Frequently Asked Questions

A beach towel for the table, your mask, bottle of water. If you follow us on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, you will see what our clients wear to a treatment. Stretchy workout style is the best for movement and being able to place cups on the back under a sports type of bra. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to call.

We are in the PB Sullivan building, 2662 Wai Wai Place #104, Kīhei.

From the highway: (We are makai of Kīhei Elementary School) Turn down onto Lipoa, left on Liloa, right on Halekuai, left onto Wai Wai. Two story building on the right.

From South Kīhei Road: Turn onto Halekuai street (Pizza Madness and Medispa on the corner). At the top section of Halekuai Street you turn right onto Wai Wai Place. PB Sullivan Building is on the right side of the street.

We ask that you come alone to limit the number of people in an enclosed space. (This does not apply to minors. We require they have a parent or adult guardian in the room at all times during treatment.)

We prefer credit card payments for contactless payment. We will bill you for your service and you can pay from your email invoice sent from us prior to your appointment. If you are new to the clinic and it’s the first time we are seeing you, we will take a credit card over the phone to hold the appointment. However, you can pay with any credit card you wish when you receive your invoice via email (Square processing).

If you are an established client and it’s preferable to you, we will accommodate cash at the office when you come in. Please let us know you need to pay cash and we will make a note in our system.

We generally do. However, our capacity is currently quite limited due to Covid challenges. So please call ahead before booking to see whether we can take your claim, or we can refer you elsewhere.

A prescription that says “for Massage Therapy” (specifically), ideally with frequency and duration (example: 1–2 × week for 8 weeks).

The claim information must include: the claim number, the auto insurance company, the claim rep’s contact info (including phone and email) and any other pertinent info. We will scan those documents when you come in, or you can email them to the office.

We currently don’t offer any packages. Due to the challenges of Covid-19, we had to discontinue packages.

We don’t offer discounts, but occasionally we run programs or hold events with heavily discounted or free treatments offered. When we offer these they will be advertised only on social media or by email. If you are not already following us and have not set up a profile in our system, please subscribe to us @sportbodywork on Instagram.

We generally do not take any health insurance. However, some insurance companies will reimburse you after you’ve paid us if you submit a receipt to them. Please see your insurance company for their specific guidelines. We can provide a receipt if you email us your request with your name, date of service, total amount paid, and an email address to send it to.

You can fill out the contact us form with your full name, your email address, date of service, and total you paid including tip.

Yes we do. Click on the link to “a little help” and we will set you up for an appointment.

We won’t know until we’ve assessed and treated you in session 1. Generally, our clients see results after treatment number 1. However, for the best results you should build on that progress with 3–5 treatments over the course of a couple of months.

The Sportbodywork Method is different because you can control the speed of recovery based on how often and how well you do your therapist-prescribed exercises. Reminder: they should always be done pain-free.

If you cannot remember how to do your exercises prescribed at your last visit, contact us for a refresher Zoom training by appointment. See the link “a little help”. Remember, always work in pain-free ranges — your exercise should not hurt while doing them.

The Sportbodywork Method is a fusion of several modalities, including deep tissue. However, your treatment will be customized to your needs. A “deep tissue” massage means different things to different people. When you come in for a treatment, we will assess what your individual needs are and review your intake form to help us understand your needs and develop a treatment plan based on your specific needs.

We use the same techniques that ART was developed with — specifically, STR (Soft Tissue Release). This technique was originally designed to help athletes avoid or eliminate the need for surgery. And our principal Massage Therapist Paul does hold certifications in STR.

If you are post-surgery the incision must be completely closed (pink coloring is ok, scabbing is not) before coming in for treatment. Additionally, if there is excessive swelling or edema we cannot treat the area; however, we can help you reduce the swelling, which will reduce the pain. If the skin is healthy and intact, specific taping is very helpful. If you are not sure if you should come in, send us an email at this contact us link.

We understand the body differently and more technically than 99% of other therapists. Because our work is centered in injury rehab, we have developed a keen sense for how to assess and treat correctly. We don’t work on you until we know what the source of the issue is through an assessment. We work on the source, not the complaint. For example, you may have wrist pain and the cause could be in your forearm or shoulder. We are trained in injury rehab and have success in all of the areas listed below and more. However, individual cases vary. What we do is not magic — it’s treatment, and you have a part in whether or not it is successful. Many Massage Therapists refer their difficult cases to us. Additionally, we work on Massage Therapists when they have injuries. If the pain can be relieved by any type of therapy of the muscle, it’s highly likely we can help. If you think your situation is different, call us or email us before booking.

