Yup, I'd say you're on the right track

Is this like ART? (I think that's active release therapy) I've heard of others using it... say the treatment can be painful at the time but offers relief from your injury. I'd be wary, but may be worth a try. And I agree... you're looking for solutions not grasping at straws.

Darn, I thought if I clicked on this thread, I'd get one

Hi Holly, Earlier this year, I had a problem with my hip that wasn't going away. I went for deep friction massage a few times and it hurt like a son of a gun, but it kept me on the road, and allowed me to complete a target half marathon. However it provided only temporary relief, and it ultimately took some PT and some serious stretching to finally get me beyond the problem. If I had a tendon/muscle problem again, I wouldn't hesitate to try another DF massage. It's not that expensive, and a good massage therapist might not be able to resolve the issue, but at least they should be able to provide a modicum of relief without making the problem any worse. At best, the issue will be resolved in 2-3 sessions. Jay

Holly, I'm finally making some progress with self-treatment sort of based on deep massage theory. Over the past months, I've had several hundred dollars in doctor's bills and PT. Some of the PT was helpful, but there just wasn't enough of it. The basic problem with PT is that they want you to come in for an hour at a time, 2 or 3 times a week. During that hour, they do a number of things that are profitable for them but not helpful, but may manage to hit on one really good procedure that only takes a few minutes. I concluded that what I needed was not a full hour a couple times a week, but more like 10 or so minutes, 2 or 3 times a day, 5 or 6 days a week. Does this make sense to anyone? So after doing some research on the Internet and finding a treatment article for what I have self-diagnosed myself with, my problem seems to be responding for the cost of a $2 tennis ball! I sit on the floor, putting the tennis ball under the afflicted buttock, and then shift my weight onto it so it digs in and massages the inflamed area of my hamstrings and piriformis muscles. Believe me -- I can feel it! But it is giving me some good results, if only that it feels good when I stop . The idea is that this helps to break down scar tissue from whatever has been torn or injured. Without this treatment, the scar tissue is going to prevent the muscle from stretching properly, so whenever you start using it again, it pulls the scar tissue and causes a re-injury. The combination of massage and stretching should help get things back to their proper condition while healing. So getting some outside treatment or self-treatment is definitely a good idea.