Massage Therapy in Plantation, FL

Why Plantation patients choose us for massage therapy

When someone from Plantation calls about massage therapy in Plantation, three things usually settle the decision to come to Coral Springs instead of somewhere closer.

• The drive is easier than it sounds. It is about 25 minutes up University Drive or the Sawgrass Expressway, and parking is free, right outside the door. We see patients from Plantation Central Park, Volunteer Park and Plantation Acres every week.
• Evening and early slots. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday run until 7:00 pm; Wednesday afternoons and Friday mornings round out the week. Most Plantation patients can fit visits around work and school runs.
• We understand who lives in Plantation. Our typical Plantation patients are Plantation professionals who commute on I-595 and the Turnpike, golfers from Plantation Preserve and Jacaranda, and cyclists and runners from Central Park — and the plan reflects those loads, not a template.

Clinical massage versus a spa massage: what Plantation patients should expect

Here is the short version for anyone weighing massage therapy in Plantation: a spa massage is a service; clinical massage is a treatment. We provide the second kind — hands-on soft-tissue work prescribed for a specific reason, aimed at the guarding, trigger points and fascial restriction that keep a painful spine locked.

Why it belongs in a spine clinic

A guarded muscle pulls a joint back out of position within hours of an adjustment. Releasing that guarding first, from the same exam findings and surface EMG scans Dr. Jared Cohen, DC uses, is what makes the correction hold. Our therapist and our doctors share one chart, one scan and one plan.

What it is not

It is not a full-body routine, it is not booked without an exam, and it is not a replacement for fixing the joint or disc underneath. We have treated Plantation families since 2005 — Plantation professionals who commute on I-595 and the Turnpike, golfers from Plantation Preserve and Jacaranda, and cyclists and runners from Central Park — and the massage room is busiest in the Repair phase, when backs are too guarded for anything else. The main massage therapy page has the full protocol.

How does massage release guarding, trigger points and fascia?

Three things keep a painful spine locked after the original injury has calmed down: muscle guarding, trigger points and fascial restriction. Massage addresses each differently, and the surface EMG scan from visit one tells us which one your region is dealing with.

1. Guarding shows up on the scan as a band of high muscle activity beside the irritated segment. Sustained pressure and slow deep strokes bring the tone down so the adjustment can go in and hold.
2. Trigger points are the knots that refer pain — upper trapezius into the head, glutes down the leg. Direct, held pressure on the band releases it, and the referred pain usually fades with it.
3. Fascial restriction is the thickened wrap around a muscle after an old injury or years of the I-595 and Turnpike commute. Myofascial release stretches it slowly; cupping lifts and decompresses it where pressure alone has plateaued.

Where tissue has become truly fibrotic, massage hands off to Graston Technique. The evidence for massage itself is modest but real: NCCIH notes that research suggests it may help with low back and neck pain in the short term and is generally safe when provided by a trained professional (NCCIH, Massage Therapy: What You Need To Know). Short-term tissue change is exactly what we ask of it.

Why pair massage therapy in Plantation with adjustments and decompression?

Because muscles and joints are one system. An adjustment restores motion to a locked joint, but if the muscles around it are still in spasm they pull it right back within hours. Massage before the adjustment relaxes those muscles so the correction goes in with less force and holds longer; massage after calms any soreness and keeps the segment moving.

A Repair-phase visit at our Coral Springs clinic often looks like this for a Plantation patient: 30 minutes of targeted massage on the guarded region, then a specific chiropractic adjustment, then cold laser or PEMF to settle inflammation. For disc cases, massage prepares the lumbar muscles so spinal decompression on the Triton DTS table can separate the vertebrae without the paraspinals bracing against the pull.

It also pairs with Graston Technique: massage handles broad tone and guarding, Graston’s instruments break down the specific adhesions hands cannot reach. Patients with neck pain from desk and phone posture feel this combination most clearly, because the upper traps and suboccipitals are usually both guarded and knotted.

Where does massage fit in the 4R Method?

