When performing a massage, therapist Susan Cochrane often hears her patients make the same comment: "I didn’t know massage could do that!" "That" refers to changes in tissue ranging from relief of acute or chronic pain, reduction of scarring, or even changes in countouring and body function caused by adhesions—all through precision soft tissue techniques.

Susan Cochrane specializes in postoperative massage to reduce swelling and scarring after cosmetic or other surgeries, and following non-surgical trauma with resulting tissue damage. She has a special interest in post-mastectomy issues such as reduced range of motion, pain, thickening in the tissue from surgery or radiation, and overall comfort with body image and functionality.

A graduate of the Ann Arbor Institute of Massage Therapy, Cochrane has been in practice since 2000 and has worked in the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital system for more than 18 years. She is an active member of the American Massage Therapy Association at both the state and national levels.

Cochrane was instrumental in integrating massage therapy to enhance postoperative recovery at the Center for Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery in January 2001, making it the first in Michigan and among the first in the nation to do so. In her massage practice, Sue's philosophy is to partner with clients to set health goals and use her multifaceted talents to achieve the targeted outcomes in both functionality and appearance.

Cochrane has trained other massage therapists in her postoperative and scar-reduction techniques and participates in documentation and studies to promote the use of soft tissue manipulation as a means of improving postoperative and post-trauma recovery outcomes.