San Diego Myofascial Release Therapists

Shannon Whitall, owner and founder of San Diego Myofascial Release, is a Licensed Massage Therapist/ Expert MFR Therapist who practices in  La Mesa, CA.  She graduated in 1999 from the Academy of Health Professions and has also studied extensively and directly under John F. Barnes, founder of the John F. Barnes' Myofascial Release Approach®.  She is licensed to practice bodywork by the California Massage Therapy Council.
Having practiced bodywork for 27 years now, she is highly experienced. However, she believes that one can never fully master something.  So, she continues to educate herself, always challenging herself to grow in knowledge, expertise and ever improving her therapy skills.

Finding the John F. Barnes' Myofascial Release Approach®  to be a superior therapy that consistently produces positive, long lasting results, she founded San Diego Myofascial Release as a specialized therapy center that exclusively provides this spcialized form of myofascial release, for the treatment of chronic pain, scar release and trauma release, to the city of San Diego.

Shannon has the honor of being a respected leader in the John Barnes' MFR community, as well as in the local San Diego MFR community:

• Myofascial Release Seminar Assistant Instructor
  
• ​Myofascial Release Study Group Leader for the San Diego Area.

Owner of Quantum Balance, Rebecca is an Occupational Therapist Registered and Licensed in the state of California. 
Rebecca has been a Registered Occupational Therapist for 30 years in San Diego since she graduated from San Jose State University in 1993 and has been using Myofascial Release (MFR) during treatments since 2007. 
Rebecca is trained under John Barnes in Myofascial Release and is considered an Advanced Practitioner.

Rebecca enjoys assisting clients on their path of healing and recovery.  She finds  "connecting to nature", via the mountains and the sea, to be restorative.

Owner of Vital Therapy, Shannon Dolphin is a 20+ year California board-licensed Occupational Therapist who has earned a post graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Her OT career has included working with adults in hospitals, skilled nursing and home health care settings, treating chronic injuries, acute injuries and rehabilitation program planning.   Shannon was introduced to the renowned John Barnes Myofascial Release (MFR) technique in 2017 and immediately began to incorporate it with her Occupational Therapy practice. Shannon continues be a student of the MFR practice, taking and repeating seminars each year.    

DBA: Karen Nishimura, Myofascial Therapist, Karen is a 30+ California board-licensed therapist who graduated from University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. She has been utilizing Myofascial Release in her practice since 2021. Originally, Karen began her MFR journey as a patient of Shannon Whitall. She was suffering from a good deal of pain from neck and spine injuries, due to a motor vehicle accident. Chiropractic and acupuncture treatment were only minimally helpful. However, after giving Myofascial Release a try, Karen experienced a significant decrease in her pain level! MFR worked so spectacularly for her, she decided to study it for herself. It wasn't long before she began incorporating it with her own OT patients. Pretty soon Karen was providing pain relief with MFR for patients in San Diego, and as far as Africa! Helping people in this way was life-changing for her! 

For approximately 18 months, Karen worked closely alongside Shannon Whitall, as Shannon's apprentice, fine-tuning her Myofascial skills.

Elise Underriter, owner of LOH Massage, is our stellar on-site massage therapist, providing massage therapy sessions that are safe for your fascia!* With over 20 years of hands-on experience in therapeutic bodywork, Elise brings depth, discernment, and intentional care to every session.

Committed to lifelong learning, Elise actively refines her technique and expands her clinical understanding to ensure her clients receive thoughtful, effective, and informed care.

Her approach blends structured therapeutic methods with intuitive awareness, creating sessions that support muscular release, nervous system regulation, and deep restoration. Clients often describe her presence as calm, grounded, and attentive — a space where they feel genuinely supported.

Elise holds herself to high professional standards, valuing integrity, excellence, and personalized care. Her goal is simple: to create an environment where clients can fully exhale, reset, and leave feeling lighter, clearer, and more at ease. experience in therapeutic bodywork. She brings depth, discernment, and intentional care to every massage session.

Committed to lifelong learning, Elise actively refines her technique and expands her clinical understanding to ensure her clients receive thoughtful, effective, and informed care.

Her approach blends structured therapeutic massage methods with intuitive awareness, creating sessions that support muscular release, nervous system regulation, and deep restoration. Clients often describe her presence as calm, grounded, and attentive — a space where they feel genuinely supported.

Elise holds herself to high professional standards, valuing integrity, excellence, and personalized care. Her goal is simple: to create an environment where clients can fully exhale, reset, and leave feeling lighter, clearer, and more at ease.

*Elise provides massage therapy services only. She does not provide Myofascial Release services... yet.