“I have had pain in my right upper back quadrant by my shoulder blade for at least a year now and the doctors have been unsuccessful in making the pain go away. I came to Dr. Bergin looking for some help. Within 3 to 4 weeks. My pain in that area is completely gone. I have had many muscle spasms in my lower back and he is working on those now; it is a work in progress, but it is feeling much better in my lower back. The staff "Rosie & Gaby are very professional and helpful . They know my name every time I come in they're helpful when needed. I can't say enough about the office and their practice. I'll be coming back for more. Thanks for your treatment doctors.”
Service
Soft Tissue Therapy
in Lakeland and The Villages, FL
Manual and instrument-assisted treatment for muscle, tendon, fascia and scar tissue, delivered as clinical care inside a plan. Dr. Justin Bergin, DC, 22 years in practice.
- 22 years in practice
- Doctor of Chiropractic led
- Non-surgical
- $47 new-patient exam
Medically reviewed by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC Updated September 18, 2026
Soft Tissue Therapy at ChiroMed
Why does it still hurt when the scan came back clean?
That is the sentence we hear most often on this service, and it is usually a tissue problem rather than an imaging problem.
Muscles that have splinted around an old injury. Tendons that have thickened. Fascia that no longer glides. Scar tissue that formed in the wrong pattern.
None of that shows up well on film, and all of it changes how you move.
Is this a massage appointment?
Soft tissue therapy at ChiroMed is clinical treatment, not a spa booking. It is delivered inside a plan, after an examination, aimed at a specific restriction that was found by hand.
Sometimes it is the whole treatment. More often it is what makes an adjustment hold, because a joint that keeps sliding back out is usually being pulled there by tissue nobody addressed.
Who does the work here?
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC has 22 years of hands on this work.
It runs through the joint and tissue recovery side of the practice rather than sitting off on its own.
It is one of the treatments offered through our sports medicine clinic.
What soft tissue therapy actually does
Soft tissue therapy is hands-on treatment of muscle, tendon, ligament and fascia using sustained pressure, movement and instrument-assisted techniques. It targets restriction, adhesion and scar tissue that limit how a joint moves. No needles, no medication, no surgery, and it is delivered as part of a clinical plan.
Soft tissue injuries carry two names in medicine, and it helps to know which one you have.
The National Library of Medicine defines a sprain as a stretched or torn ligament, the tissue that connects bone to bone. A strain is a stretched or torn muscle or tendon, the tissue that connects muscle to bone.
Both heal. Neither always heals tidily. What is left behind after an untidy repair is what this treatment is for.
Restriction, adhesion and scar tissue do not show up well on film. They still change how a joint moves, which is why a hand finds them when an image does not.
You may feel tender for a day afterwards. That is ordinary, it is discussed before it happens, and it is not a sign something went wrong.
How it works
Finding it by hand
The clinician works through the area, testing range and pressing on tissue until a contact reproduces the pain you came in with. Nothing is treated before something is found.
Working it under movement
Sustained pressure or a specific glide is held on the restriction while you move the limb through its range. That treats tension in the direction it actually runs.
Reaching the dense tissue
A smooth-edged instrument is drawn over the skin where fingers slide past a restriction. It helps most in dense tissue such as the plantar fascia or the outside of a thigh.
Who soft tissue therapy helps
- Pain that traces to muscle, tendon or fascia rather than to a joint or a disc
- Tissue that keeps pulling a joint back out after it has been adjusted
- Old scar tissue that still limits how far a limb will move
- Reduced range of motion with clean imaging and no structural explanation
Who it does not help
- A joint that is not moving through its normal range on its own account
- Pain that traces to a disc rather than to the tissue around it
- A tendon that imaging confirms is fully torn
- Compression that is structural rather than tissue-based
- Stress relief rather than the treatment of a diagnosed restriction
Background reading from an independent authority: the National Library of Medicine's patient guide to sprains and strains.
Conditions we treat with it
You can read more about each one. The examination decides which of them applies to you.
Why patients choose it
It finds what imaging misses
An MRI reports structure. A trained hand reports behavior: which band of tissue is tight, which direction it resists, which movement reproduces your pain. That is a different kind of information and it is often the useful kind.
It makes the rest of the plan hold
A joint that will not stay corrected is usually being dragged back by tissue. Treat the tissue and the correction lasts longer, which is why this work sits alongside adjusting rather than instead of it.
It is delivered as clinical care
You are examined, a specific restriction is identified, and the work is aimed at it. We do not sell it by the hour, and we do not offer it as a relaxation service.
Nothing is introduced into the body
No injection, no prescription, no downtime beyond ordinary next-day tenderness.
