Heather L Knuckey LMT
About
Over the 20 years of practicing massage therapy I have taken many different types of continuing education. I have been studying connective tissue. I began my research 20 years ago and found in Germany they had a documentary video explaining what connective tissue actually is. I have continued studying outside the US and through the Fascia Congress that connects the research being done around the world. I use a combination of techniques that your body needs. I begin with finding the dysfunction in your connective tissue. The massage therapy modalities include myofascial release technique, trigger point therapy, visceral manipulation, neuromuscular therapy, informed touch, and all the time the tissue needs to respond. I follow what your body needs. My abilities have allowed clients to decrease pain meds along with some stopping them all together. I also am diagnosed with EDS. Hypermobility with vascular symptoms. I haven’t been treated well from doctors. I had to figure out how to keep myself from becoming disabled and deal with my pain levels.
EDS Healthcare in Maryland
Bethesda Physiocare is an EDS Society Center of Excellence specializing in physical therapy for hypermobility. Johns Hopkins Hospital houses the McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine and Dr. Howard Levy, a recognized authority on EDS. The NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda runs the Undiagnosed Diseases Program. The University of Maryland Medical Center also has a Connective Tissue Disorders Program.
The Baltimore-Bethesda corridor has excellent EDS resources, but patients in western Maryland, the Eastern Shore, and southern Maryland face longer travel times. Wait times at Johns Hopkins and NIH can be substantial given their national reputation. Insurance coverage for the NIH Clinical Center may differ from standard programs.
Finding Massage / Bodywork for EDS
Ask whether the therapist modifies pressure for hypermobile patients and avoids deep tissue work near unstable joints.