Mikaela has worked with a wide variety of clients over her years as a Registered Massage Therapist. As a lifelong athlete, she entered her career with a focus and passion for working with athletes from many sports including runners, cyclists (MTB, road, gravel), swimmers, boxers, MMA, gymnasts, rowers, as well as those part of team sports such as soccer, baseball, football, and more. She has worked with athletes of a variety of levels from professionals to those learning a new sport, which led her to learning more about orthopedic rehabilitation (joint replacements, ligament injuries and tears, chronic dislocations), including a period as a faculty member at West Coast College of Massage Therapy teaching prospective Massage Therapists about Regional and Spinal Orthopedics.
Mikaela’s interest in athletics and orthopedic rehab, combined with a lifelong love of sport and movement, has led her to an overarching passion for active aging. Whether it’s playing with their kids or grandkids, participation in sport, enjoyment of the outdoors, cooking, playing video games, or fiber arts (knitting, crochet, needle work), Mikaela is passionate about enabling clients to participate in meaningful activities for as many years as possible. This passion has shifted her perspective on managing chronic pain conditions (migraines/headaches, fibromyalgia, osteo or rheumatoid arthritis). Her goal with each patient is to find a way to assist them in their ability to participate in life to their fullest, whatever that may look like for each individual.
A passion for active aging has naturally led Mikaela to receive her certification as a Structural Integrator from Anatomy Trains. Mikaela has found the twelve and three session series to be a useful framework for her clients to find freedom of movement and management of current or historic injuries or chronic conditions. The approach of Structural Integrations has dovetailed with her passion to provide the best evidence-based care. This care includes information and education about her clients’ conditions and possible causes, and how they can support their recovery.
Mikaela firmly believes in the importance of collaborative care both with her clients as well as with the other clinicians her clients work with. The foundation for Structural Integration is to enable the whole person to work as a cohesive unit. Mikaela believes this includes components that move beyond the physiological. She strives to work alongside professionals that can provide support in the areas that enhance the scope of a Massage Therapist, including (but not limited to) physiotherapists, chiropractors, nutritionists or dietitians, clinical counselors, psychologists, occupational therapists, and many more.