Cost, insurance and financing
What this costs depends on whether it is part of chiropractic care or a standalone tissue program. That is settled at the examination rather than over the phone.
The one published price
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47
What affects the cost
- Whether the work is delivered inside a chiropractic plan or as a standalone tissue program
- How many regions are involved, and whether one is driving the others
- Whether the tissue problem is recent or years old, which changes how much work it takes
- Whether it is combined with adjusting, shockwave or rehabilitation
What a course includes
- The consultation with Dr. Justin Bergin, DC
- The hands-on examination and range testing
- The written report of findings and the recommended course
- Home movement instruction and reassessment as care progresses
Payment:
Payment here is mixed. Soft tissue work delivered as part of chiropractic care bills insurance, and our team verifies your benefits before your first visit.
Standalone tissue programs and device-assisted care are self-pay. Medicare coverage varies by plan and by service, and our front desk will tell you exactly what applies before you commit to anything.
Payment plans are available for self-pay care, and the front desk tells you which plan fits your course of care. The starting point is the same for everyone: Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47.
The equipment this uses
Why ChiroMed
What else is in the building?
Most places that offer hands-on tissue work offer only hands-on tissue work. At ChiroMed it is one part of what Dr. Justin Bergin, DC has built over 22 years.
Chiropractic adjusting, spinal and knee decompression, Omniwave shockwave and Neuromed electroanalgesia run alongside it. So do the regenerative, metabolic and vitality lines, all on one plan under one roof.
Why does one clinician holding all of it matter?
A stubborn shoulder is sometimes a neck. A plantar fascia that keeps flaring is sometimes a hip.
One clinician holding the whole picture is how those connections get made instead of missed.
Where you would be treated
Where do Lakeland patients go?
Lakeland patients come to 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13, on S. Florida Avenue in South Lakeland.
It is a short drive from Southgate Shopping Center, Lakeside Village, Dixieland, Cleveland Heights, Grasslands and Highland City. If you are traveling from Winter Haven or Bartow, it is only minutes off the Polk Parkway.
Is the Lady Lake office closer to you?
In the north, the office at 929 US-441 #404 in Lady Lake sits just above CR 466. It serves The Villages, Summerfield, Wildwood, Oxford, Fruitland Park and Leesburg.
The same hands-on techniques are available at both addresses.
In Lakeland that is 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13, Lakeland, serving Polk County. In the Villages market the office is at 929 US-441 #404, Lady Lake, serving Lake County, Sumter County, Marion County. Dr. Justin Bergin, DC performs the examination personally at both, 22 years into practice.
More on sports medicine clinic.
Available at our 2 locations
Treatment at our Lakeland office, and also at:
From the ChiroMed Journal
Longer reading on this subject, written by the practice rather than bought in.
- Umbilical Cord Tissue in Revision Carpal Tunnel Surgery: What One Study Found
A four-year cohort study wrapped the median nerve in cryopreserved umbilical cord tissue during repeat carpal tunnel surgery. What improved, and what did not.
- Is It Normal to Feel Sore After Soft Tissue Therapy?
Mild soreness after soft tissue therapy is normal. Here is how long it should last, what separates it from a problem, and what to do. Book your visit today.
Soft Tissue Therapy in recent research
These sources are independent of this practice and none of them endorses it. They are listed so the reasoning behind the care can be checked rather than taken on trust.
- Massage for low-back pain
Cochrane reports short term pain improvement with only minor adverse effects, and states plainly that confidence in massage as a treatment is very low.
- The effectiveness of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization on pain and function in patients with musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Moderate certainty that instrument-assisted work reduces reported pain and lower certainty that it improves function, which is the honest ceiling for tool-based technique.
- The effectiveness of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization on range of motion: a meta-analysis
Range of motion gains were found at very low to low certainty, so movement improvement is a reasonable aim here and a guarantee is not.
Compare your options
Real alternatives exist, including ones this practice does not perform. Here is the honest set.
