An adjustment opens the joint.
Soft tissue work makes it stay open.

Adjustments free up stiff joints. But the muscle and connective tissue around a joint develops its own restrictions, and those don't respond to being adjusted. They need hands, tools, and time.

So what actually is
soft tissue therapy?

It's the most common question we get, and it's a fair one, because the name describes a category rather than a treatment.

"Soft tissue" simply means everything that isn't bone: muscle, tendon, ligament, and the sheets of connective tissue that wrap and connect all of it. When you say a muscle feels tight, or you have a knot, or something pulls when you reach overhead, you're describing a soft tissue problem.

Soft tissue therapy is the hands-on work that treats it. That covers several different techniques, and which ones you get depends on what the exam found, not on a menu you pick from.

Why is it an extra charge?
Because it takes extra time.

That's the whole answer. A standard office visit is about 15 minutes, which is enough time to adjust what needs adjusting and get you on your way. Soft tissue work can't be rushed into the gaps of that. Finding the restriction, working it properly, and rechecking the movement afterwards adds real time to your appointment, and that time has to come from somewhere.

We'd rather charge for the extra time than quietly shorten it, or bury the cost in a higher price for everyone including the people who never use it.

Cupping uses suction rather than pressure. Most hands-on work presses down into a muscle. Cupping does the opposite, lifting the tissue up and away from what's underneath it. That creates space between the layers that are meant to glide over each other, and pulls fresh blood flow into an area that's been chronically tight.

The round marks are the part everyone asks about. They aren't bruises from impact, and they aren't painful. The suction draws blood from tiny surface vessels into the skin, which is what leaves the colour behind. They usually fade in about 3 to 7 days, and they tend to show up darkest over areas that have been tight the longest.

Graston uses shaped stainless steel tools worked along the muscle. Dr. Cagape is Graston certified, which matters because it's the original system of its kind and the one with the most clinical backing behind it.

The tool does two jobs. It finds the problem, because scarred and thickened tissue gives off a distinct gritty feedback through the metal that's harder to feel through fingertips alone. Then it treats it, applying a focused shear force along the tissue to break up the restriction and prompt the body to rebuild that area properly.

Dr. Cagape presses and holds a specific point in the muscle while you move the limb through its range. The muscle lengthens under your own control while the restriction is being held down, which releases the tissue in the position it actually has to work in.

It's more intense than it sounds and it's usually quick. Most people feel the change in range immediately, which is exactly why it's often the technique used right before the corrective exercise.

Sleeves go over your legs and inflate in a wave from the foot upward, then release, over and over. It mimics what your muscles do when you walk, and it pushes circulation through legs that have been sitting still or working hard.

It's a comfort and recovery tool rather than a treatment, and most people find it makes legs feel noticeably less heavy afterwards. It's useful after work on the lower body, or before treatment if your legs are stiff to start with. It doesn't replace moving, and it isn't a substitute for the rest of your care.

Different tools,
one thing they're all setting up.

You won't be asked to choose between these. Which ones you get, and in what order, comes from what your exam found and what your movement needs.

What it costs.

Frequently asked.

Find out what's actually
tight, and why.

Book a new patient exam. Dr. Cagape will work out which tissue is limiting you, what's causing it to keep tightening, and which of these tools your body actually needs.