Staff Photo By: Darcie Thom

Kim Warner of Kim Warner Massage Therapy located on the lower level of the ‘old Town office’ at 207-6th Avenue in Kipling.

By: Darcie Thom

Through various forms of touch therapy, symptomatic health problems and concerns can be dealt with in one of the most natural ways of healing, with the personal touch of Massage Therapy.

Massage, a form of physical manipulation to the soft tissues through touch and pressure, targets the many affected, stressed and painful areas of the bodily systems. The benefits are endless and so are the treatments that are available when a visit is made to a Massage Therapist.

Through various massage techniques, a person with mild to chronic pain will encounter a therapeutic treatment that has been designed to target the various muscular, circulatory and immune systems that are sometimes affected by injury and personal health.

“Back and neck-related (pains) are usually the majority of reasons people come,” says Kim Warner, a Massage Therapist in the Kipling Community. Sometimes people visit a Massage Therapist because they have problems with a leg sciatica or carpal tunnel syndrome, only a couple of the many problems that people require treatment for through touch therapy.

“The reason for massage doesn’t have to be because of a pain or chronic thing,” says Warner, a Massage Therapist for the past 11 years. “stress is life, life is stress”.

Massage Therapy is a natural alternative that is available to people with injury or for persons who suffer from a great deal of physical pain, without replacing the great need for doctors. To this day, referrals are expected between a doctor and therapist to provide the best care and proper steps for insurance claims.

Warner recalls a time when there was a great misconception about Massage Therapists during her time at the Professional Institute of Massage Therapy in Winnipeg, 13 years ago when insurance didn’t cover the cost of this particular therapy. Warner graduated from the Institute earning a Massage Therapy Degree and now belongs to the Natural Health Practitioners of Canada.

“A lot of people ask the question about schooling,” says Warner, “but there has never been a bill passed to what education, federal or provincially, is technically needed”. However, in order to be a registered Massage Therapist, an individual is required to complete 2200 to 2400 hours of therapy training along with continued training throughout their career and must belong to a provincial association.

Warner worked with teens and their babies at a teen pregnancy home in Winnipeg for the duration of six months, working alongside the young mothers and their babies. During her time there, she recalled the efforts made by the teens when they were taught various forms of touch to stimulate and soothe their babies.

It is believed that a simple touch is enough to stimulate a premature baby, that touch may actually help a child to grow and that touch may help ease the pain for terminally ill cancer patients, which acts as a natural, calming effect.

Massage Therapy may work out the kinks and stresses that aggravate the body but there are ways to get the most out of a good massage. Studies have shown that people with heart problems lead a less stressful life when they undergo touch therapy, the less stress they have the less likely they are to have a heart attack. This is safe to say for most of the everyday stresses that people encounter with their personal health and lifestyle.

There are numerous massage methods that are available to people through their Massage Therapist, three of which are available with Kim Warner including Deep Tissue Massage Therapy, Hot Stone Therapy and Reflexology.

Hot Stone Therapy, an ancient technique, involves hot stones, which are applied to the body during a Deep Tissue Massage. The hot stones, which are used to stimulate the circulatory system, also help in the release of toxins, soften and relax muscles, promotes the body to self-heal and induces an individual into a deep relaxation that releases unwanted stress.

Reflexology is a natural and non-invasive procedure that is effective to the entire body through stimulating specific pressure points like the ears, feet and hands. This particular form of therapy requires no special equipment and can be done anywhere. Aside from this form of therapy being known to relax people, it can also reduce stress and tension, it can increase the body’s vitality and an individual’s energy, restores and balances emotions and has been proven to improve an individual’s concentration.