Registered Massage Therapist

I got into massage at about the age of 16 when I still lived at home with my parents on the farm. I grew up on a dairy farm and we were never short of things to do or work to do. Mom worked long hard hours and would come inside after chores at night with upper body pain and often the start of a headache. She would ask me to rub her neck and shoulders and I had a knack for it — I could relieve the tension and stiffness and stop the headache so she could relax and sleep well.

I began dating my late husband when I was 17 and he and his family were close friends with Joyce Raiiwet, an LCSP Instructor and Registered Massage Therapist near Westlock who had been practicing for about 45 years. She owned a massage therapy practice and school — The Northern Institute of Massage — a satellite school of the LCSP in London, England. I would watch her work intently and try to mimic her techniques. She was an amazing therapist and well ahead of her time in deep tissue and medical-based corrective therapy.

My husband's father offered to pay my enrollment fees if I would consider doing the two-year program. I was already working full-time, but it was a distance learning course with weekend classes and practical training, and I was young and ambitious, so I took the program. I learned anatomy, physiology, pathology, disease processes, and all about the broad range of tissue injuries and specific treatments for them. I graduated with honors and received a written commendation from the LCSP in London, England.

I worked for about 13 years on my own, then had the opportunity to work with Joyce at her clinic and as an instructor at her school. It was the busiest clinic I have ever worked at — all we did was therapy. I saw and treated things in that three-year period that would have taken me about 30 years to be exposed to on my own. Joyce also gave me extra help and instruction when I ran up against tough cases, and her many years of experience that she passed on to me is a tremendous asset to my practice today.

I am a widow with two children, and we also have a client greeter — our family pet Lola, a chihuahua/pomeranian cross who LOVES people and is annoyingly friendly. She is however old, slowed down, and sleeps a lot. If you prefer not to be around the dog, just let me know and I will put her in my bedroom before you arrive. My pet is NEVER allowed in the treatment room, so it is pet-dander-free.

The role of a professional massage therapist is to treat the source of the pain, identify the root cause (assessing skills), and provide appropriate massage application and techniques to correct the problem. The ultimate goal is long-term relief and restoration of function.

Unlike many pain medications, massage therapy is not a mask to cover the symptoms, but a means to quick, efficient pain relief at the source of the problem. Deep tissue massage therapy has become increasingly popular in the treatment of painful conditions such as sacroiliac joint dysfunction, whiplash, TMJ, tendonitis, back pain, plantar fasciitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Not all complaints can be addressed with massage therapy alone. Massage is often used in conjunction with Chiropractic, Acupuncture, and Physiotherapy. Clients are often referred back and forth between these practitioners, and massage can complement and enhance the effectiveness of other therapies.