Handy health detective
Lynne Lynch/Columbia Basin HeraldLicensed massage practitioner Wendy Nickell show different sizes of suction cups she uses for massage.
Lynne Lynch/Columbia Basin HeraldWendy Nickell, a licensed massage practitioner in Moses Lake, explains the readings from a chart produced from an acoustic cardiograph machine.
MOSES LAKE - Massage and nutrition practitioner Wendy Nickell says her job is to "play detective" when helping find the source of a client's health problem.
While she massages people who just want to splurge, she also helps those who are in pain or have other health problems.
She offers two separate services at her Moses Lake office, nutrition therapy through alternative medicine and massage.
People are seeking another alternative, she claimed.
"I believe they're having difficulty finding results with their health," she said. "I saw a need."
Dietitians typically follow more standard FDA guidelines by using the food pyramid, she explained.
She said she tends to do more evaluative type work on an individual basis and finds what a person's chemistry needs to become balanced.
"It's truly individualized self-care," she said.
She also works to find out what a client's body is saying and how she can assist the body in healing, she said.
Her business is unique because she listens to the symptoms a person is experiencing, Nickell noted.
"Symptoms are the body's way of communicating with us," she said. "That's really what it's about."
She graduated from Seattle Massage School and has been licensed by the state in massage therapy for 10 years.
She is also certified in nutrition therapy through the Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA) in Olympia, which is described on its Web site as an educational corporation.
NTA is licensed by the state Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, according to Marina Parr of the state agency. The state currently doesn't regulate nutrition therapy counselors, Parr stated.
Nickell graduated from the Institute for Functional Medicine and is a certified therapist
in Somassage Deep Tissue
massage.
Nickell moved to the area from Enumclaw. Her husband's established here with his work, she said.
"No matter where I go, I think people can utilize my services," Nickell noted.
She became interested in patients' nutrition issues after she spent time researching their health problems.
As a result, another physician told her she should go into nutrition, she said.
She starts with collecting information about a client by asking for previous lab work and other reports from their practitioners.
Then she can see if something has been missed, or how a diagnosis was reached.
For some, a weight issue stems from a thyroid problem. And others have problems sleeping but don't know why, she said.
Nickell is currently seeing clients for relaxation issues and people injured in auto accidents. She's also done infant massage.
"A lot of people don't know massage is good for a colicky baby," Nickell explained.
Her previous experience also includes time spent working in a chiropractic office, where she dealt with people recovering from work, home and auto injuries.
Her office is located at The Forbidden Tan on South Pioneer Way and is open Monday through Saturday.
For more information, call 509-764-1982.