With tons of wellness trends out there, it’s so easy to get overwhelmed with the options, especially when it comes to recovery. Well, I can honestly say I recently started implementing the most game changing tool into my wellness regimen: Delos Muscle Therapy. Delos is known to help with: chronic pain, muscle stiffness and athletic injuries. Local to Chicago, and completely one-of-a kind in its approach, I heard people raving about it, and knew it was something I had to look into! I’m here to echo those praises and share more about what it is, my experience, and why I think it’s incredibly important for our physical body.
I’ve dealt with random tightness/muscular discomfort from simply living an active lifestyle. I’ve always tried to be proactive in recovery to ease these issues as much as I can (simply doing yoga, stretching, cupping, cryotherapy, etc.) I also suffered a knee injury freshman year of high school. Yes, that was FOREVER ago, but I’m still, unfortunately, dealing with atrophy and other issues as a result. What triggered me finally going to Delos (after having it on my to-do list for months) was this weird mid-back pain. I don’t typically suffer from back pain, but I knew it was caused by neglecting the tightness of my hips, so worked its way up into my back. Luckily, I was able to get my first 25-minute session the very next day, so I knew that pain wouldn’t be lingering for much longer.
My first session was with Eric, the founder. During the session, he was able to define what exactly was happening to my muscles at a cellular level. He described the tight muscle as built up collagen, that has a rock/ball-like feeling. Your muscles get hard (think of it as a state of flex), but they need to be pliable. If you’re not pliable, that’s when you start hitting plateaus in your fitness routine. While other methods (i.e. foam rolling) are great, they only stop at that top layer. At Delos, using their body weight (yes, with their elbow and forearm!) they are able to penetrate too much deeper layers of the muscle tissue and to help loosen it. It truly is a “hurt so good” type of feeling. I, personally, have always LOVED deep tissue massages and believe I have a pretty high pain tolerance. Eric recommended I come in for 12 50-minute sessions (about 3x/week for 4 weeks) and then determine what’s needed from there in terms of maintenance. While it was really deep and intense at first, the sessions over time have become more relaxed. My body is acclimated to the method, but also, is feeling SO much better. Also, the first few sessions really break down that top layer of tightness, so now we’re working at targeting the deeper levels specifically.
Weeks later, and I truly DO feel a difference in my mobility, my workout progressions and the lightness of my body. Mainly seeing Astrid and Amber at the River North locations (they have a ton throughout the Chicagoland area!), I look forward to every single one and feel like a new person when I leave. I honestly think I could fall asleep on the table at this point…that’s how good it feels! Some sessions are more intense than others depending on my workouts, and I definitely prefer to get treated after I’ve already worked out for the day. I’ve been able to really get to know my body at a deeper, muscular level, and I feel like I am finally giving my muscles the attention they deserve for all of their hard work. I will continue documenting and sharing my process, as I am far from done! I truly cannot imagine my regimen without Delos anymore. I love the people, the practice, the uniqueness, the thoroughness, everything. I am so comfortable in the space and just absolutely love how it makes me feel. I love it so much I’ve been screaming it from the rooftops. If you’re in the local area, I can’t recommend it enough — plus, you get to use my name as a referral for your first 25-minute consult session FREE! And if you’re not, hopefully, they’ll expand across the US someday soon ;). I truly am in awe in how much my body has transformed in just a few short weeks. I feel incredible and I am so grateful for my experience thus far with Delos! You can find more of my behind the sessions treatments and progress in my Delos Muscle Therapy highlight on Instagram!
I had a few questions asked on my Instagram stories as well, so while some of it is covered above, I wanted to share those quick answers for you!
Pictured with Astrid(above) and Amber(below), two of the therapists
FAQ (answered by the Delos team!)
- How much are the sessions/how often should you go? (I assume people will ask about insurance too)
- The amount of recommended sessions varies from individual to individual based on how tight they are and how their body react to the first treatment. We do recommend as a baseline 12 sessions at 3 times a week! Broken down, session cost ranges from $49-$119 per treatment depending on treatment duration and commitment level. We do not accept insurance.
- During a recent session, I personally asked about Delos with physical therapy after an injury, and Amber mentioned how Delos should ideally be used in-tandem or even before physical therapy.
- What are the benefits? What kind of injuries or issues should you see them for? What is a sign that someone needs this therapy?
- The benefits are numerous but the main benefits include: increased strength, loosened tension, help with headaches/migraines, increased mobility, and increased pliability.
- You can see us for a number of things! If you have hip issues, lower back issues, stiff necks (from sitting at a desk all day. What we call “tech neck”), calf and thigh tightness, migraines, etc. We work on the whole length of the muscle that contains collagen buildups to help relieve most any type of chronic pain.
- Honestly, everyone can benefit from Delos! A lot of the time we go through life just thinking that our pain is normal and part of everyday life; we just get comfortable with it. But if you feel a muscle and it’s hard like a rock, (for instance, a lot of people hold rock like tension in their shoulders) that means that the muscle is not performing at it’s best potential and is limited in mobility and strength. A lot of times, we get patients that come in for a dull pain and leave with so much more mobility and pliability and are really surprised by what breaking up that collagen build up (making the muscle feel like a rock) does for them.