Sciatica? Yes. Once assessment is complete and we’ve determined that we can get you into a position that is pain-free, it’s much more likely you will leave with less or no sciatica in session 1. The prognosis will vary case by case. Part of the benefit of what we do is the information you will leave with — the right exercises to help you at home, and what NOT to do as well.

Carpal tunnel? Yes. And this is where assessment is really important. Carpal tunnel (median nerve entrapment) can sometimes come from the neck or forearm. Once we assess, we will know what to do to give you relief. Posture correction and helping the muscles release to take pressure off the tendons is the general treatment. Tight muscles are the cause of the tendon sheath inflammation, which reduces the space for the nerve, resulting in entrapment. This can be relieved without surgery most of the time if you are willing to put in the work.

Jumper’s / runner’s knee? Yes — often there is significant relief in the first assessment and treatment session. How well you do your prescribed exercises will determine the speed at which you heal. The patellar tendon is one of the biggest in the body, which means it has great potential to heal.

Rotator cuff? Yes we can. The shoulder joint is one of the most complicated in our body, so assessment here is vital — as is knowing how to treat and what not to do. Success rates at SBW are very high for rotator cuff. We have at least one or two of these injuries being treated in an average week.

My hip? Yes we can. Most of the time it’s a soft tissue issue — muscle, tendon or ligament. Please note, there are a few hip issues that cannot be helped without surgery; however, these are actually rare. If you need more info, send us an email with your specific question.

Low back pain? Yes we can. Low back pain is one of our specialties. You will leave feeling better and with information you didn’t have before on the cause, how to fix it, and how not to repeat it.

Tennis / golfer’s elbow? Each treatment is unique to each client. Most of the time this is caused by an imbalance. If we can correct this, the pain goes away.

Achilles tendinitis? We can’t actually diagnose these things (see your medical doctor for a diagnosis); however, after an assessment we will be able to tell you what’s going on and how to address the problem. If you do have Achilles tendinitis, we can help. If you have a fracture, we will refer you to your doctor.

Tight IT band? Almost always this is caused by lateral hip and medial glute muscle tension, which means we can definitely help. DO NOT roll or mash your actual IT band — it’s a tendon, not a muscle. When you leave our clinic you will know just what to do to avoid this tension in the future and help yourself get better at home.

Piriformis syndrome? Yes we do. Your piriformis is one of your deep six external hip rotators. It can get tight and irritated. If it’s putting pressure on the sciatic nerve, it will cause sciatica-like symptoms. We can help relieve this tightness.

Bursitis? Bursitis is inflammation of small fluid-filled sacs (bursa) that reduce friction between moving parts in your body’s joints. We treat the surrounding area to reduce tension. Once the tension is reduced, the inflammation decreases and there is less pressure on the bursa, allowing it to heal. Before treating bursitis we will assess to make sure that is what you have.

Arthritis? Yes — bodywork, a healthy anti-inflammatory diet and exercise are the best treatments for arthritis.

Thoracic outlet? This is generally a neck, chest and shoulder issue. Yes we can help. TOS is a great example of a postural issue causing pain — correct the source and the symptom goes away.

Ligament sprain / strain? Yes.

Tendonitis? Generally this takes a bit of time but has a high success rate. Tight muscles lead to tendinitis; release and retrain the muscles and the tendonitis goes away.

Degenerative disc disease? This diagnosis really scares people. In layman’s terms it’s the effect of gravity on our body over time combined with posture or repetitive strain issues. A little posture help and bodywork from us, along with improved resting positions, and you’ll experience relief soon.

Trigger finger? We can help using Soft Tissue Release and scraping along with eccentric loading of the involved joints.

De Quervain’s syndrome? Yes.

Herniated disc? Yes — depending on severity and whether it’s an anterior or posterior herniation (please bring in or send us the MRI summary if it’s a severe case). If it’s not severe, the treatment is the same as for degenerative disc disease: most of the time will be spent retraining your body and mind how to stand, sit, walk and lie down for relief.