| Option | What it is | Typically considered when | Invasive? | Offered at ChiroMed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft tissue therapy Our approach | Hands-on and instrument-assisted treatment of muscle, tendon, fascia and scar tissue. | Pain, stiffness or restriction traces to tissue rather than to a joint or a disc, or tissue is holding a joint out of position. | No. Worked through the skin with hands or a smooth-edged tool. | Yes |
| Chiropractic adjustment | A specific, controlled movement applied to a restricted joint. | The joint itself is not moving through its normal range. | No. Manual, no instruments entering the body. | Yes |
| Omniwave shockwave | Acoustic pressure waves delivered through the skin into stubborn tendon and ligament tissue. | A tendon problem has stayed put despite hands-on care. | No. Delivered at the surface. | Yes |
| Relaxation massage | General massage for relaxation and overall tension, usually sold by the hour. | You want to unwind rather than to treat a specific clinical finding. | No. | Not performed here. A worthwhile thing to book elsewhere when the goal is stress relief rather than the treatment of a diagnosed restriction. |
| Corticosteroid injection into a tendon | A steroid placed near or into the irritated tissue by a medical provider. | Pain is severe enough that conservative treatment cannot be tolerated. | Minimally. A needle is used. | Not performed here. Appropriate when a medical provider judges that an irritable tendon has to be quieted before anything else can be attempted. |
| Surgical release or tendon repair | An operation to divide, release or repair the affected tissue. | Imaging confirms a structural lesion and function has not returned. | Yes. Surgery, with a recovery and rehabilitation period. | Not performed here. Genuinely the right call when a tendon is fully torn, or when compression is structural and conservative care has been given a fair trial. |
The difference that matters here is between relaxation and treatment. Both are legitimate. Only treatment belongs inside a clinical plan, and treatment is what we deliver.
Is soft tissue therapy right for someone like you?
Candidacy is decided at the examination, not on a web page. These are the general lines.
Likely a good candidate if
- Pain or tightness that keeps returning to the same spot after it eases
- A tendon problem such as plantar fascia, elbow or shoulder tissue that has not settled
- Old scar tissue from an injury, a car accident or previous surgery that still limits movement
- An adjustment that helps and then slips, suggesting tissue is pulling the joint back
- Reduced range of motion with clean imaging and no structural explanation
We will point you elsewhere if
- An open wound, an active skin infection or a rash over the area to be treated
- A recent fracture or an unhealed surgical site
- Unexplained swelling, lumps or symptoms that have not been medically worked up
- A bleeding disorder or anticoagulation that makes bruising a genuine risk, without medical clearance
- Pain with fever, weight loss or night pain, which needs investigation before any hands-on care
When we are not the right answer, we say so, and connect you with someone who is.
Your first visit
What to expect, step by step
The first visit finds the tissue that is actually restricted, which is often not where it hurts.
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC examines how you move, feels for the restriction and tests what changes when it is released. He then explains what he found and how hands-on work fits with the rest of your plan.
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01History and hands-on examination
What hurts, what you did to it, what has already been tried. Then Dr. Bergin works through the area by hand, testing range and pressing on tissue until something reproduces the pain you came in with.
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02Report of findings
You are shown which tissue is involved, whether it explains your symptoms, and how long a course of care would take. If imaging is needed before anyone treats you, you are told.
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03Treatment
Manual contact, instrument-assisted work, or both, usually with you moving the limb while pressure is held. It can be uncomfortable while it is happening, so say so. The pressure is adjusted to you rather than to a protocol.
- 04
Reassessment and what you do at home
Range is retested against the first visit and the plan changes with it. You leave with specific movement to do at home, because tissue that is freed and then never used tends to tighten again.
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An adjustment that is not aimed at a specific finding is just noise. We treat what the exam and the X-ray tell us to treat.
“Dr. Bergin at Chiromed Wellness Centers is the best chiropractor in town. I no longer have to take pain meds. If you still have pain, you’re not seeing to best chiropractor.”
“Love this place!! Cynthia and Angie are amazing! So nice and helpful!! The chiropractor’s are also amazing!! Just a great place overall! I highly recommended it!!”
“Look them up I waited so long to see a chiropractor and I found this place and am so happy that I did . Love the Drs they are so helpful and make feel like family.”
“The staff is super friendly and they walked me through the whole process. I’ve been going for a few weeks now and I’m already feeling results! The treatment the offer is very hands on and informative. I’ve never had manual adjustments until coming to this office and the staff makes you feel comfortable and takes care of your needs. Highly recommend !”
“The best Chiropractic center in South lakeland! love it here the Doctors are very urged to help with any of your needs, the beautiful assistants are nice and helpful they really make you feel welcomed. Most highly recommended Chiropractic Center. :)”
“Muy profesional la atención es formidable todos los empleados son muy amigables.Y muy efectiva sus terapias..Los recomiendo 100x100%”
“My pain has decreased dramatically, I’m no longer stretching and moving my neck in every angle trying to find relief. Every part of my body I can feel is finally getting closer to symmetry! All I can say is you should give new city a try!”
“I love this place!! They're very caring for their patients and strive to help you feel better. I strongly recommend giving them a try. I promise you won't regret it”
“The staff is very knowledgeable and organized, they get to know you and are flexible about fitting your treatment in to your life. They use proven methods to treat the root of your issues and the results are incredible. I was in a lot of pain after a car crash and within a few weeks I was able to go back to my normal routine with no discomfort.”
