I have an on-again, off-again relationship with “social media”.

Currently on-again; for better or worse.

Long before I was out here in Greenpoint, Brooklyn doing massage therapy and squawking about pain science, I was, in rough order: a Navy Command Fitness Leader, a strength and conditioning coach, a personal trainer, and a mindset coach (a real one…I have a degree in Sport Psychology).

So I’ve been around the block.

“Social media” isn’t social at all anymore. These are ad platforms, and part of my sanity maintenance is recognizing and affirming this whenever I’m scrolling.

You should, too.

Because folks are “on social” to sell stuff.

And here’s the thing:

Boring stuff doesn’t sell.

Which sucks because most good, actionable information that you’re going to get about massage and pain pain management – or anything else in the wellness industry – is boring.

Including my social content.

In today’s attention economy you need a helluva hook to command anyone’s (shockingly brief) attention span. I swear the only reason I get ANY reach on social platforms is because I’m a long-haired, heavily tattooed freak who refuses to wear a normal looking set of eyeglasses.

But behind the flamboyance, my message is simple, and the problem you’re facing in your wellness journey is that most things are simple.

As an example relevant to massage and pain:

Most sound advice for managing chronic pain is going to boil down to:

  • Move more – within tolerance. Novel brain input is a good thing.
  • A little strength training goes a long way.
  • Stress management and mental health important…have resources and routines.
  • Ditto for sleep. Practice good sleep hygiene and get solid down-time.

And, as much as licensed practitioners hate to hear this…

  • Time is an extremely underrated variable in recovery. (It’s been my personal secret weapon for my own nagging low back pain.)

Simple. Not necessarily easy, but the basics are, well, basic.

The trap I see so many folks fall into is that they’ve had flashy devices/supplements/modalities shoved down their throats by social media ads from people that are looking to sell things.

I just recently started running again to train for ultra distances, and I’m already getting bombarded in my feed with a ton of insoles, foot boards, compression garments, etc. All overly reductive items promising quick fixes to the biopsychosocial problems of an incredibly complex nervous system.

Or, worse yet, problems that you actually don’t have…but now suddenly wonder about. Don’t get me started on Nocebos…

And, listen, I get it, at the end of the day, I make my living selling massage services.

So I occasionally drop content, but part of the reason I find myself so reluctant to make content is that I truly I run out of things to say.

That is, unless I’m going over recently published research or demonstrating some kind of technique both of which are – you guessed it – boring, and thus scrolled past. Unless I’m wearing the leopard print glasses.

Simple and basic are the foundations in wellness. We start there and move on to more complex solutions as warranted, but never in a reductive manner. You’re nervous system is just to complex to be simplified like that.

If you’re confused and struggling to manage pain, book with us. We’ll give you the basics with no BS and no quick fix nonsense. You deserve better than the click bait.