Ben Kappel LMT

Ever since the start of this running season, AKA, my first run over 5 miles in about 4 months, I have had the worst hip pain on the left side.
It starts high in my hip and runs up into my lower back and it is darn unpleasant. Needless to say, running and biking don’t help, but you know, #runordie.
So after a 9.5 mile «run», the wife and I were both feeling it – she in her right hamstring — and I started calling around to see who had availability on Sunday afternoon. In sheer desperation I called 3 separate chain massage places when the two «spa» type joints I called first weren’t open. Thankfully no one who was open had any openings.
Finally, right at opening: 11 o’clock on the dot, I got through to Earthsavers on Magazine where they booked me with Ben.
Holy crap, y’all. The man is a freaking genius. I made a list of my injuries: left hip, right IT band, right shoulder, and he went to work. For 80 minutes he pushed, pulled, scraped and ground and I could tell he was hitting the spot.
I have used foam rollers, lacrosse balls and any manner of home torture to try to get to the spot on my left hip. I finally understood why it’s been so hard. Only after about an hour of tenderizing all around that spot was Ben finally able to get it. It was not pleasant by any means, but man did I know it was working.
And, the way he worked my IT band with his elbow and forearm was like nothing I could have ever done with the triggerpoint foam roller.
Like I said, the guy’s a genius. He really, really gets body mechanics and range of motion. And, he incorporates active stretching into massage in a way I’ve never experienced before.
I’ve had a hard time incorporating massage into my lifestyle, but as I get more serious about endurance exercise I can tell I’m going to be spending more time with Ben.