Massage therapy in Plantation is the one tool in the building that appears at both ends of the 4R Method. At the start, in Repair, it is clinical and targeted. At the end, in Refine, it is recovery. The middle phases use it only when a tissue asks for it.

Repair (3–5 visits a week, 4–8 weeks): short sessions on the guarded region before each adjustment or decompression session. For a Plantation patient who seized up during cycling the paths at Central Park, this is often the first thing that lets them sleep. Rebuild (2–3 visits a week, 8–16 weeks): as needed, when physical therapy loading leaves the hips or mid-back tight or the surface EMG re-scan shows a region guarding again.

Regenerate (about twice a week, 2+ months): occasional sessions alongside red light, PEMF and IHHT. Refine (monthly): a 60-minute recovery session next to your structural tune-up, which for the golfers, pickleball players and desk workers of Plantation tends to be the habit that keeps the result.

What is a session like, who benefits most, and what happens at your first two visits?

Sessions are 30 or 60 minutes depending on the plan, in a private room, and focused on the regions your findings call for. A typical session for a Plantation patient runs like this:

1. Check-in. The therapist reviews your current symptoms and the latest scan findings and asks about pressure tolerance.
2. Targeted work. Guarding release and trigger point therapy on the regions driving your pain — commonly the lumbar paraspinals and glutes, or the upper traps and suboccipitals.
3. Pressure you control. Clinical does not mean painful. Deep work should feel like a ‘good hurt’ you can breathe through; say the word and it eases.
4. Hand-off. Massage is usually scheduled right before your adjustment, so you walk from the massage room to the treatment room.

Afterward, drink water, move gently and expect mild soreness for up to a day in areas that were very tight. Tell us about skin conditions, blood thinners, recent surgery or pregnancy before your session so the approach can be adapted. Massage changes the trajectory most for acute low back pain with heavy guarding, tension headaches from desk posture, hip and SI pain with tight flexors, athletes between training sessions, and stress-driven shoulder tension.

Like everything here, massage is prescribed after your first two visits. Visit one is a measurement visit: a conversation, a hands-on structural exam, surface EMG and thermal scanning, and digital X-rays when indicated. Visit two is your report of findings with Dr. Jared Cohen, DC, and Most patients have already begun care on visit one; this is where the full plan takes over. Take the 60-second spine assessment before you leave Plantation for a head start. If you have loss of bladder or bowel control, rapidly worsening weakness, or back pain with fever, please see a doctor or urgent care today.

Getting to our Coral Springs clinic from Plantation

From Westfield Broward at Broward Boulevard and University Drive, take University Drive north about 12 miles to Wiles Road, turn west to Coral Ridge Drive and then north. Or take the Sawgrass Expressway north from Sunrise Boulevard to the Coral Ridge Drive exit and head south.

Park free in the lot outside the clinic. If you need to be seen quickly, call (954) 341-2256 — we hold same-day slots most days, and we will tell you exactly when to leave Plantation to arrive on time.

Clinic hours

Monday	9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Tuesday	9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Wednesday	3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Thursday	9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Friday	9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday	Closed

The Spine and Wellness Center
5675 Coral Ridge Drive, Coral Springs, FL 33076
Phone: (954) 341-2256
Get directions from Plantation on Google Maps

What patients say

We do not have a published review from a Plantation patient yet, so here is one from a Coral Springs patient — the same clinic and the same team you would see:

“Professional, friendly, highly knowledgeable and trustworthy. After years of chronic pain, their precise adjustments resolved the issue and restored proper alignment. Highly recommend.”

Related care for Plantation residents

Start with the full guide to massage therapy, then explore the other care we provide for Plantation patients.

Serving massage therapy patients from Plantation across North Broward

Our clinic at 5675 Coral Ridge Drive, Coral Springs, FL 33076 serves Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Boca Raton, Tamarac, Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach. Same-day appointments are usually available — call (954) 341-2256 or book online. Most patients from Parkland and Coral Springs are here in under 15 minutes.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Jared Cohen, DC — Co-Founder & Clinical Director, The Spine and Wellness Center. Last reviewed October 2026.

Frequently asked questions