Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes, I am fully vaccinated.
Since 2010.
I’ve been interested in alternative medicine and the health sciences since I was in high school. I think I would have also enjoyed becoming a physio or occupational therapist, but I wanted to focus on hands-on treatments.
Yes. I was born and raised here. I left to go to College, but ended up returning home.
Technically yes. During my three years of college I was not taught any specific style of treatment, but was instead expected to know all of the massage techniques that make up the various styles. I use Swedish Massage because I find it to be the most well tolerated and relaxing. In Ontario, Swedish Massage is basically the standard and it is what most people expect when going to an RMT.
That’s a surprisingly difficult question to answer because muscle knots are an under-researched phenomenon. What is known for certain is they are a very sensitive spot in muscle surrounding by a tight band of contracted muscle fibres. Because the fibres around the knot are always tense and contracted the muscle often has limited flexibility, pain and often a feeling of fatigue. This can cause cramping (especially in the legs, feet or neck), pain with movement, pain at rest, or even mild numbness and tingling.
preventing yourself from throwing your back out or developing a muscle knot is difficult to do long-term. Any unaccustomed or awkward movement can often bring on this type of problem and it happens to just about everyone. Knowing your body’s limits and avoiding bending and twisting your spine at the same time is the best advice I can offer.
There are many hypotheses of how massage might work. I find the idea that massage reduces the activity of muscle knots the most plausible. In addition, massage also activates the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest), and creates a lot of competing nerve signals to distract the brain from experiencing pain.
This is a difficult question to answer, because acute back pain is infamously difficult to assess and treat. In my experience, if the new pain is the result of a recently activated muscle knot, then massage can make a positive difference, but something like acute neurological pain is very treatment resistant to just about everything. It can be difficult to determine when you should prioritize rest over treatment or activity when you’ve thrown your back out.
Examples of common issues I often encounter include frozen shoulder, rotator cuff problems, tension headaches, migraines, carpal tunnel syndrome, muscle spasms, neck cricks, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, postural problems, rib discomfort, scoliosis and back, neck, shoulder pain of various origins.
Yes, just use the link in the confirmation email that you received when you booked the appointment.
Unfortunately not. There are 12 steps to get to the top floor of my house. I also don’t have access to a bariatric sized treatment table for the time being. If you need special accommodations please text, call or email me first.
