A new on-campus teaching clinic is becoming a popular destination for those seeking to reduce stress and treat pain through the benefits of massage therapy.
Since opening its doors at the Welland Campus in mid-May, NC’s Student Massage Therapy Clinic has been drawing a steady roster of clients from the College and the community while equipping Massage Therapy students with hands-on experience.
“The clinic has been non-stop booking appointments all week, every week since we opened,” said Diana Morrison, Massage Therapy Program Manager, who is also an instructor and manages the clinic.
Morrison, a Registered Massage Therapist, noted that appointments have not only been filling up fast at the clinic, filling up to 72 time slots per week, they have also had success with securing repeat clients, with a 90% rebooking rate.
The clinic plays a vital role in the two-year advanced diploma Massage Therapy program, which launched with its first intake of students in September 2021. Students are required to complete 320 hours of hands-on experience to graduate – at the clinic and through outreaches at different clinical locations within the community.
Students begin working with public clients at the clinic during their third semester, where they are supervised by Lab Technologists who are Registered Massage Therapists.
“Students get real-life learning experience by working on the public and what they will actually be doing the field,” said Morrison. “Because the public will present with such a wide variety of different injuries, conditions, alignments et cetera, they receive ample amounts of experience.”
Taran Kular, who is among NC’s first class of Massage Therapy students to begin working at the on-campus teaching clinic during Spring term, values the experience she is gaining by practicing massage techniques on different clients, as well as practicing client intake interviews, range-of-motion and posture assessments, and orthopedic tests.
“It allows us to have a real experience with real clients who have a diverse set of conditions and pathologies simulating how RMTs would problem solve on the spot,” said Kular.
While she recalls how working on her first client was “a little nerve wracking” at first – especially when it came to assessing clients to pinpoint the source of their pain and discomfort and choosing techniques to treat them – Kular said that the process has become easier and faster through practice and with reassurance from instructors.
“The clinic does a great job simulating what it would be like working in a future clinic with colleagues. It’s taught us to be very thorough in our assessments and charting as our peers will need to know everything about their previous treatments,” said Kular.
“We are constantly working on communicating through charts and making sure the client is progressing with every treatment they receive.”
Kular would like to operate her own massage therapy clinic in the future but first, she aims to gain experience in a clinic with other RMTs. She finds it inspiring to work at the college clinic where she interacts with various individuals in various stages of life as they aspire to reach their health goals.
Knowing that she has helped a client, however, is the most rewarding aspect of all.
“It is really rewarding to hear that our treatments have helped clients feel better and seeing their results of their reassessments when they improved, especially when clients request to rebook their appoint with you,” said Kular. “It reassures the students therapists that we are indeed on the right track and that we are making a positive difference in our client’s life.
“It is Niagara College’s first year of having the Massage Therapy Clinic and I couldn’t be prouder and more honoured to be a part of such a successful program and clinic.”
Book an appointment
Clients can expect to have a full assessment before their treatment included with a one-hour massage, concentrating on their areas of concern and results from the assessment testing.
Typical appointments are 60 minutes long.
Appointments may be booked for Mondays and Wednesdays (5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.), and Fridays (8:30 a.m.,10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.).
For an appointment, call 905-735-2211 ext. 7020, or e-mail [email protected].
