Creative Wellness opened its doors in 1990 with six partners sharing a mere 1500 square foot office. We have devoted the last two decades encouraging everyone to be active participants in their own health and to educate the community about the benefits of complementary health services. Two decades after opening, we now offer massage therapy and bodywork, acupuncture, chiropractic care, hypnotherapy, ayurveda, naturopathic medicine, and a series of well-being classes and seminars to the community. Emerging mostly out of the East, these therapies have been used for thousands of years to treat a plethora of health conditions.
The most common reason American adults seek complimentary medicine today is for musculoskeletal problems such as back, neck, and joint pain.1 But over the years respected organizations, such as the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) and the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), have contributed their resources to continuing research in the many other, additional benefits of complementary and alternative medicine.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, founded in 1998, leads the way in sponsoring and conducting scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). They have funded over 1200 research projects at scientific institutions across the United States and around the world and are one of twenty-seven institutes that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCCAM is committed to providing the public with reliable information on the benefits of complementary and alternative medicine. “Our research helps the public and health professionals understand which CAM therapies have been proven to be safe and effective.”1
Experts estimate that upwards of ninety percent of disease is stress related.3 Some of the most profound research on the benefits of CAM, including massage therapy specifically, comes from its use in hospitals. Massage was found to reduce a brain chemical known as substance p which is a neurotransmitter of pain. Patients receiving regular massage showed decreased amounts of substance p compared to those in identical circumstances who did not receive massage.4 Along with the ability to aid in pain relief and stress reduction, massage has also been acknowledged for its other numerous benefits:
- Increasing Joint Mobility and Soft Tissue Flexibility
- Improving Circulation
- Decreasing Blood Pressure
- Enhancing Immunity by Decreasing Cortisol3
- Reducing Spasms and Cramping
- Relieving Migraine Pains
- Easing Labor
- Lessening Alcohol and Drug Withdrawal Symptoms
Research has shown significant benefits to cancer patients. Regular massage, can help to reduce not only pain and stress but also fatigue, nausea, anxiety, and depression.3
With the growth of complementary and alternative medicine also came the inevitable growth of Creative Wellness. A mere four years after opening its doors, the staff of Creative Wellness had grown to a staff of more than 20. The center moved to a new building in 1994, offering 4000 square feet of custom designed space to accommodate the tremendous growth, which included adding wellness classes, Chiropractic, Ayurvedic Medicine, and Hypnotherapy. This physical move also created the opportunity to work closely with the Osteopathic Physicians at Full Spectrum Family Medicine, who also recognized the importance of complementary and alternative medicine.
The Lansing community quickly took note of the impact Creative Wellness had on its members. In 1997 Irene Savoyat, Co-Owner of Creative Wellness, was nominated by her business partner, Chris Reay, and awarded the Greater Lansing Entrepreneurial Award from the Greater Lansing Business Monthly in recognition of her continuing success with the growth of the center. The center was honored again in 2004 by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce with the Outstanding Small Business Award.
Creative Wellness, along with other respected members of the complementary and alternative medicine community, believes that a key component of integrated medicine is building relationships with the healthcare community. The more we know about what the other has to offer, the better we can work together to provide optimal healthcare.
In 2001, AMTA began supporting the Integrated Healthcare Policy Consortium (IHPC). The mission of the IHPC is to direct the national healthcare agenda towards a health-oriented, integrated system, ensuring all people access to safe and regulated conventional, complementary, and alternative healthcare professionals. Fifty-two percent of all doctors who discussed massage therapy with their patients strongly recommended it as a beneficial form of healing.2 By keeping these communications open, professional groups such as the IHPC and the NCCAM can continue to bring the latest healthcare information to the public to help maximize the effectiveness of integrative medicine. The number of people seeking CAM therapies continues to increase every year. Many other CAM therapies that are quickly gaining popularity are offered right here at Creative Wellness:
- Massage
- Chiropractic Manipulation
- Acupuncture
- Naturopathy
- Ayurveda
- Hypnosis
- Energy Healing
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Pilates
- Qi Gong
- Capoeira
As the world of complementary and alternative medicine continues to advance, Creative Wellness also continues to grow. Now, as we celebrate our twentieth anniversary, our staff, now close to 50 people strong, continues to develop and grow, to better serve your health and wellness. Plans to expand our center and service offerings are underway, and we are excitedly awaiting the opportunities it will bring us to better serve our clients. We are very grateful for the support of the community in allowing us to bring more options to achieve better health. We wouldn’t be here without you!
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