jerry Hesch, DPT, MHS, and is a whole body approach to evaluation and treatment of connective tissues and joint dysfunction. By restoring proper joint alignment and mobility, this therapy not only alleviates discomfort but also enhances the effectiveness of other treatments, promoting faster recovery and long-term well-being. This integrative approach ensures patients achieve optimal results and regain confidence in their movement.

Many of our clients come to us after trying physical therapy, oftentimes because they are still experiencing symptoms. It’s also common for us to work with clients in a complementary manner while they are still in physical therapy. There are several primary differences between how we treat pain and the approach used in most physical therapy settings. To summarize these differences, our focus is primarily hands-on, whereas physical therapy is commonly exercise-based. In our experience, muscles and joints and often respond better when they are first “released” before trying to strengthen and stretch them, which is how we will begin working with you. From there, we may also educate you on self-care strategies to do at home in order to get the best results.

Gentle Joint Therapy uses low pressure, high duration holds to improve the alignment and mobility of the joints of the body. It can be used to treat the spine, as all the hips, shoulder, ribs and other joints throughout the body. Gentle Joint Therapy does not use fast or sudden movements. Many of our clients express appreciation that type of treatment for their joints engages the bones, soft tissues and nervous system at the same time in a way that feels relaxing, pleasant and safe. In many cases, we can also teach you how to self-treat your joints at-home to get even better results.

We often hear, “That was different from any other massage treatment I’ve ever had”. The reason we do things differently, however, is to get better, longer lasting results. The difference begins with how we evaluate your body in order to identify root causes of your symptoms that have been missed by other therapists. While some of our techniques may be lesser known, such as Gentle Joint Therapy, many of them will be familiar to those who’ve had a lot of massage: deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy, myofascial release, cupping, etc. However, what’s often different is how targeted and precise we can be with our techniques because they are guided by our comprehensive, hands-on evaluations

Yes! In fact, that’s how we recommend we get started together. We won’t recommend a treatment plan or membership plan for your unless we believe its in your best interests, and first we have to get to know you.

No! Our membership programs are for our clients who want to prioritize their long-term wellbeing and find that working with us at least once per month is a good investment. In that case, becoming a member often makes sense because it rewards you with monthly savings on your treatments.

Most muscle and joints pains caused by aging, injuries, poor posture, general wear and tear, post-surgical recovery, repetitive use, and in many cases, trapped nerves. To be more specific, here are common problems we are able to successfully treat:

• Pain in various areas of the body including the back, neck, shoulders, knees and feet caused by overuse, injury, poor posture, and chronic conditions

• Migraines and headaches

• Sports Injuries

• Strain and sprains in the muscles or joints

• Sciatica

• Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

• Fibromyalgia

• Arthritis

• Recovering from surgery

Our clients quite commonly see a noticeable reduction in pain and improvement in mobility within 1-4 sessions when completed as part of an initial treatment plan. Obviously, each case is individual and will require getting to know your issues, history and goals before we can give you our clear answer to this question.

While we are not able to bill insurance directly for you, we can provide you with a superbill to support you in filing your own claim.