“I have seen and feel the change in my body since I started, I use to have major pain in my knees and neck ache. I'm an athlete and constantly need more adjustments, and every time I come I always without a doubt feel welcomed and important.”
“I have had sich a great experience seeing Dr. Bergin. When other offices have told me I just had muscle damage or the only thing they could do for me was give shots, he said he had others ways to manage my pain and numbness, along with improving mobility. And he was right! I feel so much better! With such friendly staff and welcoming office environment, it makes for an amazing experience. I'll definitely continue seeing him!”
“Dr. Bergin was instrumental in relieving my back pain which I had for many years. The techniques he used on relieving my back pain were impressive. I been going to chiropractors for years and Dr. Bergin is the best. Thank You Dr. Bergin :)”
“Took a good amount of time going over my preliminary results and going over potential care plan. Great adjustment and doesn’t sugarcoat when discussing. Would recommend”
“The environment is incredible at this office with the staff and also both doctors are extremely friendly and great at what they do”
“Amazing, Super friendly and talented Staff and Doctors! My back was a hot mess after a semi hit my car on my first day moving to Florida. But after going through the treatment program I was able to get my neck, my back and my life in alignment. It was a total transformation. Thank You New City Chiropractic!”
“Hands down the best chiropractic office out there! They are super friendly and make me feel comfortable to tell then what’s wrong. They always ensure the best treatment for their patients!”
“I absolutely love this place , it is like going to visit family. They are always so pleasant , happy , and professional. I always enjoy seeing the ladies , they always put a smile on my face and even if I am having a bad day. The doctors are always so friendly and concerned with my well being. I actually look forward to going there and miss them on the days that I don't go.”
“I only wish it was closer. You are welcome it's definitely a compliment and I have read the great comments people made about the facility and staff! Amen Open one in Auburndale please!!”
“HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend coming here if you have any pains in your back or neck!! These guys are AMAZING at what they do!! Just a few months into coming here, I feel a change in the way I walk, the way my head sits on my shoulders, and I just feel GREAT; ALL THE TIME!! Crazy what some little adjustments did for me!!”
“This is an awesome chiropractic!! They are all nice and kind! Ever Since I have been adjusting my back, I don't need to take medicine before I go to bed. Also, I have been sleeping without waking up in the middle of the night because of the pain!! I really recommend the chiropractic 😊”
Get in touch
Have the tissue examined by hand
A specific finding beats a general treatment every time.
- 1
Send the form
Two minutes. Tell us what hurts and which office is closer.
- 2
We call you back
A real person, during office hours, to find a time that works.
- 3
Exam and answers
History, orthopedic and neurological testing, imaging on site when it changes the plan.
- $47 consultation, exam, X-rays if needed and report of findings
- Payment plans available on the self-pay programs
- 4.8 out of 5 from 225 Google reviews
- Choose Lakeland or The Villages on the form
Soft Tissue Therapy questions
Tap a message for the honest answer. Call Lakeland (863) 940-3444
What hands-on techniques do you actually use here?
Two, and often both inside the same visit. The first holds a precise contact on restricted tissue while you move the limb through its range.
The second is instrument-assisted, using a smooth-edged tool drawn over the skin to reach dense tissue that fingers slide past.
Which one suits your tissue is decided at the examination. Call and ask about specific certifications before you book.
Is soft tissue therapy the same as a massage?
No. Massage is generally sold by the hour and aimed at relaxation across a whole region.
Soft tissue therapy here is clinical treatment aimed at a specific restriction found during an examination and delivered inside a written plan.
ChiroMed does not offer a standalone massage booking. If relaxation is your goal, we will point you elsewhere.
Does soft tissue therapy hurt?
It can be uncomfortable while it is happening, particularly over tissue that has been guarded for a long time.
Pressure is adjusted to you rather than to a protocol, so speak up. Tenderness the next day is ordinary and is discussed beforehand.
Sharp pain or bruising is not part of the treatment.
Will insurance pay for soft tissue therapy?
Sometimes. Work delivered as part of chiropractic care bills insurance, and our team verifies your benefits before the first visit.
Standalone tissue programs and device-assisted care are self-pay. Medicare coverage varies by plan and by service.
The front desk confirms what applies before you commit, and payment plans exist for self-pay care.
What is a red flag in chiropractic?
A red flag is a sign that the problem is not musculoskeletal. Unexplained weight loss, fever with back pain, and night pain that does not ease with position all qualify.
So do loss of bowel or bladder control, progressive limb weakness and a cancer history.
Any of them means examination first and referral second. A clinic that treats before asking is the real red flag.
Same-week appointments
Tired of Living in Pain Without Real Answers?
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47.
- 4.8 out of 5 on Google
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47