Erik Dalton, PhD

Erik Dalton, PhD, was the founder and executive director of the Freedom from Pain Institute. Educated in massage,  osteopathy, and Rolfing, he maintained a practice in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for more than three decades.  A pioneer in the massage and bodywork profession, Erik was a manual therapist for more than 40 years, an educator for more than 30. He died in January 2025, but his work and legacy in the realm of Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques continues. For  more information, visit erikdalton.com.

The Overlooked Sternoclavicular Joint

When working with clients with shoulder discomfort, massage therapists often disregard or forget to consider the sternoclavicular joint.

Stop-motion snapshot of a Black runner in neon colors, conveying movement.

Technique

Foot Mechanics and Kinetic Chain Dynamics

Snags in the kinetic chain can cause a domino effect that leads to various issues.

Detective in a coat and hat with a magnifying glass tiptoeing.

Technique

How to Become a Better Pain Detective

The "pain detective game" may help you sharpen your palpation assessments and clinical reasoning skills. Use ART (asymmetry, restriction of motion, and tissue texture abnormalities) to more quickly identify how one side of the body moves in relation to the other.

Massage therapist Erik Dalton works on a client's back.

Technique

Undulation: Bring on the Wave!

Using the movements of belly dancers engages the body in rarely used or unfamiliar movement patterns. This enhances the body-mind connection and helps the body release unnecessary muscle guarding.

A person in a beige dress holds a hand to their lower back.

Technique

Mastering the Sacroiliac Puzzle

Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) mechanics indicate that therapists should take a holistic, movement-focused approach to SIJ pain.

Massage therapist Erik Dalton works on a hip decompression with a client.

Technique

Countering the Sitting Epidemic

By integrating movement into our therapy toolbox, we can help clients embrace the full potential of their evolutionary design.

a massage therapist performing a graded exposure stretch on a female client's hip external rotators.

Technique

Overcoming Movement Barriers

Graded exposure stretching works by systematically subjecting a client to their feared stimulus in a controlled manner, helping them break the cycle of avoidance and fear reinforcement.

A man gaves up into the starry night sky with his head tilted backward.

Technique

The Suboccipitals: Small Muscles, Big Impact

Releasing tension in tight suboccipitals and creating the opportunity for proper atlas and axis alignment becomes an important goal when clients report head and neck pain.

The z joint in the lumbar region accounts for low back pain.

Technique

The ABZs of Low-Back Pain

Researchers found that pain arising from the lumbar Z joints accounts for 10–15 percent of mechanical back pain in young adults and up to 40 percent in older people. Leveling the head and tail is one biomechanical approach to restoring balance.

Massage therapist Erik Dalton massages a client's right arm.

Technique

Exploring Neurodynamics

Massage therapists and bodyworkers can incorporate nerve mobilization methods with massage and other manual therapy techniques to help resolve common soft-tissue conditions like carpal tunnel, thoracic outlet syndrome, hip pain, and more.

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