ABOUT US

Science Informed Medical Massage, Functional Structural Integration and Neuromuscular Therapy

What is Functional Bodywork?

Functional bodywork means working muscles and connective tissue pathways in the direction most appropriate for both the individual and the tissue itself.

• For example, someone with weak medial foot arches benefits from tissue being encouraged upward, while someone with very high arches benefits from that same tissue being worked downward.
• This principle applies throughout the body—back, hips, legs, arms, neck, and shoulders. Tissue pathways flow and adapt in conjunction with gravity.

Over time, tissue becomes displaced, disorganized, and posture becomes distorted. Knowing how to reset these pathways helps realign or neutralize postural distortions—the very distortions that give rise to pain and discomfort.

At Empirical Knead, we help you move beyond pain and into balance. Whether you’re an athlete, weekend warrior, office professional, or navigating complex health conditions, our neuromuscular fascia-based therapy restores alignment, reduces tension, and improves how your body feels and functions.

• ✅ 17 years clinical bodywork experience
• ✅ Published researcher
• ✅ 13 years of Emory University studies on inflammation & informed touch

The Science Behind the Empirical Knead Model

Introduction

The Empirical Knead Model, founded by Dedric Carroll — a published researcher with 17 years of clinical experience — is a science-informed approach designed to resolve musculoskeletal pain, restore posture, and improve performance.

The Foundations

Clinical Research

• 13 years of published collaboration with Emory University.
• Demonstrated how informed touch can reduce systemic inflammation.

Clinical Practice

• Nearly two decades of neuromuscular therapy and structural integration.
• Refined protocols that restore balance, reduce pain, and improve function.

Fascia & the Anatomy Trains System

• Every human body is connected by 12 fascia meridians, fascia lines that shape posture and movement across a lifetime. Fascia has a vast nerve supply and presents from just beneath the skin down to bone and envelops muscle cells. Understanding these pathways and how they work is key to our practice.
• These connective pathways link muscles from head to toe, adapting to daily patterns, postures, and stresses.
• Over time, these adaptations can lead to imbalances, spinal deviations, spasms, and chronic pain. Revealing that often times that the source of pain is not always the site of pain.

How We Work

• Neuromuscular Therapy: Relieves acute spasms, trigger points, and pain patterns.
• Fascia Re-Education: Restores better coordination between your nervous, muscular, and skeletal systems.
• Postural Alignment: Releases your connective tissue restrictions, re-educates muscle tone and looks to balance your core
  

The Emotional Layer

• Fascia is connected to the nervous system and can hold patterns of tension and stored emotion.
• Releasing these restrictions often brings not only physical relief, but also emotional clarity, lightness, and transformation.

Why It Matters

Layering research-backed science with hands-on expertise, the Empirical Knead Model is more than massage. It’s a holistic system designed to:

• Resolve pain
• Restore function
• Improve quality of life