Frequently Asked Questions

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Yes, I bill directly to Blue Cross and Green Shield. Any other service providers must be submitted yourself.

RMTs are able to individually design a treatment to suit your specific needs. 

Registered massage therapists are trained to assess, treat, and make home care suggestions.

They can work with your other treatment providers to treat for conditions such as:

pregnancy, headaches, arthritis, tendonitis, asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis, tendonitis, traumatic injuries from falls, car accidents, broken bones, or sports injuries. 

If you have extended health benefits with Blue Cross, please add that to your client intake form ahead of time or bring that information to your first appointment.

In order to provide you with safe treatment, I will ask you about your past medical history, any recent or past injuries, as well as current medications. All of this information is confidential and is important to disclose before engaging in treatment.

Afterwards, the treatment plan will be discussed with you, and then initiated. 

The following appointments will go similarly with a quick follow up to see how things have changed between appointments, and continuation of the treatment plan, or alterations to the plan will be discussed and altered as needed.

If you're coming in for a treatment due to a motor vehicle accident and have an ICBC claim in progress, I do provide treatment for ICBC claims. However, I don't provide direct billing services to ICBC and you will have to take the receipts and submit them to your adjustor for reimbursement.

I am located at 220 Brew Street in the heart of Suterbrook Village. 

Parking is free for 60 minutes with registration of your car via https://www.offstreet.io/SB0047/10211 or the machines on site. 

Access to the office is on the 3rd floor where you can check in with the greeters directly across from the elevators in unit 301, I will come and get you from the lounge at the time of your appointment. 

Please ensure you pay attention to what elevator the touchscreen tells you to take as they automatically coordinate what floor they're going to.

If you're ariving after 5 for your appointment please text me when you arrive (778 836 0323) and I will get you from the lobby.

Pregnancy Massage is a general term for any hands-on massage during or after pregnancy (prenatal or postnatal massage) typically preformed by a Registered Massage Therapist. As part of their general education, RMTs have been taught how to treat an individual safely during pregnancy, and how to support them if they are having a complicated pregnancy.

I use a pregnancy support pillow during my treatments depending on what trimester you are in. This pillow allows you the choice to either lay face down or on your side supported comfortably; this helps a lot during the later stages of pregnancy where it becomes more of a struggle to get comfortable.

Only a handful of small studies have focused on massage in pregnancy. No definite benefits have been established. However, one study at the University of Miami School of Medicine suggests that massage therapy might have multiple positive effects, including:

• Lowered anxiety
• Decreased back, neck, hip and leg pain
• Improved sleep
• Decreased levels of the stress hormone norepinephrine
• Increased levels of the "feel-good" hormones serotonin and dopamine
• Decreased levels of cortisol, an indicator of stress
• An overall improvement in mood

• You're experiencing intense nausea, vomiting, or morning sickness
• You're at high risk of miscarriage
• You have a high-risk pregnancy such as placental abruption (where the placenta slightly detaches from the wall of the uterus) or preterm labor (when your body starts getting ready for birth too early in your pregnancy. Labor is considered premature if it starts more than 3 weeks before your due date)

If you are a higher risk pregnancy I strongly advise consulting your physician before seeking a Pregnancy Massage Treatment.

The exact cause of a person's Temporomandibular Joint disorder is often difficult to determine. Your pain may be due to a combination of factors such as genetics, arthritis or jaw injury. Some people who have jaw pain also tend to clench or grind their teeth (bruxism), although many people habitually clench or grind their teeth and never develop TMJ disorders. 

Signs and symptoms of TMJ tension may include:

• Pain or tenderness of the jaw
• Pain in one or both of the temporomandibular joints
• Aching pain in or around your ear
• Difficulty chewing or pain while chewing
• Aching facial pain
• Locking of the joint, making it difficult to open or close your mouth

When to seek Treatment:

If you have persistent pain or tenderness in your jaw, or if you can't open or close your mouth completely. 

What Massage Looks like for the TMJ:

The most common form of massage treatment for TMJ is called Intra Oral Release. It is where the RMT will typically first massage the neck, scalp, and facial muscles of the patient, then don medical gloves and release the muscles inside the mouth and around the Temporomandibular Joint inside the mouth. Sometimes gentle mobilization of the joint is indicated as well. 

During the treatment the therapist will usually ask you to open and close your mouth to check the degree of improvement in either range (the ability to open your mouth further) or in decrease in a presented curve.

Swedish massage is the most traditional form of western massage and for many it’s the image associated with massage. Swedish massage, or classic massage as it called in some countries, is a relatively gentle massage form focused on the body’s more superficial layers. It is provided to promote general relaxation and well-being and sometimes for relief of symptoms associated with health conditions due to its ability to promote circulation in the body.

Deep tissue massage is a massage technique that’s mainly used to treat musculoskeletal issues, such as strains, deep tension and sports injuries. It involves applying a sustained pressure, or deeper strokes to target areas of tension in the inner layers of your muscles and connective tissues. This helps to break up scar tissue that can form following an injury and reduce tension in muscle and tissue. It can also promote faster healing by increasing blood flow to reduce areas of inflammation. 

It’s not unusual to have some lingering soreness for a few days following a deep tissue massage. Using a heating pad or a cold pack wrapped in a towel along with stretching can help to relieve some of the soreness.

Though massage therapy is generally safe, deep tissue massage can use very firm pressure and may not be ideal for everyone as everyone has different levels of pain tolerance and this has to be taken into account during treatment.

Please communicate with your therapist to find a comfortable level of pressure - more pain doesn't equal more gain.

Please speak to your doctor before having a deep tissue massage if you have a history of blood clots, or a clotting disorder, or if you are taking blood thinners.