If your knees are noisy, then possibly. We will ask you some questions in an assessment; however, we cannot diagnose this — see your medical doctor. If you’ve been diagnosed with chondromalacia, we CAN treat you for it and give you the correct exercises and self-care. Even in extreme cases you usually will get relief from our bodywork and corrective exercises.

This is extremely common and we treat this successfully weekly.

We often refer out to other professionals. An email in the contact us form letting us know what you need will suffice.

We do not yet certify others to do what we do outside of our area, so we can’t refer you to another therapist yet. We are working on a certification program for LMTs. However, when we travel we also look for people who have a similar way of treating — those with great reviews for pain relief who specialize in injury rehab and work the way we do. Photos and videos of their work should tell you a lot. We never find success in spa settings or with any therapist that mentions “relaxation” as an adjective to describe their work. A good place to start may be on Instagram, searching for terms such as bodywork or similar. Chiropractors or athletes in the area may be a good lead. Hope that helps.

A Chiropractor generally manipulates bones and joints, often with high-velocity manipulation or adjustment, and then you may feel that you need an adjustment again and again. The reason is that the musculature has not been addressed. Why is that important? Because you only have a little over 200 bones but over 600 muscles — those muscles are pulling those bones and causing you to be in pain. We address the muscle and joint system with specific, expert manual therapy focused on the cause of the pain. There is absolutely a place for chiropractic adjustments in your wellness routine, but for a muscle and joint imbalance or injury, chiropractic alone will not address the problem.

A Physical Therapist can use manual therapy to get greater results than corrective exercises alone, but many don’t — and in fact the medical institutions that employ them prefer them not to. The growing trend is that the Physical Therapist doesn’t work with the patient manually at all; instead, you are given a sheet of exercises to do at home. The problem we find with this approach is that manual therapy is often needed, especially in the beginning stages of an injury recovery — and if the patient could do the prescribed movements correctly at home, they wouldn’t need Physical Therapy.

A Massage Therapist is licensed to provide manual therapy to treat tension or pain in the body. This is generally done with lotion on a treatment table, unclothed but under sheets (draping), and can be in a spa setting, your own home, or another private practice. This can be very effective if the massage therapist understands how to assess injuries, understands muscle and joint anatomy and the function of each muscle and joint, and understands the cause of pain.

We work under the license of a Massage Therapy Establishment and we offer treatment that can address what is not addressed by the Chiropractor, the Physical Therapist, or the Massage Therapist — and is highly effective. We recommend that you consult your doctor about adding our therapy to your wellness plan. Once you’ve had one session, you’ll understand why we don’t fall into these three categories and have a unique position to help you make a faster recovery that can last.

If you can answer yes to this question, it’s highly likely we can help: Is there a position I can get into where my pain is reduced or gone completely? If you still don’t know whether this treatment is right for you, feel free to call the office and speak to us. We’re standing by.

Because the state of things has been in constant flux, it is hard to dictate policies since they have changed over time and will continue to.

If you have any symptoms currently related to a cold or flu, or you lost your sense of smell, do not come in until your symptoms have ceased for 24 hours.

If you traveled within the last 10 days and have any symptoms, please reschedule for 24 hours past your symptoms. If you travel and get back to Maui, we prefer a negative test after you return and a 7-day wait to book an appointment. You can email us for specific case-by-case questions.

If you are not following the current guidelines for Maui County as for the use of masks and social gatherings, we can refer you to a different therapist.

We will wear a mask and we will require you to wear a mask to be treated by us. If you are being treated on your stomach, we will give you the option to remove your mask for that time. Our mask will always stay on.

You can always email, call or text us at the office if you have questions or would like a more specific answer to your Covid-related questions, or if you think one of these guidelines may not apply to you.

We are seeing out-of-state and out-of-country residents as long as they have been on Maui for at least 5 days. If you took a test after arriving on Maui and received your negative result, we can see you after 3 days on island.

What if I had Covid? If you had Covid, we will have you wait for a full 7 days past your last day of symptoms.

If you have questions, it’s always ok to text, email or call us for clarification.

We will always abide by the golden rule: “Do to others as you want done to you.” Applying that principle, we will not sacrifice ours or your health and safety for our personal comfort. If we are being overly cautious, it is simply to not expose you, us, or our family members to any communicable diseases. Sorry for the inconvenience it may cause.