Working through the pain

By Isabel Braverman
Posted 4/18/17

Think about how you stand. Is your back straight? Are your shoulders aligned? Are your hips in line with your knees? Think about how you sit. How you walk. How you move. Most people don’t think …

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Working through the pain

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Think about how you stand. Is your back straight? Are your shoulders aligned? Are your hips in line with your knees? Think about how you sit. How you walk. How you move. Most people don’t think about these things, unless you are paying special attention, or perhaps you’re a dancer or yoga instructor or the like. Most of us sit hunched over desks, leaning on shopping carts in the grocery store, looking down at our phones. It’s not in our conscious realm to think about how we move our bodies, and how we place them in whatever space we occupy. This, along with injuries, can lead a body to become out of whack. That’s where Jackie DeSau, a licensed certified neuro-muscular therapist, can help.
DeSau is the owner of Beach Lake Wellness Center, 12 Village Rd., in Beach Lake, PA, where she treats clients who are dealing with pain from injury. DeSau offers massage at the center, and another woman, Caroline Verdi, offers reflexology.
So maybe you aren’t paying attention to how you walk, but DeSau is. She says she can’t help but notice the way people move. She gets distracted at the supermarket watching people. “I wish I could turn it off,” she remarked. As part of her training at Rising Spirit Institute of Natural Health the students had to go to a mall and observe people walking by.
Now DeSau, who specializes in medical-based massage therapy, has been in practice for 10 years. She opened Beach Lake Wellness Center three-and-a-half years ago. The building, tucked away on a back road, boasts four rooms; one for DeSau’s practice, one for Verdi, a studio space, and another massage room where she will soon host students from Lackawanna College. While it is a relaxing space, it’s not exactly a spa-like environment. “You don’t pay for ambiance; you pay for me,” DeSau joked. Indeed, her clients come not to be pampered and treated, but for help with pain relief. They have come up with a motto: it hurts so good.
DeSau works with people who have chronic pain and scar tissue, as well as cancer patients. “I put you in pain to get you out of pain,” she said. The benefits of this kind of massage include increased range of motion and a decrease of scar tissue. Clients have also said that coming regularly to see DeSau improves their immune system, and they don’t get sick as much as they used to, or don’t get sick at all.
Going back to the basics, DeSau said her work helps one to connect body and mind. “A body that is not touched will not survive,” she said. Going to regular massage therapy assists in maintaining good health, strength and flexibility. DeSau said you will work better and think better, and that you become more aware of your body.
The center is open six days a week, Monday to Saturday, by appointment. The space is also available to be rented out for workshops. DeSau said she has never raised her rates, and charges $1 per minute. Call 570/351-4304.

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