Evan Johnson RMT

Relaxation vs. Therapeutic Massage — Which one is right for you? 🌿

Both types of massage offer incredible benefits, but they serve slightly different purposes depending on what your body needs.

✨ Relaxation Massage
Designed to calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and ease overall tension. This gentle, flowing style encourages circulation and promotes a deep sense of peace — perfect if you’re feeling mentally or physically drained and need to reset.

💪 Therapeutic Massage
Focuses on specific areas of discomfort or restriction. Techniques such as deep tissue and trigger point release help address chronic pain, muscle tightness, or injury recovery. It’s ideal for improving mobility, posture, and long-term function.

Whether you’re looking to unwind or work through tension, your treatment will always be customized to your goals and comfort level.

📍 Location: 22420 Dewdney Trunk Road, Unit 300 (Regus Building), Maple Ridge
🕒 Hours: Tuesday – Friday | 12 PM – 10 PM
💳 Direct Insurance Billing Available

🔗 LINK TO BOOK IN BIO

Take time to care for yourself — your body will thank you. 💆‍♂️

A lot of people don’t realize their body has been stuck in a protective pattern until everything starts feeling tight, stiff, or reactive.

This is what we call “guarding.”
It’s when muscles stay contracted to protect an area the body perceives as stressed, overloaded, or vulnerable.

It can happen after:
• Chronic stress
• Old injuries
• Poor posture over time
• Repetitive strain
• Overtraining or lack of recovery
• Long periods of tension without release

This pattern often shows up as:
• A neck that constantly feels tight
• Traps that won’t relax
• A low back that keeps “grabbing”
• Jaw clenching
• Stiff hips and shoulders
• Feeling tense even when you’re trying to relax

The problem is, once the body gets used to guarding, that tension becomes the new normal.

Muscles stay overactive.
Movement becomes restricted.
The nervous system stays on high alert.

Over time, this creates more compensation, more stiffness, and more discomfort throughout the body.

This is why treatment isn’t just about “working out knots.”

The goal is to help the body feel safe enough to stop protecting itself unnecessarily.

With the right treatment approach, we can:
• Reduce excessive muscle tension
• Improve mobility and circulation
• Calm the nervous system
• Restore more natural movement patterns
• Help the body shift out of constant guarding mode

Most people don’t realize how much tension they’ve been carrying until their body finally starts letting it go.

📍Suite 300, 22420 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge, BC
Booking: https://evanjohnsonrmt.janeapp.com

www.evanjohnsonrmt.com

🙏🙏🙏

Lorraine, thank you so much for taking the time to leave this, it genuinely means a lot. I’m really glad we’ve been able to build that over the years. Looking forward to seeing you at your next appointment! 😊
Evan

👋 Meet Your RMT

My name’s Evan! I became a Registered Massage Therapist because I genuinely believe that understanding your body is the first step to feeling better in it — and I built my practice around that.

Every session I do is tailored. I take time to understand not just where something hurts, but why — and I’ll always explain what I’m finding and what I’m doing about it. My approach is clinical and methodical, but clients tell me they feel at ease pretty quickly, and that matters to me.

Good therapeutic work requires trust.

I work with people managing chronic tension, recovering from injury, staying on top of an active lifestyle, and everything in between.

👍 Direct billing available for most extended health plans.

📍I’m located at Suite 300, 22420 Dewdney Trunk Road in Maple Ridge — right next to Trevor Linden Fitness.

If you have questions before booking, feel free to reach out. Otherwise, I’d love to see you in the treatment room.

👉 evanjohnsonrmt.janeapp.com

www.evanjohnsonrmt.com

That stubborn spot between your shoulder blades isn’t just a tight muscle. It’s usually a trigger point — a small, hyperirritable area where muscle fibres have seized up and stopped functioning normally.

Trigger points form in response to overuse, poor posture, stress, or injury. They restrict blood flow to surrounding tissue, which means the muscle can’t get the oxygen it needs to recover on its own. That’s why they linger for weeks without treatment.

What makes them particularly interesting is that they refer pain to other areas. A trigger point in your neck can cause headaches. One in your hip can mimic sciatica. One between your shoulder blades can send tension all the way down your arm. Treating the source — not just where it hurts — is what actually resolves it.

If you have a spot that keeps coming back no matter what you do, Trigger Point Therapy combined with Myofascial Release is likely what your body is asking for.

Trigger Point Therapy · Myofascial Release · Deep Tissue Massage - book in for a Therapeutic 45, 60, or 90min massage.

👍 Direct Billing Welcome

📍 Suite 300, 22420 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge

👉 Book at evanjohnsonrmt.janeapp.com

Repetitive Strain Doesn’t Go Away on Its Own

It builds slowly, and once it’s there, it tends to stick around.

It’s common in people who:
• Work at a desk or computer for long hours
• Use their hands and arms repeatedly (trades, dental, healthcare, fitness)
• Train consistently without enough recovery
• Perform the same movements day after day

It often shows up as:
• Ongoing tightness in the same areas
• Aching or burning sensations
• Stiffness that returns quickly after stretching
• Reduced strength or mobility over time

What’s happening beneath the surface:
• Muscles are being overused without enough recovery
This leads to buildup of tension and irritation in the tissue
• Movement patterns become imbalanced
The same muscles are doing the work repeatedly, while others become underused
• Tissue quality starts to change
Fascia and muscle can become dense and restricted, limiting normal movement
• The body adapts to the strain
Instead of resolving, the tension becomes the new baseline

How treatment helps:
• Reduces accumulated tension in overworked muscles
• Improves circulation and tissue health
• Restores more balanced movement patterns
• Helps prevent the issue from progressing into more serious injury

Repetitive strain doesn’t usually resolve with rest alone—because the pattern itself is still there.

