Massage therapist Nina Paterson enjoys improving clients' quality of life -...

[massage]

Nina Paterson helps relieve muscular tension, spasms and stress in the body through a variety of massage techniques involving pressure, friction and stretching.

By Melisa Riley StarNews Correspondent
Nina Paterson is a neuromuscular massage therapist at West Meadow Spa in Wilmington. She helps relieve muscular tension, spasms and stress in the body through a variety of massage techniques involving pressure, friction and stretching. She also sometimes applies the use of alternative medicine such as cupping -- a procedure that uses suction to relieve pain, inflammation and improve circulation.

Paterson was working for a chiropractor in Wilmington about 17 years ago when she was first introduced to the concept of treating health problems in a “natural way that didn’t involve prescribed medicine” she says. At that time, she was introduced to the concept of kinesiology, or the study of the mechanics of body movement, and first heard about massage school.

She began her studies in massage therapy in Wilmington, at a school called Coastal Carolina Institute for Neuromuscular Therapy. She later decided to move to south Florida and finished her studies at the Florida College of Natural Health, graduating with an associate degree in natural health, with a focus on neuromuscular therapy.

Paterson says her family would come to her when she was 5 years old and ask her to walk on their back in order to relieve pain. That’s when she realized she could help people.

“I’ve always enjoyed connecting with people on a personal level and helping improve their quality of life,” Paterson says.

She describes herself as an “empath” or someone who feels acutely the emotions and experiences of people that she interacts with. Often, when she has provided pain relief to a client through massage she feels a sense of euphoria.

She once had a client call her his “guru” when she helped relieve rotator cuff pain. He told her “you fixed me!”

“I enjoy affecting people in a positive way in their daily life,” Paterson says. Her commitment to helping people through massage therapy has helped build a sense of connection with her clients, who she says feel like friends and family.

Being a highly empathetic person does have its challenges. She advises others in the massage industry to protect their emotional energy by taking a break and grounding themselves through things like meditation. She also encourages relying on intuition and “trusting your gut” if something doesn’t feel right.

Paterson’s hope for the future is to work more in conjunction with the medical community. She encourages people “by all means” to see a medical doctor for pain and injury, however, if a massage is something that you can try to relieve your suffering, “why not try a massage,” Paterson says.

She notes that in Asheville a husband and wife massage therapist team are working with mastectomy patents and cupping in order to assist with lymphatic drainage and problems with scar tissue. Paterson also says that in Asheville there is an initiative to work with the Wounded Warrior Project and mental health specialists to assist individuals still living with the trauma of war.

Let's block ads! (Why?)