Free Range Conversations, Episode 34: Local Massage Therapist Found Success With Rison Business, Addresses Legislators - Cleveland County Herald

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RISON - Opening a new business in Rison is sometimes risky, but for a local master massage therapist, it has proven to be a rewarding endeavor.

Kristy Strother, MMT and owner of Rison Serenity Wellness Spa, is celebrating three years in business this February. She is also advocating to Arkansas legislators on behalf of the American Massage Therapy Association.

Strother sits down for the latest episode of the the Free Range Conversations podcast with hosts Britt Talent and Douglas Boultinghouse to discuss her successful business in Rison and the bills currently before the Arkansas House of Representatives.

She attracts clients from all over the state, and even visitors from Illinois and Georgia, who schedule massages with the master massage therapist. Her massages over full-body massage and targeted-area massages that can include Swedish, deep tissue, prenatal, hot stone, sports massage, lymphatic massage, cranial-sacral therapy, raindrop therapy, e-stim, stretching and more.

In addition to these, she offers mud wraps, sea salt body glow treatments, foot massages and facial massages.

According to Strother, she has much more in her "tool box" too.

What sets Strother's skills apart are her background and degree in athletic training, and her partial visual impairment.

While many people would consider being legally blind to be a deficit, Strother uses her sense of touch to guide her massages.

"I will learn and perform massage by touch," she said. "A lot of people that use their other senses because they're so adapted to just use your vision." "I have poor vision, so my vision is weaker, that sense. So my touch is stronger and so I'm more likely to find things. Whereas someone else might find something different. That's why I'm able to kind of sense a lot more than someone just looking at the body from afar." According to Strother, for years people have considered massages as a luxury, but she and other massage therapists consider them a form of heath and wellness.

"We all have stresses in our lives, traumas - our work life, we have children - all that put stress and strain on our bodies," she said. "We need that massage therapy. [It] is more than just rubbing the hands on the skin and the muscles. It's more of releasing tension and flushing the toxins from the muscles and the the fascia, and even for circulation to move fluid and inflammation through the tissues.”

In addition to the physical benefits, Strother said the benefits are also on the mental side.

“Our bodies hold tension,” she said, referencing the common case of people holding stress in their shoulders.

“We are holding our mental stress into our muscles and we hold it and we shrug or shoulders because we're tensed up,” she said.
“I tell people, take a deep breath, in your nose and then let out in your mouth. And when you let that breath out, think about what your body is doing and when you take a deep breath, your shoulders go up and you let that breath out, your shoulders go back down.” she said.

This exercise triggers your brain to say, “Let go,” according to Strother.

Relaxation is a draw for many people to the spa, but she has seen more people coming in for massages on specific areas - whether that be shoulder pain or lower back pain. Massages can be done in one visit, or sometimes over a series of visits to address causes of pain.

Strother cautions listeners that massage therapists are not doctors, psychologists or counselors and cannot diagnose.

“We're here to help the body. It can be spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally. We are here to address the situations that we can assess and treat,” she said.

Because of this, Strother said she can then make referrals to doctors and chiropractors to get something further examined, or for other services like acupuncture.

During the podcast, she shares stories of situations she has encountered where clients had such severe cases of fibromyalgia she could not touch the client. Instead, they found relief through a referred acupuncture treatment by a nearby chiropractor.
She also shares her vast knowledge of massage techniques and offers tips to listeners that include:

• Making sure you are properly hydrated before and after a massage as the flushing of fluids and toxins can cause dehydration.
• Prepare for some soreness and possible bruising for a short 24-48 hour window following a massage.
• If you are nervous about being touched or removing clothing, she will work with you to address all concerns and make you feel comfortable before the massage.
• Where you feel pain in your body may be caused by an issue on the opposite side of your body.

To the hosts, the last tip seems strange, but Strother explains the connection.

“Sometimes, I'll have a client come in and they'll say, ‘In my right shoulder, I've got a little pain.’ But later on I find out that they have something that's causing their left, the opposite. So it's the right shoulder, but they have an issue with their left hip. And this is affecting the

shoulder.”

She provided another example.

“It could be that you have a headache and you think you have a pain on the side of your ear,” she said. “But I may find that you have a tendon on the inside of the plantar fascia on the bottom of your foot that’s causing that.”

The science behind this is, according to Strother, “You have fascia that's attached to the next fascia, to the next tendon, to the next bone, to the next muscle, and it goes all the way up and down your spine, and it may show up at the other end of your body.”

With massage therapy being something she is passionate about, she hopes with changes in legislature, massage therapy will be more closely associated with the healthcare industry.

There are currently five bills before the Arkansas House of Representatives and Senate targeted towards the massage therapy industry.

HB1474, sponsored by Joey Carr and the Judiciary Committee, recently passed. This bill is concerning the prevention of human trafficking; and to require the display of information about the national human trafficking hotline.

Strother discussed during the podcast how Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin recently created a task force to crack down on human sex trafficking that had infiltrated some massage facilities across the state.

Strother said she hopes the government assistance will help fix these issues.

SB168, sponsored by Terry Rice and the Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, remains on the “Deferred List” for future action. This would establish a state examination for licensure of massage therapists; and to declare an emergency.

Strother recently spoke at the Arkansas State Capitol as a volunteer for the Arkansas chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association against SB168.

According to Strother, she and other massage therapists remain in favor of the computer-adaptive testing, that challenges the taker by gradually increasing difficulty based on the response to the previously answered question.

Strother said the test creates scenarios with the questions that challenge you to choose the best massage method, and in the end she feels it creates better candidates for massage therapists.

Also on the deferred list is HB1224, sponsored by James Nazarenko, to amend the automatic occupational licensure for out-of-state licensure act; and to apply the automatic occupational licensure for out-of-state licensure act to the massage therapists. This bill is expected to dissolve as Nazarenko opted not to present it further.

HB1217, sponsored by Nazarenko and the Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, passed on Tuesday following the recording of Strother’s podcast episode. This bill establishes the Interstate Massage Compact in Arkansas.

HB1440, sponsored by Mary Bentley and the Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, also passed on Tuesday. This bill amends the Massage Therapy Act; and to establish registration for massage therapy establishments.

Once bills have passed, they move before the governor to sign into law.

Throughout the podcast Strother shares her journey to becoming a master massage therapist, the guidance she received in high school from teachers and coaches, and her thoughts on the need for more therapy schools in Arkansas, particularly in South Arkansas.

The episode is streaming now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and ClevelandCountyHerald.com​