LITTLE CURRENT—Registered massage therapist Cheryl Mazak has opened a practice in Little Current, with an office situated above the Bear Restaurant (formerly The Island Jar) after practicing in the London area for 27 years. Ms. Mazak specializes in treating the aftermath of motor vehicle accidents, but is also a pioneer in utilizing massage to treat speech and throat swelling issues.
“I am licenced through the Financial Services Regulation Authority,” she said, explaining that is a requirement to be registered with the Health Care Auto Insurance Industry. “You have to be licenced by both.”
Being personally licenced, Ms. Mazak said that she can submit a treatment plan directly to an auto insurer.
She also specializes in issues impacting temporomandibular joints (TMJ), those two joints that connect a person’s lower jaw to their skull—the joints that slide and rotate in front of each ear and connecting the lower jaw and the side and base of the skull.
Ms. Mazak spends time educating her clients on what she is going to do to tackle their issues when they first come to her. She pulls out one of her favourite props, a skull with a host of elastics doing service as the muscles and ligaments connecting jaw and skull. The elastics contract and expand as she manipulates the two bones, bringing a visual understanding of what is happening beneath the skin.
“It’s important to educate,” she said, taking the mystery out of the treatment and helping her clients understand what they are experiencing and how her treatment plan will help relieve the issue.
“I like to think outside the box,” said Ms. Mazak, who might well be described as a serial entrepreneur. She has been on Dragon’s Den with one of her products, Squinchi, a palm lifter that helps to support the wrist and prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. “I got two offers on the show,” she said. “But like most of the ones you see on the show, it didn’t work out in the end.”
Ms. Mazak is also an avid artist, and her work can be seen at Turner’s of Little Current.
Ms. Mazak can be reached at 519-661-9560 for appointment.
