Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Moniuk.
Stephanie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve had back pain since high school. I remember asking my then boyfriend to hold me upside down by my ankles to relieve the pain and pressure I felt in my lower back. Fast forward to my early 20’s – the first time I really “threw my back out”. I was sent to an orthopedist who put me on bed rest and prescribed heavy duty muscle relaxers (which was typical in the early 90’s). I was miserable, I had to crawl to get around and the medication made me feel like crap. This scenario repeated itself several times until I went to a chiropractor, Dr. Britt Johnson who ordered an MRI. The results were shocking – multiple disc herniation and degenerative disc disease. My chiro told me he only had one other patient so young with a back in such bad condition and he was a semi pro hockey player. Chiropractic care alleviated but didn’t eliminate my symptoms and I would eventually end up back on the floor crawling to get anywhere. I was sent for a surgical evaluation, but was told since the condition was degenerative I was not a candidate for surgery. To quote the surgeon, “everyone in life has a cross to bear, and yours is your back”. That was depressing to say the least, I had been athletic my whole life and in my late 20’s I was falling apart.
I spent the next decade alternating between periods of high levels of physical activity and periods of debilitating pain, but I refused to give up. There was not a lot of information out there at that time, but I did the best I could. I incorporated Massage Therapy, physio ball exercises and stretching routines to my Chiropractic care with some really good results. I wasn’t pain free, but I was able to do things I never thought possible like kickboxing and roller derby! I ended up having 2 back surgeries, both to remove portions of disc material that had leaked into my spinal canal. I was able to resume most of my activities, but roller derby was out as repeatedly hitting and getting hit in the lower body and falling on concrete wasn’t ideal for my back.
I spent lots of time on the internet at this point, researching new methods for helping my back pain. I saw a YouTube video of Dr. Ben Benjamin doing manual therapy on a patient with lower back pain and something just clicked. I knew I wanted to do this, I HAD to do this, and immediately began researching Massage schools. I graduated from The Massage School in Acton (now in Boston) in August of 2013. In addition to my Massage school coursework I went on to study with The Center for Pain Management, the International Cupping Therapy Association, the International Tennis Performance Association and the Titlesist Performance Institute. My goal was to help athletic people stay active, even with pain and injuries. Today I have a clinic in Woburn, and that’s exactly what I do – and my own back pain is manageable enough that I just had my first amateur boxing match last October at 45 years old!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest struggle I face is marketing my business. I still have a day job to pay the bills and see clients nights and weekends. This doesn’t leave a lot of time to find new clients! However, my client retention is very high which really helps.
Game On Therapeutix – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I refer to myself as a Pain & Performance Therapist, and I specialize in resolving pain, injuries and soft tissue dysfunction. I utilize many different techniques depending upon what I feel the client needs. I typically use some combination of manual work, myofascial release, trigger point work, stationary cupping, vacuum assisted cupping, joint mobilization, the list goes on!
In addition, I provide a very unique service to golfers. I run them through the Titleist Performance Institute screen which shows areas of physical limitation that can adversely affect the golf swing and potentially lead to injury. I use those results to identify and treat areas of the body that are problematic. Oftentimes, the client had no idea there was a problem in that area, they just know they are golfing better!
What really sets me apart from other therapists is my commitment to client education. I spend a lot of time studying the latest pain research, so I can distill that information in a way that is accessible to my clients. Understanding how pain works is often half the battle in order for someone to feel better.
I’m really proud of the fact that I have professional athletes that entrust their bodies to me, but the thing I’m most proud of is when I can help the average person avoid surgery or be pain free for the first time in years!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
It’s so hard to pick just one, the gratitude expressed by my clients makes me the proudest and reinforces my belief that I am on the right path.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4F Henshaw Street Woburn, MA
- Website: gameontherapeutix.com
- Phone: 781-780-2480
- Email: stephanie@gameontherapeutix.com
Brandon
May 9, 2017 at 2:39 am
As a pro athlete. I can say my boxing career was saved by her hands.