naomi n.'s Profile

heather hindmarsh is a certified massage therapist who specializes in working with runners, triathletes, and professional athletes. as a recreational runner, i've been seeing her for the past few years. she has been my saving grace, easing my body from the aches and pains that comes with running.

since i live about an hour's away from her (yes she's that good and worth the drive), she has been more than accommodating when scheduling appointments with me. she's made herself available to see me well into the evenings and occassionally, even on sundays.

at the start of each session she has me complete a questionnaire to assess my physical condition; i.e., identifying problem areas and what activities have i done that might be contributing to the symptoms. she'll then interview you to make sure she understands your responses. this is key for a person like me, who has a hard come describing my injuries.

though she offers the standard massages (swedesh, deep tissue), she specializes in sports massages which are designed for highly active people who engage in athletics. it helps to prevent injury, reduce pains and swelling in the body, relax the mind, increase flexibility, and dramatically improve recovery rates. its also highly effective in aiding the rapid recovery of an athlete from an injury.

most recently, i've seen heather because i strained my hamstring. i saw my primary care physician who gave me a prescription for naproxen and told me not to do anything that hurts. after the disappointing drs visit, i immediately went to see heather. using homeopathic products and methods like trigger points and hot rocks, she not only help me identify and assess the damage, she relieved some of the pain and then, based on her professional experience, gave me specific advice on what i should and should not be doing. she recommended products like:

* bath soaks (using queen helen bath therapy available at whole foods)
* arnica montana pellets (5 pellets 3 times / day) to treat muscle soreness
* hot rocks garden rocks boiled in hot water will suffice) to loosen the muscle
* lavender oil - applied to the affected area before bedtime
* magnesium supplements
* biofreeze

she even gave me some of the products to take home -- for free!

she was immensely helpful, but to be sure i didn't do any severe damage to my hamstring (like tear it), i went to see a sports medicine dr who confirmed everything that heather thought the injury was, what things i should be doing and agreed that the products heather recommended would be beneficial to my recovery.

after this experience, i became an even bigger fan of heather's (not that i wasn't before). one of the things i love most about her is that she doesn't stick to a "set routine" like many massage chains or day spas insist on doing. we've all had the experience where we ask the massage therapist to concentrate on a troubled area but they really can't because they feel they have to finish the scripted massage as described in the menu of services. heather doesn't believe in that. she really customizes each session based upon what the client is feeling that day.

but one last thing -- i must forewarn you -- her massages are not for the faint-hearted. not-for-the-faint-hearted. they hurt. but in a good way. you will still feel the massage a day or two later but then you'll realize that your aches and pains have gone away.

to find out more about information: http://www.heatherhind...

** note: her web site is still a work in progress so her office phone is the best way to reach her.