Heather V.

Improving Heather’s quality of life with regular massage

After multiple back surgeries, Heather relies on regular massages to loosen up her muscles and ease her pain. This isn’t a luxury; massage is vital to her quality of life.

When Heather’s usual therapist retired, skipping massages wasn’t an option. Thankfully, she found Susan Casaccio, a licensed massage therapist at Sun Health Center for Health & Wellbeing, and has made monthly appointments part of her wellness routine.

“It makes all the difference in the world,” Heather said. “It really helps the muscles so that I’m not all knotted up.”

Massage therapy may be perceived as a luxury but this treatment has been shown to play an important role in improving overall wellbeing. A key benefit is reducing long-term stress, which can lead to health complications when left unchecked. But massage therapy offers a range of other benefits too, such as increasing circulation and flexibility, improving concentration, promoting quality sleep and inducing relaxation.

At the Center, massages are offered by licensed and trained massage therapists who specialize in working with clients to tailor treatments to their needs.

Meeting a range of needs

Massage services are open to anyone who wants to participate. No membership is required. Sun Health Center for Health & Wellbeing offers a wide range of treatments, including: Swedish, deep tissue, lymphatic, customized therapeutic, trigger point therapy and sports massage.

Heather had no choice but to prioritize massage therapy in her life.

The mom of three adult children has endured three back surgeries. The last surgery, about 11 years ago, was needed due to a spinal cord injury that caused the nerves in her legs to die and left Heather unable to stand.

Through physical therapy and determination, Heather was able to walk again with the help of a brace.

“I was very lucky, very lucky. I want to stress that,” she said. “If it had severed my spinal cord, I would be paralyzed from the neck down. I’m not paralyzed, I can walk.”

But her normal gait is different now, causing muscle pain, so massage therapy is a must.

“That throws the whole body off so I really need that massage to loosen up the muscles and make is so even though I walk crazy, I’m not hurting all the time,” she said.

Money well spent

Heather sees Susan for deep tissue massage but Susan is always quick to let her know about helpful exercises or suggest a different massage as needed.

“I’ll say this is really bothering me or that is, and she shows me exercises that I can do at home to help loosen things up,” Heather said. “She did that from the first day I came out.”

When Heather showed up one day with swollen legs, Susan suggested a lymphatic massage to reduce the swelling.

Another side benefit of the massages is better sleep, Heather said.

Heather feels comfortable knowing that she is receiving services from Sun Health, a trusted and respectable name in the community, with licensed and professional staff who go above and beyond to assist clients.

She sees Susan once a month, and always looks for package deals and coupons.

“Quite honestly when you’ve had some of the health things like I’ve had, it’s money well spent. Because otherwise, I’m just handicapping myself more,” she said. “So, I appreciate the packages very much.”

Managing her pain through massage therapy is key to living a full life. When Heather is not working, she enjoys swimming, reading and occasional dinners out.

 

To schedule a massage appointment, please call (623) 471-9355.