Addressing it early and consistently makes a significant difference in how your body feels and performs over time.

📍 Suite 300, 22420 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge, BC next to Trevor Linden Fitness

✔️ Direct Billing for most insurance providers

🔗 evanjohnsonrmt.janeapp.com

If the back of your neck feels locked up—stiff, restricted, hard to turn—it rarely stays isolated.

That kind of tension tends to spread and show up in other areas of the upper body.

This pattern often looks like:
• A stiff, “blocked” feeling in the back of the neck
• Difficulty turning your head or looking over your shoulder
• Tight, overactive upper traps
• Jaw clenching or tension
• A tight chest and shoulders that feel pulled forward
• Tension headaches or pressure at the base of the skull

What’s happening:
• Neck restriction creates a chain reaction
When the muscles at the back of the neck are tight, they pull on surrounding structures, forcing the shoulders and upper traps to compensate
• Jaw and neck are closely linked
Tension in the neck often feeds into the jaw, especially under stress, leading to clenching or discomfort
• Chest tightness adds to the problem
When the front of the body is tight, it pulls the shoulders forward, increasing strain on the back of the neck
• The body stays in a guarded state
Once this pattern sets in, muscles stay overactive and don’t fully relax on their own

How treatment helps:
• Releases tension through the back of the neck and base of the skull
• Reduces overload in the traps and shoulders
• Helps decrease jaw tension by addressing the connected structures
• Opens up the chest to improve overall positioning
• Restores more natural, comfortable movement

When the neck is properly treated, the surrounding areas often improve with it.
Clients usually notice less pulling, easier movement, and a significant reduction in that “locked” feeling.

📍Suite 300, 22420 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge, BC (next to Trevor Linden Fitness)

✅ Direct Billing for most insurance providers

👉https://evanjohnsonrmt.janeapp.com

Another review to share from a new patient - thank you Ryley! Truly appreciated! 🙏💪

💆‍♀️ Massage therapy isn’t just about relaxation - it’s about changing how your body functions.

After a treatment, your body begins to shift in noticeable ways:
• Muscle tension releases
Areas that have been holding stress start to soften, allowing for more natural movement
• Circulation increases
Improved blood flow supports tissue health, recovery, and overall mobility
• Your nervous system resets
Your body moves out of a constant state of tension into a more balanced, regulated state
• Joint movement improves
With less restriction in the surrounding tissue, joints begin to move more freely and efficiently
• Patterns begin to change
The way your body holds tension, compensates, and moves starts to recalibrate

Afterward, it’s common to feel:
• More relaxed and grounded
• Noticeably looser
• Clearer mentally
• Occasionally slightly sore as your body adapts

These aren’t just temporary effects—they’re part of a larger shift toward better movement and less strain on your body over time.

Consistent treatment builds on these changes, creating lasting improvements in how your body feels and performs.

👍 Direct Billing Available
📍Suite 300, 22420 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge, BC
🔗 evanjohnsonrmt.janeapp.com

Joint stiffness is one of the most common things people deal with and one of the most overlooked.

It shows up as:
• Feeling tight or restricted when you first move
• Needing time to “warm up” your body
• Limited range of motion in areas like shoulders, hips, or knees
• A constant sense that your body just isn’t moving the way it should

The important thing to understand is this:
Stiff joints are rarely just a joint problem.

In most cases, the issue comes from:
• Tight muscles surrounding the joint
• Restricted fascia limiting movement
• Poor circulation to the area
• Repetitive movement patterns or prolonged sitting

This is where regular massage therapy makes a significant difference.

With consistent treatment:
• Muscle tension around the joint is reduced
Less tension means less compression and more freedom to move
• Circulation improves
Better blood flow helps bring nutrients into the joint and remove irritation
• Mobility increases over time
Joints begin to move more smoothly and with less resistance
• The body stops compensating
When one area improves, other areas don’t have to overwork and become stiff themselves

One treatment can help you feel relief.
But consistent care is what actually changes how your body functions.

With the right approach, it can be improved—and in many cases, significantly reduced.

📍Suite 300, 22420 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge, BC
🔗 https://evanjohnsonrmt.janeapp.com
👍 Direct Billing Accepted

Joint inflammation isn’t always obvious.
It doesn’t have to look like severe swelling or injury to affect how you move and feel day to day.

A lot of people experience it as:
• Stiffness, especially in the morning or after sitting
• A dull, aching sensation in joints
• Reduced range of motion
• That “tight” or pressurized feeling that doesn’t fully go away

Here’s what’s often happening beneath the surface:

• Surrounding muscle tension

Tight muscles can compress joints and limit circulation, which contributes to irritation and inflammation over time

• Restricted movement patterns

When joints aren’t moving properly, fluid exchange decreases and stiffness builds - this creates a cycle of inflammation and limited mobility

• Compensation in the body

When one area isn’t functioning well, other joints take on more load than they should, leading to ongoing irritation

• Nervous system stress

Chronic stress can increase muscle guarding and sensitivity, making inflammation feel more intense and persistent

What actually helps:
• Reducing tension in the muscles surrounding the joint
• Restoring proper movement and joint mobility
• Improving circulation and tissue health
• Addressing the body as a system, not just the painful area

👉Joint inflammation isn’t something you have to push through or ignore.

When it’s treated properly, movement becomes easier, pressure decreases, and that constant stiffness starts to resolve.

📍Suite 300, 22420 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Maple Ridge, BC
🔗https://evanjohnsonrmt.janeapp.com